Asus Maximus Extreme IX uses liquid metal components.
Asus Maximus Extreme IX uses liquid metal components.
Details: CPU model i7-7700k running at 4.20 GHz with turbo boost up to 4.5GHz. Motherboard brand Asus, GPU from Gigabyte GTX 1080 Ti Waterforce WB Xtreme Edition. RAM includes 32GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB, DDR4 3600MHz. Power supply features a Seasonic PRIME 850W Titanium cooling system with two radiators and eight fans. The case includes a radiator fan setup and an EK-XRES 140 pump. I’ve assembled this build five years ago, keeping thermal paste and coolant unchanged. Temperatures rarely surpassed 50°C during gaming. Recently, I’m considering overclocking to boost performance in games like Valorant, which is CPU-intensive. I tested a 5.0GHz setting and found it to be the most stable configuration I’ve encountered. After stress testing, I achieved a Vcore of 1.411V under load. I’m now evaluating switching to adaptive mode for better stability and longevity, especially during gaming sessions. Regarding the thermal paste, I plan to replace it with liquid metal for the CPU, though I lack details on its composition. I suspect it’s nickel-plated copper, but I don’t have official specs. For thermal pads, I need dimensions—thickness, length, and width—to ensure proper fit. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
It doesn’t make much sense to use liquid metal on the IHS. It’s better suited for direct die applications—right between the IHS and the die, or on GPUs where there’s no IHS just a direct die cooler or vapor chamber. I prefer Noctua NT-H2 or Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut between the IHS and the cooler, keeping the liquid metal only on the die.
Liquid metal significantly impacts the gap between IHS and die, especially in direct die cooling setups where the IHS is fully removed and a dedicated cooler bracket is employed.