Thermal Compound

[LilAznAccommodator]

Dear Readers,

I just wanted to make sure about something as I am not really a hardware person and since I ha dto replace my Mobo, I have to get Thermal Compound because I don't have any and I was just wondering as I know most people recommend Arctic Silver 5 but is there a difference betweent he brand of it as I am wanting to know.. If not I prefer to go somewhere like Comp USA (http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=339504&pfp=external&tabtype=rv#review) which is only 10 minutes away rather than to Fry's Electronics (http://shop4.outpost.com/%7BvrcdC9U+QJwrlApDXBj36g**.node2%7D/product/3820817;jsessionid=vrcdC9U+QJwrlApDXBj36g**.node2?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG) which is about 30-40 minutes away...

And I checked OfficeDepot/BestBuy (Which are both about 5ish minutes away) but they don't seem to carry Arctic Silver 5.

So my question is if it is labeled Arctic Silver 5 does the Manufacturer matter? As you can see CompUSA is their own whereas at Fry's it is from Arctic Silver.

Thanks.

[zapjb]

Imo they are both the same. As cusa is just repacked theirs. Probably buy them bulk & repack them.

[clocker]

Imo they are both the same. As cusa is just repacked theirs. Probably buy them bulk & repack them.
Wrong.
A year or two ago a mod from OC Forums (appropriately named "Silversinksam") purchased several samples of (supposedly) "silver" thermal compound and sent them to a lab for analysis.
Most contained no silver at all and others had a much lower concentration than claimed.
If you care about thermal grease enough to want silver then stick with the original AS5 and ignore the pretenders.

[dsera]

I wouldn't use anything but the Arctic Silver on mine.

[S!X]

Thats probably why my CPU is running at the temp it is, usually high 30's (celcius) with the freezer 64 pro. I'm using antec formula 5 which I spent like 15$ on :dry:

[clocker]

Thats probably why my CPU is running at the temp it is...
I think you overestimate the importance of thermal paste.
I wouldn't expect a difference of more than 1-3C between the best (AS5?) and the no-name white toothpaste that comes with many sinks.

[zapjb]

Holy sh*t clocker. Isn't "Arctic Silver 5" copyrighted/patented?

[clocker]

I'm sure the name probably is but there is nothing unique about the basic formulation- many compounds include silver for it's excellent heat transfer capabilities.
The point of SSS's test was to see how many products actually lived up to their claims (of content, not efficacy).

Lately I've been using Ceramique (mainly because my big tube of AS5 finally went dry) and have seen no dramatic differences in performance.

[mr. nails]

i concur. i do recommend thermal paste over thermal pads any day, but i've used some shit full white crap paste and as5 and both had pretty much the same temps. like clocker has spoke of a couple degrees cooler on the as5 side. i do prefer as5 over all just for it's better conductivity so if i do use the off brand i'll usually end up buying as5 when i make it to frys again. lol, but then again frys never has the shit so i always buy it from newegg and damn the drive.

[Skillz808]

If you apply it correctly ( as5 that is ) and make sure the top of the cpu is mirrored and you apply the as5 evenly you can get more then a couple or few degrees in difference. i actually dropped about 8-15 degrees when i overclocked some of my chips because i did it properly.

I will look for my SS's that i took when i saw temp changes, before and after.

again this was for overclocking i dont think it will make a big difference for average everyday temps.

[clocker]

If you apply it correctly ( as5 that is ) and make sure the top of the cpu is mirrored and you apply the as5 evenly you can get more then a couple or few degrees in difference. i actually dropped about 8-15 degrees when i overclocked some of my chips because i did it properly.

Dropped "8-15 degrees" (BTW, is that F or C?) from what to what?
What was the original thermal goo?
How many times have you repeated this and how stringent were your efforts to eliminate variables ( the most important two would be application of material/heatsink mounting pressure and ambient temp)?

Here (http://www.dansdata.com/goop.htm) is an interesting read on the subject.