Need suggestions for CPU thermal paste?
Need suggestions for CPU thermal paste?
Arctic Mx-6 is now among the top choices. It’s being used right now because it came with my Liquid Freezer III 360. After a year, I had to replace the cooler temporarily, and there was no drying or pump work like with the NH-2 model. I previously used TG Hydronaut on another PC, which has been there for at least two years under intense heat without any issues.
I've switched to thermalright tf9 after experiencing performance problems over the past three years. The arctic mx6 is quite thick and hard to spread, but since its ihs is smaller than the am4, I think it's acceptable—just use the dot cake method they recommend (avoid spreading it). Thermal paste kryonaut works fine (it's not a GPU paste and can handle temperature swings), though. TFX thermalright requires being placed in a zip lock bag in boiling water for about three minutes before spreading. It’s a solid paste and is worth the effort, even though it feels like chewing gum at first. Once heated slightly, spreading becomes much easier. Compared to the mx6, it shows a 3-5 degree difference and has fewer temperature fluctuations.
As others have mentioned, simply use whatever comes with the cooler and focus on other aspects later if you encounter a real problem.
The most important thing to remember is that even though you might notice some variation in temperature during certain tests, it usually doesn't matter much. There isn't a direct link between temperature and performance. You won't see a specific percentage increase in clock speed for every small drop in temperature.
CPUs operate within a temperature range where they perform best. As long as you stay within this range, the actual temperature reading is irrelevant. Generally, as long as the CPU doesn’t get too hot and start slowing down, it doesn’t matter much.
However, if you're trying to overclock, things might change. Overclocking alters the ideal temperature range for performance. This detail isn't well documented, even though AMD and Intel likely have the data. Additionally, minor variations in samples of the same CPU model can influence these results.
In summary, the type of thermal paste is probably less significant than the cooler itself and the case you use. The actual temperature inside the machine has a bigger impact than you might think.