Guru3D Thermal Paste Roundup 2019 - Arctic Cooling, Arctic, Be Quiet

by Krzysztof Hukalowicz on: 08/23/2019 11:58 AM [

] 67 comment(s)

In the next few pages, we'll show you the TIM we use, we'll also present one photo of how what you can expect material wise. Some is very fluid, others are near gum-like. First up are the Arctic Cooling thermal pastes. MX-2 and MX-4 are the models shown below.

Arctic Cooling MX-2

Name	Thermal conductivity	Density	Electrically conductive	Ease of use	Comments
Arctic Cooling MX-2	5.6 W/mK	3.96 g/cm³	No	Easy

The first of the Arctic pastes has been packed in a blue box with nothing else inside. The paste comes in the form of a syringe. It’s grey, and its thermal conductivity is 5.6 W/mK, whereas the density is 3.96 g / cm3. The manufacturer declares that the shelf life of this paste is 8 years. Spreading it is easy and hassle-free. There are 4, 8, 30 and even 65 g (!) variants available.

Arctic Cooling MX-4

Name	Thermal conductivity	Density	Electrically conductive	Ease of use	Comments
Arctic Cooling MX-4	8.5 W/mK	2.50 g/cm³	No	Medium

The second of the Arctic pastes also came to me in a blue box, and you will find nothing more inside. The MX-4 is packed in a syringe containing 4g of this product. There is also a 20 g version available. The paste is in a grey colour. The thermal conductivity is 8.5 W / mK, with a density of 2.5 g / cm ^ 3. The manufacturer again declares that the shelf life of the paste is 8 years. You can spread the MX-4 without any major problems. This paste is not very thick, which is a big plus. There are 2, 4, 8, 20 and 45 g variants available.

Arctic Silver 5

Name	Thermal conductivity	Density	Electrically conductive	Ease of use	Comments
Arctic Silver 5	8.89 W/mK	n/a	No	Medium

Next up is the Arctic Silver V, a classic one. Nothing fancy here. Just a tube without any additional sealing. Arctic Silver 5 is a legend. The main ingredient is pure silver (99.9%). Three unique shapes and sizes of silver particles were used, with an average size of <0.49 micron <0.000020 inches. Arctic Silver 5 does not contain silicon. The filler is a proprietary blend of polystyrene oils. The compound is easy to apply. At first, it’s thin, so as to more accurately fill all the microscopic nooks and crannies, and then it thickens over time to achieve full stability after 50-200 hours. Although the paste does not conduct electricity, the manufacturer recommends avoiding contact between the thermal grease and pins or electrical paths, because the compound can still cause problems due to its slightly conductive character. Density is not known and the thermal conductivity is 8.89 W/mK. You can buy the paste in containers of 3.5g and 12g.

Be Quiet DC1

Name	Thermal conductivity	Density	Electrically conductive	Ease of use	Comments
Be Quiet DC1	>7.5 W/mK	n/a	No	Medium	Non-curing compound

The last one on this page is the Be Quiet DC1. This paste was packed in a black blister. Its thermal conductivity is above 7.5 W / mK. It consists of 60% metal oxide compounds, 30% zinc oxide compounds, and 10% silicon compounds. It works at temperatures between -50 ° C and 150 ° C. It is distributed rather easily, and there should be no problems with it. The manufacturer adds a spatula to the pack, for the easier spreading of the substance. There’s 3g of the compound in the syringe, which should be enough for about 9 applications.

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Guru3D Thermal Paste Roundup - Round 2 (2021)
It has been almost two years since we made part 1 of Thermal Paste Roundup. You gave us good feedback for it; thus, we have prepared the second round of that article. As a short reminder - you should already know that the TIM (thermal insulation material) is often overlooked when setting up the PC. Thermal paste is a compound that helps to fill the gaps between the CPU and a cooler that your eyes can't spot. Most users will choose the pre-applied paste or the one provided with a cooler, which should be good enough for the CPU's stock frequencies. The bigger a load of a processor is, the better paster would show its advantage. The last roundup was prepared in 2019. Now we have two years later and a head full of ideas to make it even more interesting than last time.

Guru3D Thermal Paste Roundup 2019
Thermal paste is an often-overlooked part of most computer setups. You can simply use the pre-applied stuff, or the thermal paste that comes with your motherboard, and still get reasonable processor t...