Comparing thermal paste options: NT-H1 and Arctic Silver 5.
Comparing thermal paste options: NT-H1 and Arctic Silver 5.
AS5 is no longer reliable. NT-H1 performs significantly better but tends to overrun. IC Diamond is an excellent adhesive that doesn’t overrun and maintains quality for years with correct use. Arctic Céramique 2 also shows strong results in testing, though I can’t ensure the same durability as ICD. Gelid GC Extreme is another outstanding paste.
I'm using "Industrial Grade" Amasan T12 and it works perfectly. As long as you're not pushing it too hard, it won't be an issue.
It's actually superior to MX-4. However, this only applies when maximum temperatures are low. The lower the upper temperature a benchmark reaches (set by the cooler), the more similar each paste becomes. For instance, if you overclocked a CPU on a poor cooler and hit 90°C on MX-4, you might achieve around 80°C on NT-H1 or ICD. With a decent Liquid Ultra application, it could drop to 75°C. If your maximum was 80°C, NT-H1 might reach 74°C, ICD 76°C, and MX-4 80°C. At 68°C max temps, the gap could shrink to just 3°C with regular metal pastes, while liquid metal options might only cool by about 5°C. In short, from users' perspectives, it doesn't matter much.
I gather my data from multiple sources: pastes on my machine, the forum thread at AnandTech, and observations from other users testing laptops. Many desktop users report their CPUs reaching 60°C or lower, dismissing higher-end options like MX-4 as unnecessary for extra heat. Do some further investigation.