So my venerable Q6600 was heating up, so I decided to clean.

Glad to see that you got your temps down and some OC going. Those were some scary high load teamps and idle temps there. Im using dynex thermal paste because I only had $10 for a huge tube after I got laid off from work. My idle is around 42c but thats with a 3.6 oc. Though I have never hit over 61c full load. I still believe that there is a difference in the the thermal paste. Even if its not much, there is. AS5 still hands down beats cheap white thermal paste. Even if it didnt change my load temps much if I switched, it can lower my idle temps a bit. Which isnt a bad thing.

 

i have been. how do you think i know there is no diffrence.

he said, she said... show me proof of big temp diffrences...

 

http://******************com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=138&Itemid=1

Also, that thermal paste that one guy linked, 24-carat thermal compound keeps it even cooler.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/282002-28-diamond-test-results

 

Got sources?

Few facts to consider....

Silver, Copper, Aluminum, Ceramic, Silicone and Wax all have different heat transfer and dissipation rates. Copper, has one of the highest heat transfer rates....while Aluminum has one of the highest heat dissipation rates. The heat transfer and heat dissipation rates will in fact effect how well the thermal compound performs. Silicone and Wax make great insulators....but have the lowest heat transfer rates of any thermal material....which again, has a direct effect on performance. Here, you're claiming that Silicone and Wax will perform on par with considerably higher quality Copper, Silver, Ceramic and Synthetic thermal compounds, which physics proves you to be completely wrong. Silicone and Wax are both thermal and electrical insulators...which means they're very poor at conducting either....whereas Silver, Copper and Aluminum conduct both very well. Ceramic is non-electrically conductive, but very much thermally conductive. BTW, wax is best used for phase-change cooling as it displaces water but can result in processor failure with standard air or water cooling due to it's insulating properties. Simply put, the higher the heat transfer/dissipation rate....the better the performance.

Now, if you actually read the reviews in full....specifically the "test setup" you'll find that the conditions under which most tests are done, produce inaccurate and unreliable results as the testing method directly affects the end result. If the test is done on an open system (meaning the side cover removed), they are intentionally changing the heat transfer rate of the system. In a PROPER test setup, the side cover is installed to allow the fans and heatsink to function as designed. Heat can only transfer from a hotter surface to a cooler surface. If you allow "stale air" to reside in the system (as is the case with the side panel removed), you negatively effect the results of the test. In a system with "proper" airflow, there is no "stale air" residing in the system. BTW, for those that don't get it....the processor heats up the air around it. With the side panel open/removed, this air remains surrounding the processor as opposed to being drawn away by the air moving through the case. Computer cases aren't designed to be used with the side panel removed as this prohibits PROPER airflow and removal of "stale air".

Simple physics and chemisty tell you that the compound makes a difference.....an insulator (thermal and electrical), such as Silicone or Wax, can possibly perform as well as a conductor (thermal and electrical) such as Silver, Copper or Aluminum.

 

you serious? LAWL. read those links again.

mkbride glad u got ur temps down. im not gonna keep on discussin this. its getting off topic. i feel like a troll on this thread. im done =)

 

I'm my experience even the cheapest white paste vs ac5. Was only a few c difference. Now compare high quality pastes vs. Each other and the gap is even smaller. The two most important things. Is the cooler and how the paste is applied.

 

Most of the "high quality brands"....are all the same compound. Arctic Cooling's MX line and Tuniq's TX line...are identical compounds. In fact, they probably come from the same supplier.

Same with most of the cheap thermal compounds. Most of the "Silver Thermal Compound" products being sold are rebranded or non-branded Arctic Silver 3 or 5. In fact, my local supplier sells tubes of "Silver Thermal Compound" that are unbranded, but come directly from Arctic Silver. He even sells GeIL's "Copper Thermal Compound" in an unbranded package...

The only difference, is in the compound's chemical makeup. Of course "Silver Thermal Compound" from 2 different vendors is going to perform the same within reason. This is why I use AS5 (Silver based), MX3 (synthetic thermal compound) and Ceramique (Ceramic based) for comparisons. The difference in temperature between 2 "Silver thermal compound" products can be attributed to the "fillers" used in the product and unavoidable variations in installation of the heatsink. Wax, for the most part, is unused now. Silicone, is still in use, but it's uncommon aside from low-end heatsinks. Copper, Silver, Aluminum, Ceramic and "Synthetic" compounds are the most common, but "fillers" are used that are designed to compliment the properties of the main part to create a more effective product. The only characteristic that doesn't change is the ability of the main part to withstand high temperatures with little impact to it's ability to transfer heat. Ceramic can withstand considerably higher temperatures with little loss to effectiveness....which makes it ideal for use on GPUs.

 

There is no way the thermal paste was responsible for the 30C + increase in temps. I'd say you mis-mounted the heatsink the first time.

 

+1 to that

 

+100000000000000000000000000000 to that

 

Definitely the only possible scenario.

 

shin etsu x23-7783D is the answer.

 

I have my own proof.

MX-4 vs COOLLABORATORY LIQUID ULTRA was around 9-10 degrees difference. In reviews I saw around 5-8 degrees difference. I'm not sure what reviews you are reading.

 

you mean farenheight? translate that into celcius and its not that impressive really

 

No, I meant celcius. My GPU was running around 43-45 degrees, now with better thermal compound it runs around 35 (while idling).

 

This might come as a shocker to some of you but I have never used any 3rd party paste for my CPU's. They do not work any better then the stuff Intel puts on the back of there coolers...

 

How would you know this if you've never used them?

 

Last time I checked (i7 2600k), the Intel compound covered roughly 50% of the CPU, after 5 days burn in.

 

For stock coolers, and stock clocks the default thermal pad/paste is fine.
If you are going for high overclock on the stock cooler, then thermal paste is recommended.

And for 3rd party coolers....you need thermal paste

And for the Whats better department, its really a hard one to test, as people do it differently, with different cpus.

Some cpus are lapped some are not, some are ultra concave, it just depends.

From my experience, even using cheaper generic "white" thermal paste has proven fine for moderate overclocks.

 

Arctic Cooling heatsinks come with thermal paste pre-applied. So I still don't need thermal paste