The HardwareLogic Thermal Compound Round-Up

[Mondoman]

Originally Posted by Capper

... I see from browsing around forums, that you are a BIG AS fan.

Not really, but it is pretty cheap and available almost everywhere (well, not at 7-Eleven yet!), which others aren't. As far as I can tell, as long as you've got some sort of decent compound (which AS5 is, along with many others), the specific compound doesn't matter very much, so I tend to suggest something that folks can find locally at 8PM w/o shipping charges. What does seem to matter is the thickness of the layer.

Originally Posted by Capper

... First, if volume, layering, etc was that big of a deal....then these companies would have to put together a perfect application system.....

I guess my current opinion on this is that:
1) Pretty much any current compound works well enough in most people's hands.
2) The companies don't want to make apples-to-apples comparisons, because their products aren't clearly better than the others. In other words, the field is pretty much marketing driven, so no company has an interest in the truth.

Originally Posted by Capper

... Looking at it in a reasonable light, you can't expect more than for a person to follow the directions given with a product.

Exactly! My semi-informed speculation is that the specific application technique matters much more than which compound you use. I'd like to figure out what's the key step in the process. Maybe following some sort of detailed *super-instructions* matters more than which compound one uses.
For now, I'm just bloviating, so have your pinches of salt ready, but I'm hoping to get an analytical balance (sub-mg resolution) in the near future, so we'll see what the future holds.

[screwballl]

but if you look at the story of which ones ranked best and their prices, you will see that pretty much all of them are around the same volume and most vendors have them for pretty close to the same price. So now that price isn't a factor, may as well go with the best rather than what you have been using.

$9.57 - TX-2 3.5g
$10.98 - AS5 3.5g
$12.05 - ICD7 1.5g (but the thickest of the bunch)
$12.07 - OCZ 3g
$12.57 - MX2 4g

so if you look at price based in our story alone, your best bet is the TX-2

EDIT: Edited to including shipping, and ranked in order of cost
One4yu2c

[Capper]

Evidently you didn't read the review, or look too closely at the test results......at a default clock speed of 3GHz, there was approximately a 13C difference between the best and worst compounds.....to the average user....who will likely never apply thermal compound, thats no problem.....but to those who tinker and want the best possible solution....13C is to a significant difference....like going from a stock INTEL cooler to a high end air cooler or even modest water cooling.....for those people, whats the sense of investing in a cooler upgrade only to put something thats going to hinder the performance?

The thing I find ironic about the whole AS5 argument goes back to the cure time. I keep hearing this argument about the 200 hours for optimal cure time....as often as the average enthusiast changes coolers, processors, motherboards, etc......its not worth the trouble to keep reapplying AS5.



As far as this conversation, it seems to be spinning its wheels.....I'm not sure what your point is, other than to just say you disagree......A lot of time, effort, and thought went into this because its been a big topic of conversation not just here, but around various forums on the web.

Conversly, the average user who is just going to install their hardware and never bother with it again is typically the kind of person who doesn't overclock enough for it to make any real difference.

I'm in no way bashing Arctic Silver, or AS5...I use Luminere for testing, and have always really liked Ceramique, especially for extreme cooling...as I've said all through this, silver based thermal compounds are just passe considering the alternatives.

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by Mondoman

it [AS5] is pretty cheap and available almost everywhere[...]so I tend to suggest something that folks can find locally at 8PM w/o shipping charges.

Valid point, but with limited appeal. For the neighbor/friend/relative who needs thermal paste and needs it right now, Arctic Silver 5 from the local mom/pop store is likely the best bet. But on a computer forum, nearly everyone seeking buying advice is doing so with the intention of ordering online, usually as part of a new build or coupled with a new cooler purchase. With that in mind, I can't think of a good reason not to recommend one of the several better performing, less expensive pastes available...

[Mondoman]

Originally Posted by screwballl

...so if you look at price based in our story alone, your best bet is the TX-2

Yes, it's good to have such a list handy (thanks for reordering it One4).

[Mondoman]

Originally Posted by One4yu2c

... For the neighbor/friend/relative who needs thermal paste and needs it right now, Arctic Silver 5 from the local mom/pop store is likely the best bet. But on a computer forum, nearly everyone seeking buying advice is doing so with the intention of ordering online, usually as part of a new build or coupled with a new cooler purchase. With that in mind, I can't think of a good reason not to recommend one of the several better performing, less expensive pastes available...

I agree. Personally, most of the people I'm talking with about TIM on forums are newbies who haven't quite properly attached their Intel LGA775 hsf pushpins and have no TIM on hand and need something quick so they can try to get their system working properly, but that's certainly not the target audience for reviews such as this.
Anyway, enough of my bloviating -- time to try to generate some data.

[RA1D]

i have as5, mx-2 and icd7 on hand. i'll be using icd7 from now on.

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by RAID

i have as5, mx-2 and icd7 on hand. i'll be using icd7 from now on.

I've only ever used AS5, AS Ceramique, and ICD7. I really like ICD7, but I plan on picking up some MX-2 in the future.

[screwballl]

I personally have used several of them through the years but ti has been mostly AS5 until recently when ICD7 took over as my choice due to 5-10ºC lower temps and also because AS5 showed a bake in with traces and such showing after I removed the heatsink... now only AS5 on my Athlon XPs until its gone (or I toss it).

[onebxr]

My as5 was on for 3 months and was kinda powder when I took my HS off. I went to wipe it off and it crumbled off. No more AS5 for me.
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