Thermal compounds, much more to it than we thought

**Shripad** · 22-11-09, 12:04 AM

Well I never really touched anything other than MX2 or AS5 in last few years and they never gave me any problems.

But finally came the time when I ran out of both MX2 and AS5 and it was not available anywhere locally.

So I placed order for MX3, but as I had removed the heatsink for cleanup, I needed something.

I had TX2 which came with my CCF.

And NH1 which came with my Noctua.

So I used NH1 on both CPU and my newly bought 5870 ( I had opened that up as well for pics after initial benching ).

Everything seemed fine, and then suddenly my Max OC on my GFX card dropped. And temps on CPU also were running high after just couple of days.

Removed heatsink again and was amazed to see that the paste on 5870 was bone dry with island pattern on the GPU with part of core with no thermal paste left as it had all dried up.

CPU was in similar shape.

So from the looks of it NH1 needs larger quantity and usual thin film didnt work.

So this time I applied TX2.

CPU was fine, but running slightly warmer than it was on MX2, but again my max oc dropped on GFX card after couple of days.

And this was compared to stock paste that ATI used on the card.

I decided to tide it over at stock speeds as it wasnt really getting too hot at the stock speed.

SO finally today I got MX3 and I opened up the 5870 again, and TX2 was again in bad shape. It was all dry, but still better than NH1.

Applied MX3 today and card is again happy to do 1Ghz+ core with huge drop in idle and max temps.

We all thought TX2 was good enough, well it does not look like ideal thing for GPUs at least.

So just a heads up for guys out there.

And it would have been hard to diagnose if I hadn't opened up the card. The card temps were still in check, but PC used to lock up at 1Ghz core clock with TX2 and NH1.

My guess is that part of the core was not transferring the heat properly and thats why it was locking up or freezing even with temps in control.

**viva1986** · 22-11-09, 12:22 AM

thx for the info i am planning to buy tx2, but now i can also think for mx3

**bottle** · 22-11-09, 07:44 AM

Try Thermalrights Chillfactor 2 as well, I've had good luck with it

**FaH33m** · 22-11-09, 07:57 AM

Shripad even Ive noticed that the TX-2 doesn't really work well for GPUs. The temps of my Q6600 on idle/load are really good with the CCF. 35-38 deg C. on idle and max 47-50 deg C. on load but my HD 4850 dual slot runs at 47-50 deg even on idle conditions after I applied the TX-2 on it. (everything's @ stock /fan speed auto-27-30%) After reading your post ,now i feel like removing the heatsink and checking the card if the thermal paste has dried up.

How much does the MX-3 cost ?Is it available locally ?

**Shripad** · 22-11-09, 08:33 AM

Nope MX3 is not available locally.

It was listed on Yantra online, but something is broken on their site and I cant do CC payment. Also its 900+ bucks there

So I ended up ordering it from Arctic cooling international store which sells it at MRP which is damn expensive. (1k+ per tube for MX3 from them sheesh )

But now you can import it from sites like sidewindercomputers. But they come through USPS which can be real PITA.

One of my friend ordered 30gm tube of MX2 and it came after a month and was charged 780bucks duty

Might start a GO for thermal compounds after poster GO is over.

**sunny27** · 22-11-09, 09:03 AM

gelid sold by amarbir is pretty good too...........check out its reviews --- gc1 or something they call it.

i have tx-2 and i have applied it below every heatsink in my system---cpu/chipset/gpu.

**w1nD** · 22-11-09, 09:06 AM

tx-2 works very nicely for me.. never had any problems

**dOm1naTOr** · 22-11-09, 09:42 AM

I was thinking TX2 was one of the best. Even reviews says so. SO it dries up quickly, leaving the thing useless

Shripad, how is AS5 compared to MX3 ?

And is thermalright compound any good ?

**cranky** · 22-11-09, 09:45 AM

We all thought TX2 was good enough

It's garbage, actually. I ran out of MX-2 and am using the TX-2 tube that came with my CCF, and I see temp rises a couple of degrees all around. Luckily we're at winter (ambient is ~18 degrees in the house) so it doesn't affect me that badly, but come summer and I'm back to AS5 or MX-2/3/something a little better than lizard poo.

**dOm1naTOr** · 22-11-09, 10:09 AM

Whats the cost of MX2?

already got AS5, and isnt satisfied with it.

**madnav** · 22-11-09, 10:31 PM

my vanilla HD4850 did not used to go above 685MHz on core with stock paste but now it can go 700MHz easily with TX2 which i had applied 6months ago.

did not try above that since ccc doesnt allow anymore.

**dOm1naTOr** · 22-11-09, 10:45 PM

So, do u think TX2 is better than stock one atleast ?

ive applied the same on my old 8800GT dual slot. temps are more or less the same, maybe some 2c less.

**Gannu** · 22-11-09, 11:21 PM

Originally Posted by dOm1naTOr

Whats the cost of MX2?

already got AS5, and isnt satisfied with it.

MX2 costs about 350 per tube. AS5 if used, should be used carefully -

Not Electrically Conductive:

Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.

(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)

Arctic Silver Incorporated - Arctic Silver 5

**PhOeNiX** · 23-11-09, 08:18 AM

I found OCZ Freeze to do a good job. I guess it's a bit thicker than the rest, but cools the CPU nicely. Haven't tried on a GPU though.

**Buygamingstuff** · 23-11-09, 10:06 AM

hmm I think TF-400 from coolermaster is good too

**cranky** · 23-11-09, 10:09 AM

That caution about AS5 was from the days of bare-die CPUs. Today, with heatspreaders there is absolutely no issue though it might be a problem in GPU situations, or if you're using them for memory chips.

The problem with AS5 is the application is a little tricky. It's a little more difficult to get an even layer and the compound does not flow as well as MX-2. It needs to be spread before mounting the heatsink and the layer needs to be literally paper-thin, so each application can give varying results depending on how well it was done. But it never dries up, ever, so the performance is consistent over the life of the compound.

**stalker** · 23-11-09, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by Buygamingstuff

hmm I think TF-400 from coolermaster is good too

is it ok for a dealer to post random nonsense like this? especially when he's just put up a thread to sell the damn thing :@

**Gannu** · 23-11-09, 12:17 PM

^LOL.

Originally Posted by cranky

That caution about AS5 was from the days of bare-die CPUs.

Exactly - with those age-old AMD Athlon CPUs. The same goes for the AMD GPUs where the core is exposed.

**BIKeINSTEIN** · 24-11-09, 06:15 PM

Good that Shripad sir posted that.

It has been observed by quite a few over sometime now and was being discussed just some weeks back.

But for regular users, especially those looking for something to use after a hsf cleaning, it works pretty ok for cpu use and is much cheaper than other offerings.

Have never used it for gpu but have heard of the temperature increase and drying issue quite often.

I still use Ceramique for gpu and earlier for cpus of friends- keeps going on and on till u don't take off the hsf.

Now i make them buy their own tube of whatever they want- no more freebies except for the bestest buddies.

Originally Posted by cranky

The problem with AS5 is the application is a little tricky. It's a little more difficult to get an even layer and the compound does not flow as well as MX-2. It needs to be spread before mounting the heatsink and the layer needs to be literally paper-thin, so each application can give varying results depending on how well it was done.

The dot/line method has always worked well here, especially on AMD chips, be it AS5 or Ceramique.

The other way of putting a finger in a plastic bag and spreading it works fine too- fairly consistent results.

Originally Posted by cranky

But it never dries up, ever, so the performance is consistent over the life of the compound.

Not here.

Has a habit of disappearing over a period of 6-9 months, depending on the seasons it went through maybe.

Originally Posted by stalker

is it ok for a dealer to post random nonsense like this? especially when he's just put up a thread to sell the damn thing :@

Maybe he couldn't resist posting after seeing Phoenix mention OCZ freeze.

**PhOeNiX** · 24-11-09, 08:43 PM

The dot/line method has always worked well here, especially on AMD chips, be it AS5 or Ceramique.

The other way of putting a finger in a plastic bag and spreading it works fine too- fairly consistent results.

I use the finger plastic method

Better for thick stuff like freeze.

Maybe he couldn't resist posting after seeing Phoenix mention OCZ freeze.

Btw i don't even sell freeze anymore so there