Introduction
Over the last couple of years huge improvements have been made in many fields of computer technology, from displays to video cards and hard drive capacities to CPU’s and thermal pastes.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that no self-respecting enthusiast would ever be caught using the “generic†white paste to help cool their expensive computer equipment. Thermal interface material or TIM is something that anyone with a bit of patience and a little extra money can use to help lower the temperatures of their computer's CPU, GPU and even the North and South Bridges.
A few years ago, it was perfectly acceptable to use the included white paste that came with heatsinks as there was no better options available. With ever increasing energy requirements it quickly became apparent that generic thermal transfer paste just wasn't going to work for enthusiasts and overclockers any more and a number of companies identified that need.
Today, with so many different options available from silver particles to diamond dust it is easy to be overwhelmed in a sea of paste. So, our endeavour today would be to test three widely available pastes and see which one would perform the best for our needs.
[BREAK=Test bed and Methodology]
Test bed and Methodology
Before we look at the thermal materials for testing today lets look at the test bed and the methodology.
The Test bed:
AMD Phenom II 720 BE cooled by OCZ Vendetta 2
Biostar TA790GXB A2+
OCZ Reaper 800 mhz CL4
OCZ Modextreme 700W PSU
Sapphire 4870 Toxic Vapour edition
Coolermaster Centurion 590
The test bed is completely air-cooled, with the use of 2 120mm inflow fans and 3 120 mm outflow fans.
The methodology that we followed was as follows:
* The same test bed was to be used for all the 3 contenders. This would minimize any variances due to differing test bed conditions
* The single drop + spread method was used for application
* Each TIM was allowed to cure for a period of one week
* Each stress test was done three times with each paste, to make sure we get accurate results
* The ambient temperatures have been taken into consideration, specially since this review took me almost 3 weeks to complete
* I followed this all up with a final testing of all three TIM’s on the same day within a period of 3 hours to cross-check the results
* A infrared thermometer was used to take the CPU temperatures
Please do keep in mind that the ambient temperatures were measured to the 1st decimal place only. Also, since there is no way that I can afford a temperature controlled environment this is not the most scientific method of testing.
[BREAK=The Contendors]
The Contenders
Features
* High-Density ceramic content
* Controlled Triple-Phase Viscosity
* Excellent Stability
* Electrical Insulator
* Easy Clean Up
* RoHS Compliant
Specifications
* Thermal Resistance: <0.007°C-in2/Watt (0.001 inch layer)
* Thermal Conductance: >200,000W/m2.°C (0.001 inch layer)
* Temperature limits: Peak: –150°C to >180°C Long-Term: –150°C to 125°C
Arctic Cooling MX-2
Features
* High Thermal Conductivity
* Low Thermal Resistance
* Non-Electrical Conductive
* Non-Capacitive
* Non-Curing
* Non-Corrosive
* No Bleeding
* Odorless
Specifications
* Density: 3.69 g/cm3
* Viscosity: 2850 poise
Coolermaster Thermalfusion 400
Features
* High Thermal Conductivity
* Low Thermal Resistance
* Non-Curing
* Non-Corrosive
* Easy Application with Included Razor Blade
*
Specifications
* Color: Gray
* Specific Gravity: 3.5
* Thermal Conductivity: 2.89 (W/m-K)
* Volume Resistivity: 2.0E+10 (ohm-cm)
* BLT (Bond Line Thickness): 0.008 (mm)
* Volatile content: <0.1 (%)
* Thermal Resistance: 0.032 (C-cm2/W)
Arctic Cooling MX-2 was the easiest to apply out of the three with the Thermal Fusion being very difficult to spread due to the high density of the material.
[BREAK=Test Results]
Test Results
We now come to the most important part of this review, the results. We will look at this in two parts, firstly at stock speeds, idle and load, then at overclocked speeds, again with idle and load.
To start with we will look at the idle and load temperatures at stock speeds.
At stock settings, the MX-2 is ahead of the other two, but not by much. Please do keep in mind that most of the top rated TIM’s are usually very close to each other in performance and we normally see only 0.1-1 degree of difference between them.
Lets now look at the same temperatures with a bit of overclocking thrown into the mix. This is the reason we buy thermal paste and this is where in my opinion it really comes to use.
[BREAK=Conclusion]
Conclusion
The Coolermaster Thermal Fusion 400 has managed to beat two very worthy competitors today. MX-2 and AS-5 are probably the most recommended pastes in the Indian and International scene, and beating them takes some doing.
Overall all three pastes did extremely well, beating the stock goop by a minimum margin of 8 degrees in stock idle to 15-18 degrees on OC load and you cannot go wrong with any of the three.
But for now, the Coolermaster Thermal Fusion 400 is the new champion.:hap2:
Over the last couple of years huge improvements have been made in many fields of computer technology, from displays to video cards and hard drive capacities to CPU’s and thermal pastes.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that no self-respecting enthusiast would ever be caught using the “generic†white paste to help cool their expensive computer equipment. Thermal interface material or TIM is something that anyone with a bit of patience and a little extra money can use to help lower the temperatures of their computer's CPU, GPU and even the North and South Bridges.
A few years ago, it was perfectly acceptable to use the included white paste that came with heatsinks as there was no better options available. With ever increasing energy requirements it quickly became apparent that generic thermal transfer paste just wasn't going to work for enthusiasts and overclockers any more and a number of companies identified that need.
Today, with so many different options available from silver particles to diamond dust it is easy to be overwhelmed in a sea of paste. So, our endeavour today would be to test three widely available pastes and see which one would perform the best for our needs.
[BREAK=Test bed and Methodology]
Test bed and Methodology
Before we look at the thermal materials for testing today lets look at the test bed and the methodology.
The Test bed:
AMD Phenom II 720 BE cooled by OCZ Vendetta 2
Biostar TA790GXB A2+
OCZ Reaper 800 mhz CL4
OCZ Modextreme 700W PSU
Sapphire 4870 Toxic Vapour edition
Coolermaster Centurion 590
The test bed is completely air-cooled, with the use of 2 120mm inflow fans and 3 120 mm outflow fans.
The methodology that we followed was as follows:
* The same test bed was to be used for all the 3 contenders. This would minimize any variances due to differing test bed conditions
* The single drop + spread method was used for application
* Each TIM was allowed to cure for a period of one week
* Each stress test was done three times with each paste, to make sure we get accurate results
* The ambient temperatures have been taken into consideration, specially since this review took me almost 3 weeks to complete
* I followed this all up with a final testing of all three TIM’s on the same day within a period of 3 hours to cross-check the results
* A infrared thermometer was used to take the CPU temperatures
Please do keep in mind that the ambient temperatures were measured to the 1st decimal place only. Also, since there is no way that I can afford a temperature controlled environment this is not the most scientific method of testing.
[BREAK=The Contendors]
The Contenders
Arctic Silver 5
Features
* High-Density ceramic content
* Controlled Triple-Phase Viscosity
* Excellent Stability
* Electrical Insulator
* Easy Clean Up
* RoHS Compliant
Specifications
* Thermal Resistance: <0.007°C-in2/Watt (0.001 inch layer)
* Thermal Conductance: >200,000W/m2.°C (0.001 inch layer)
* Temperature limits: Peak: –150°C to >180°C Long-Term: –150°C to 125°C
Arctic Cooling MX-2
Features
* High Thermal Conductivity
* Low Thermal Resistance
* Non-Electrical Conductive
* Non-Capacitive
* Non-Curing
* Non-Corrosive
* No Bleeding
* Odorless
Specifications
* Density: 3.69 g/cm3
* Viscosity: 2850 poise
Coolermaster Thermalfusion 400
Features
* High Thermal Conductivity
* Low Thermal Resistance
* Non-Curing
* Non-Corrosive
* Easy Application with Included Razor Blade
*
Specifications
* Color: Gray
* Specific Gravity: 3.5
* Thermal Conductivity: 2.89 (W/m-K)
* Volume Resistivity: 2.0E+10 (ohm-cm)
* BLT (Bond Line Thickness): 0.008 (mm)
* Volatile content: <0.1 (%)
* Thermal Resistance: 0.032 (C-cm2/W)
Arctic Cooling MX-2 was the easiest to apply out of the three with the Thermal Fusion being very difficult to spread due to the high density of the material.
[BREAK=Test Results]
Test Results
We now come to the most important part of this review, the results. We will look at this in two parts, firstly at stock speeds, idle and load, then at overclocked speeds, again with idle and load.
To start with we will look at the idle and load temperatures at stock speeds.
At stock settings, the MX-2 is ahead of the other two, but not by much. Please do keep in mind that most of the top rated TIM’s are usually very close to each other in performance and we normally see only 0.1-1 degree of difference between them.
Lets now look at the same temperatures with a bit of overclocking thrown into the mix. This is the reason we buy thermal paste and this is where in my opinion it really comes to use.
[BREAK=Conclusion]
Conclusion
The Coolermaster Thermal Fusion 400 has managed to beat two very worthy competitors today. MX-2 and AS-5 are probably the most recommended pastes in the Indian and International scene, and beating them takes some doing.
Overall all three pastes did extremely well, beating the stock goop by a minimum margin of 8 degrees in stock idle to 15-18 degrees on OC load and you cannot go wrong with any of the three.
But for now, the Coolermaster Thermal Fusion 400 is the new champion.:hap2:
