Best thermal paste for a laptop (non conductive)

[Kushina]

My 960m runs at 90c out of the box and thermal throttles to 700mhz... so I need to put some good thermal paste on there. Last I was into these things was whe IC Diamond was still new, so who is the king these days?

 

[ericlp]

http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm

I dunno WHY everyone's so worried about conductivity.

You put the thermal paste (very small amount) about the size of grain of rice spread it on the heat shield of the CPU/GPU ... It's not like spreading peanut butter on your toast. As far as I know, there aren't or shouldn't be any traces or components between the chip and the heat sink. So, finding a property of non conductivity is non issue if used correctly.

Here is a vid...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd3YDl99mN8

I probably would have used a bit less than he did, but you get the point.

 

[Crono]

I don't know if it's definitively the best, but last review/shootout I read - might have been here on AnandTech, can't remember - put Noctua at the top or near the top. I used their NT-H1 on past few builds and it seems to be doing a good job. At the very least I like that it doesn't have a "settling" time, so I can benchmark and OC right away. I don't use their recommended drop application method where you just let the heatsink spread the paste, though; I still like to use a razor blade (Feather, which I also have a bunch of stockpiled anyway for shaving ) and get a nice, thin and even spread.

At 90C, you have other problems than thermal paste, unless it's overheating because the old paste dried up or broke down completely.

EDIT: Missed that it was a 960m, not CPU

 

[Raftina]

I don't know about OP's model specifically, but many laptops are bare die with capacitors on the surface of the PCB, which means thermal paste meant for IHS+heatsink configurations like the NH-H1 are terrible choices because of the thermal pump-out. As far as I know, the ICD is still the only really good non-conductive thermal paste for laptops.

 

[Crono]

I don't know about OP's model specifically, but many laptops are bare die with capacitors on the surface of the PCB, which means thermal paste meant for IHS+heatsink configurations like the NH-H1 are terrible choices because of the thermal pump-out. As far as I know, the ICD is still the only really good non-conductive thermal paste for laptops.

Hmm, didn't know about the thermal pump-out issue.

I wonder if this would be viable option for the OP? It's non-conductive and the reviews on it are pretty good.

 

[MongGrel]

I don't know about OP's model specifically, but many laptops are bare die with capacitors on the surface of the PCB, which means thermal paste meant for IHS+heatsink configurations like the NH-H1 are terrible choices because of the thermal pump-out. As far as I know, the ICD is still the only really good non-conductive thermal paste for laptops.

I still use NT-H1 on about everything these days, granted they are not laptops.

AS is pretty dated in general just from conductivity issues.

I do not spread things with a razor blade anymore either, I used to, but once you get a handle on what size of a drop to put dow in relation to the area you are covering, that has always worked better in my experience.

Does look like Phase Change Materials are becoming a little more popular in these cases, but haven't used them personally.

https://www.electronicmaterials.com/semiconductor/tims/#pcm-applications

 

[DrMrLordX]

Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut is probably the best non-metal paste out there. Not sure if pump-out is an issue with that stuff though.

 

[Kushina]

I don't know if it's definitively the best, but last review/shootout I read - might have been here on AnandTech, can't remember - put Noctua at the top or near the top. I used their NT-H1 on past few builds and it seems to be doing a good job. At the very least I like that it doesn't have a "settling" time, so I can benchmark and OC right away. I don't use their recommended drop application method where you just let the heatsink spread the paste, though; I still like to use a razor blade (Feather, which I also have a bunch of stockpiled anyway for shaving ) and get a nice, thin and even spread.

At 90C, you have other problems than thermal paste, unless it's overheating because the old paste dried up or broke down completely.

EDIT: Missed that it was a 960m, not CPU

CPU runs at 95 while playing the original Crysis.. I do believe the laptop is messed up since it shouldn't run this hot, but its an Acer so I don't want to go through sending this one back and having the new one run just as hot.

 

[jj109]

Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut is probably the best non-metal paste out there. Not sure if pump-out is an issue with that stuff though.

Not an issue. Been using it in my delidded haswell for more than a year without any degradation in performance.

 

[PG]

http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm

I dunno WHY everyone's so worried about conductivity.

...Because we can read. From the same link:

"(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)"


So many have used it on gpus and laptops. So what. I don't care, it's still a risk.
I would use Céramique 2 instead for a gpu or laptop. It may not be the absolute best performer, but it's safe and gets the job done.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/cmq2.html

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

I don't know about OP's model specifically, but many laptops are bare die with capacitors on the surface of the PCB, which means thermal paste meant for IHS+heatsink configurations like the NH-H1 are terrible choices because of the thermal pump-out. As far as I know, the ICD is still the only really good non-conductive thermal paste for laptops.

I like (and use) ICD on my desktops, but wouldn't diamonds + bare dies be a no-no?
Some folks have reported their IHSes being buffed out when removing ICD.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Not an issue. Been using it in my delidded haswell for more than a year without any degradation in performance.

There you have it then.

Kryonaut is simply the best non-metal TIM out there right now. No reason to use anything else unless price is an issue. It is a bit spendy.

 

[john3850]

I have read that artic silver is non Conductive but it can change the resistense of any circuit it comes in contact with.
Most of the time I have used Céramique on viedo cards to play it safe.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm
While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)

Sorry I didnt see the post 10 from PG

 

[Kushina]

There you have it then.

Kryonaut is simply the best non-metal TIM out there right now. No reason to use anything else unless price is an issue. It is a bit spendy.

What's the best one period? Kryonaut is price but wow the temp drops on it look amazing.

 

[ericlp]

Yes, I read it... AS has excellent thermal properties...

Look if you can't figure out how to apply it, you probably should not be mucking around in a computer anyway. Take it to someone that knows how to do it, and has done a few hundred times. Never had a problem with it and there is no risk if done properly.

 

[DrMrLordX]

What's the best one period? Kryonaut is price but wow the temp drops on it look amazing.

Probably Indigo Xtreme, if you can tolerate the reflow process. Otherwise it's a toss-up between CLU, Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut, and Phobya Liquid Metal. Conductonaut claims some extraordinary thermal properties, but I haven't seen a whole lot of evidence suggesting that it benches better than CLU.

 

[bononos]

What's the best one period? Kryonaut is price but wow the temp drops on it look amazing.

Kryonaut looks good but I wonder if the difference is noticeable in a non-delid laptop heatsink. Which is why I'm still using MX-4, NT-H1 since they spread easily and perform better than AS5. The only issue with MX-4/NT-H1 is pump out on bare die applications.

ICD had problems with scratching and the owner went nuts when the issue was discussed some years back. CLU isn't compatible with aluminium surfaces.

 

[Kushina]

ICD left a stain on my 1366 chip only after a few months but I didn't really think it was a big deal at all. It's been a while since I've used thermal pastes, how much will I need in terms of grams for 3 CPUs (1 mobile) and 1 laptop GPU? I would like to delid my 3930k since it runs a bit hot and the difference seems worth it.

 

[R0H1T]

What about Masscol, shin etsu?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

ICD left a stain on my 1366 chip only after a few months but I didn't really think it was a big deal at all. It's been a while since I've used thermal pastes, how much will I need in terms of grams for 3 CPUs (1 mobile) and 1 laptop GPU? I would like to delid my 3930k since it runs a bit hot and the difference seems worth it.

Should the discoloration of your IHS which still shows the Intel ID and 5-character production-code affect your resale returns on the used chip? Or would you set a price based on your honest recollection of how much it was abused -- ideally, not at all.

About half the running processors in this house are lapped to flat copper. The others -- cooling isn't a major issue, concern or objective.

On the matter of ICD, I use it because it has the lowest thermal resistance, highest conductivity, of most all materials excluding the liquid-metal and Indigo-Xtreme metal pads. I wouldn't use it on a delidded CPU die -- with or without the IHS. But human progress moves forward as I just get older or slower. So if there has been some "new development" with comprehensive tests using a calorimeter to show that some . . polymer . . or other complexity outperforms nano-diamond or micronized diamond, I want to see those tests.

Above diamond, only CLU, Indigo, and similar products reign supreme. As far as I know . . . . which is why I would ask if anyone knew something.

 

[aigomorla]

shin etsu > AS5

infact there is a LOT Of TIMs > AS5 as AS5 is ancient.

MX-2 is a lot easier to apply then AS5 has better performance.

My favorate paste tho is pk-1
https://www.amazon.com/Prolimatech-...1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467138432&sr=8-1&keywords=pk-1

its my favorate because i get the most stable consistant results from each application.
Which translates to ease of application.


Indigo is another which is a 1 time application paste.
Its very expensive at around 20 dollars, and has a lot of limitations like you can not apply on aluminum sinks.

The same goes for liquid metal pro.

I do not like IC Diamond because it etchs the IHS on your cpu, and u can never get off that gray smudge it leaves behind.

 

[DrMrLordX]

What about Masscol, shin etsu?

Shin Etsu was a thing about ten years ago. They have multiple interesting pastes, and depending on the surface, you could outperform AS5 with just about any of them. I can't tell you much about the Masscool product(s) since they haven't risen to the top of the heap at any point that I remember.

Above diamond, only CLU, Indigo, and similar products reign supreme. As far as I know . . . . which is why I would ask if anyone knew something.

Actually, Kryonaut outperforms ICD7.

shin etsu > AS5

infact there is a LOT Of TIMs > AS5 as AS5 is ancient.

MX-2 is a lot easier to apply then AS5 has better performance.

My favorate paste tho is pk-1
https://www.amazon.com/Prolimatech-...1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467138432&sr=8-1&keywords=pk-1

its my favorate because i get the most stable consistant results from each application.
Which translates to ease of application.

You tried pk-3? I think it outperforms pk-1, and it's very close in performance to GC Extreme.

I do not like IC Diamond because it etchs the IHS on your cpu, and u can never get off that gray smudge it leaves behind.

As much as I like ICD7 for what it was when it came out, there's precious little reason to use it anymore. GC Extreme, pk-3, and of course Kryonaut are all better picks these days.

 

[Keljian]

NT-H1. <end thread>

 

[pepone1234]

In the laptop I am using right now I used arctic silver 5 but gave me very bad results. In a couple of weeks the temperatures became pretty bad.

I bought IC diamond 7 and is still giving me good temperatures after some months of applying it.

 

[DrMrLordX]

NT-H1. <end thread>

That has pump-out problems, and there are several pastes that outperform it.