Best cpu cooling paste

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If you're building a high-end 14th-gen Intel platform computer, you'll want to make sure that your CPU's thermal performance is in check. This is where a high-quality thermal paste comes in handy. Thermal pastes are often overlooked during the PC building process, but they play a crucial role in ensuring efficient heat transfer from the CPU's integrated heat spreader IHS to the heat sink of your CPU cooler. With that in mind, we've compiled a list of the best thermal pastes available for your 14th Gen Intel CPU below. Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut 1g is an exceptional high-performance thermal paste and is one of the best options available for the Intel 14th-gen CPUs.

Best cpu cooling paste

Aftermarket thermal paste can also drop your GPU temperatures, making thermal paste a vital part of every PC build. When it comes to thermal paste, thermal compound, thermal grease, or TIM thermal interface material , the cooling performance is the most critical part of the selection process, but it's not the end-all-be-all. Other features, such as ease of application, viscosity, and how easy it is to remove the paste from the CPU IHS integrated heat spreader that covers the CPU diealso play an important role. The best thermal paste doesn't have to achieve the absolute best thermal performance, especially if you're a regular user who doesn't plan to overclock their CPU. A quality budget paste is plenty for most users, even those owning one of the best CPUs on the market. You should consider getting a high-end grease or maybe even a liquid metal thermal compound only if you demand the lowest temperatures possible or are into overclocking. Also, don't forget that while regular thermal pastes aren't electrically conductive liquid metal compounds are. If even a tiny drop of liquid metal comes into contact with a component that conducts electricity, it's game over for your CPU, GPU, or motherboard. Our advice is that if you're dead set on using liquid metal, contact a professional to do it for you or educate yourself extensively and do some practice runs before embarking on that risky adventure. Concerning thermal conductivity valuesforget about them. Thermal conductivity depends on temperature. The higher the temperature, the better the thermal conductivity, so it isn't a standardized way of showing the performance of thermal paste or liquid metal.

When we look at each compound in terms of unit cost-per-gram, liquid metal compounds are generally more costly, making their overall performance value more of a luxury than a necessity. WePC is reader-supported.

Choosing the best thermal paste may sound simple, but a dizzying array of options can turn this seemingly easy choice into a time-consuming and confusing task. Thermal paste is designed to minimize microscopic air gaps and irregularities between the surface of the cooler and the CPU's IHS integrated heat spreader , the piece of metal built into the top of the processor, to transfer heat to the CPU cooler. Good thermal paste can have a profound impact on your performance because it will allow your processor to transfer more of its waste heat to your cooler, keeping your processor running cool. Choosing the best thermal paste is also important if you plan on overclocking your rig to its fullest. Performance enthusiasts often swear by a favorite brand of paste, but new recipes crop up fairly frequently. We've extensively tested some of the top thermal pastes on the market. If you're hunting for more exotic pastes off the beaten path, we also have plenty of historical data below covering 90 different pastes and yes, we've even tested toothpaste.

Choosing the best thermal paste may sound simple, but a dizzying array of options can turn this seemingly easy choice into a time-consuming and confusing task. Thermal paste is designed to minimize microscopic air gaps and irregularities between the surface of the cooler and the CPU's IHS integrated heat spreader , the piece of metal built into the top of the processor, to transfer heat to the CPU cooler. Good thermal paste can have a profound impact on your performance because it will allow your processor to transfer more of its waste heat to your cooler, keeping your processor running cool. Choosing the best thermal paste is also important if you plan on overclocking your rig to its fullest. Performance enthusiasts often swear by a favorite brand of paste, but new recipes crop up fairly frequently.

Best cpu cooling paste

Changes to the shape, size, and internal component layout of modern CPUs have made applying thermal paste, also known as thermal interface material TIM , more complicated than it used to be. CPUs have incorporated ever more cores. And despite shrinking manufacturing nodes, many processors have just gotten physically bigger. So while you used to be able to apply thermal paste basically the same way across all consumer manufacturers and platforms and expect great results, that's no longer the case. And let's face it: There was never any true consensus across the PC-building world about just what is the "right" or the "best" way of applying TIM. We all just know the wrong way when we see it. So at the risk of… verging into an area of hotly contested debate, we're here to offer some simple instructions on how to properly apply your thermal interface material of choice check our tested list of the best thermal paste between your CPU and cooler, to achieve good thermal transfer and get that pesky heat away from your components and outside your case. We're not saying the advice below is the absolute best method or the only correct method. We're just saying it works, and it's more or less what's recommended by PC thermal experts like Noctua and others. Oh, and this guide is strictly for traditional thermal pastes.

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Prolimatech PK-3 Tests. The next selection up from Thermal Grizzly is their Hydronaut. Its basic compound consists of zinc oxide. You really can't go wrong with this paste — it is sufficient for most CPU applications. I've used MX-4 for like the last decade. Gelid GC-Extreme. Our advice is that if you're dead set on using liquid metal, contact a professional to do it for you or educate yourself extensively and do some practice runs before embarking on that risky adventure. Thermal pastes are often overlooked during the PC building process, but they play a crucial role in ensuring efficient heat transfer from the CPU's integrated heat spreader IHS to the heat sink of your CPU cooler. Both options guarantee a thermally stable system, but the choice ultimately depends on your performance needs and budget constraints. We'll keep the MX-5 listed, but be aware that stock could disappear in the future, and then this favorite will no longer be available. Plus, it is a premium grade thermal paste which suits both air-cooled and water-cooled CPUs.

Aftermarket thermal paste can also drop your GPU temperatures, making thermal paste a vital part of every PC build. When it comes to thermal paste, thermal compound, thermal grease, or TIM thermal interface material , the cooling performance is the most critical part of the selection process, but it's not the end-all-be-all. Other features, such as ease of application, viscosity, and how easy it is to remove the paste from the CPU IHS integrated heat spreader that covers the CPU diealso play an important role.

Most pastes are made of ceramic or metallic materials suspended within a proprietary binder, allowing for easy application and spread and simple cleanup. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. AMD Ryzen 3. For our thermal compound tests, we use the same hardware, CPU overclock , and configuration for each and every test to minimize environment variables in our testing. Plus, it has the right viscosity to work well in various scenarios including direct-die cooling for GPUs in graphics cards or console processors. We've also included value charts in the album below as well. Has conductivity rating of 8. These pads can be used as TIM and come as a single sheet you simply apply to your heatsink, with Thermaltake's Heilos Pad being the first new thermal pad entrant to see our test bed in the coming weeks. The aim of this article is to inform you of the best thermal pastes on the market, as well as to educate you a little about how to use them and when to change them. Follow us. Reasons to avoid - Difficult to apply.