Some thoughts on the rest of the contenders:
There really didn’t seem like too much of a
difference in performance between the contenders ranked from third through
seventh. It really doesn’t seem fair to judge the “frag tape” in this group
either because it has its place in certain applications where other materials
won’t “cut the mustard.” Here are some points to consider:
·
The
CircuitWorks silver paste used to be the “big dog” on the block and it does
perform well. The main shortcoming with this compound is that it’s electrically
conductive and you have to be especially careful in handling it. I was a bit
disappointed in the consistency of this compound, too. But it may have been a
bad batch.
·
The third choice as far
as the performance indicated is
Overclockers’ Hideout copper thermal paste. It measured in at just few
degrees hotter than the silver compounds. So, comparing the $5.50 to the $13.95
and $19.00 price tags of numbers one and two, this compound is a logical choice
if your budget doesn’t allow for you to spend a lot of cash on thermal compound.
·
The
M.G. Chemicals compound was a surprising “sleeper” coming in at a
not-so-shabby fourth place in our competition. I didn’t expect this to do so
well and for only $2.00 per package you just can't lose!
·
The remainder of the
silicone/ zinc oxide compounds performed just about as well as I expected them
to. Using any of those compounds definitely won’t hurt and one advantage is
that they’re easily accessible.
·
While not being a top
performer in the conductivity department, the
3M “frag tape” has a place in video chipset and motherboard chipset
applications.
Afterthoughts:
I hope that this
“deathmatch” helped you with any questions you may have had about thermal
compounds. Or, at least I hope I didn’t confuse you more than before your read
this! ;-) But, even the very best cooling setup is absolutely worthless with
insufficient heat transfer between the CPU and the heatsink. In order to reach
proper heat transfer some sort of interface material is imperative. Today, the
ability to find a decent thermal compound is much easier than in “days of yore.”
The type of thermal compound you chose is almost as important as the heatsink
you choose. So, don’t make this decision hastily or you may pay dearly for that
mistake in performance loss. Good luck!
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