Best thermal paste in 2023
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- Best overall thermal paste: Arctic MX-6
- Second best over thermal paste: Noctua NT-h2
- Best thermal paste for PCs with liquid cooling: Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut
- Best thermal paste for easy installation: Corsair XTM50
- Alternate best thermal paste for easy installation: Cooler Master MasterGel Regular
- Best thermal pad: Thermal Grizzly Carbonaut
- Best liquid metal thermal paste: Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut
- Best premium thermal paste: Arctic Silver 5
- Best Thermal Paste: Final Thoughts
Thermal paste is often overlooked by a lot of new builders putting together a PC. Sure, CPU coolers these days come with thermal paste pre-applied, but it doesn’t hurt to have the best thermal paste at your disposal at any given time. There are times when you need to re-seat the CPU or the cooler, and you most definitely need a thermal solution for that since you’ll essentially be cleaning the old coating.
Not to mention, the pre-applied thermal paste may have been sitting in a box for months and can often be old. That’s why we think it’s always a good practice to buy and apply your own thermal paste when you’re installing a new CPU or a cooler. We also recommend you apply a fresh coat of thermal paste every year as they tend to dry out and lose effectiveness over time. This will ensure your CPU doesn’t face any heating issues and have a lasting impact on its performance. Even the best CPUs need a thermal solution, so you shouldn’t skimp on a thermal paste.
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at some of the best thermal paste you can buy right now. We also have a dedicated post detailing the steps involved while applying thermal paste to a CPU. The process remains the same for applying a fresh coat of paste on GPUs too, except they have a sophisticated heatsink that you need to dismantle before reaching the chip itself. Now, let’s get started with the list:
Best overall thermal paste: Arctic MX-6
Source: Arctic
Arctic is a fairly popular brand when it comes to PC cooling solutions.
You may have heard of them while searching for thermal paste, but the brand also makes CPU coolers, and case fans, among many other things. The Arctic MX-2 and MX-4 have been extremely popular thermal paste solutions for many years before the brand decided to bring the next iteration in the form of Arctic MX-6. The MX-6 is available in sizes ranging from 2 to 8 grams, and it comes in a resealable packet to prevent the paste from drying over time as it’s waiting to be used again after, say, a year.
The best thing about MX-6 is that it’s easy to apply the paste on the CPU IHS. It’s important to maintain the right amount of paste since you don’t want to have too much paste on the IHS as it may result in less thermal resistance. Remember, we’re merely trying to fill the gaps between the CPU IHS and the CPU cooler’s contact plate.
It’s an odorless paste and is made with a mixture of non-hazardous solutions. The Arctic MX-6 is composed of carbon filler-based thermals that do a great job of filling in the gaps or small dents on the CPU IHS.
It ensures the heat is dissipated efficiently from the IHS.
The Arctic MX-6 has a viscosity of 45,000 poise. The thermal conductivity is obviously a lot lower than that of the metals like aluminum or copper, as it should be. You may find other thermal solutions on the market with a higher thermal conductivity of, say, around 14W/mk. The Arctic thermal paste can be used with any and all kinds of processors and is not limited to any particular CPU. You can use it on both mainstream and HEDT CPUs too. In fact, the same paste can also be applied to GPUs as well.
While the Arctic MX-6 may not be one of the more affordable options on the market, most thermal solutions won’t require shelling out a lot of money, but the price per gram is quite competitive in the Arctic’s case. It is also durable for 5 years, which is higher than a lot of other options on the market.
Source: Arctic
Arctic MX-6
The Arctic MX-6 is the direct successor to the popular MX-5 thermal paste solution.
It’s promised to deliver an uplift of 20% in thermal performance with increased viscosity. If you want the best overall thermal solution for your CPU, this is it.
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Second best over thermal paste: Noctua NT-h2
Source: Noctua
Noctua caters to a very specific set of users who demand high-performance cooling while keeping the noise output to the lowest possible. And it happens to be one of the very few manufacturers to have done that consistently over the years. We’ve added a ton of Noctua CPU coolers to the list of the best CPU coolers on the market. A lot of these Noctua air coolers like the NH-D15 also come with a thermal paste in the box. Yes, it’s the NT-h2 thermal paste, a brown-colored tube. Many of you probably don’t know this, but the company also sells this particular thermal solution separately for those who are interested.
That’s right, you can buy the Noctua NT-h2 thermal paste separately and use it just like any other thermal solution.
In fact, the Noctua NT-h2 is known to be one of the best thermal pastes on the market and it’s our second-best pick for the best thermal paste you can buy right now. It offers an impressive set of features that many other thermal paste solutions on the market lack.
The Noctua NT-h2 doesn’t have a break-in period which means it’s good to go right from the moment you install the CPU cooler and boot the system. A lot of thermal paste actually lacks this feature meaning there’s a break-in period before which the paste itself sets in and starts being effective. The Noctua NT-h2 is also not electrically conductive, meaning there’s no danger of short circuits from the paste making contact with the motherboard PCB or any other components that are installed on the board. This is a particularly important feature to have since you may end up spilling the paste on the board during installation.
The Noctua NT-h2 is also one of the few thermal paste solutions on the market that’s also suitable for compressor cooling.
This means you can use this paste while using sub-zero cooling methods to achieve extremely high overclocking speeds. The consistency of the NT-h2 cooler is similar to that of the ARCTIC Silver 5 thermal compound. It tends to be a little thicker unlike a lot of other solutions.
Noctua says the NT-h2 consists of a hybrid compound of different micro-particles, specifically optimized for use in PC environments. The NT-h2 paste is also proven to achieve solid results when it comes to cooling different processors. This is suitable for use across different CPUs on the market including even high-performance HEDT chips like Ryzen Threadrippers. As we mentioned earlier, it also works well in compressor cooling, so it’ll continue to deliver solid results even at extremely low temperatures.
Unlike some other thermal paste solutions, the Noctua NT-h2 tube is available in different sizes, so you don’t necessarily have to pick up a huge size tube if you’re not going to use it as much.
The tube can be resealed and stored for a long time, but the big-sized tubes are usually reserved for enthusiast builders, who tend to churn out a lot of PC builds, or those who like changing components often for testing.
Source: Noctua
Noctua NT-h2 Thermal Paste
The Noctua NT-h2 is a highly reliable thermal paste solution you can find right now. It works well even for extreme overclocking conditions.
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Best thermal paste for PCs with liquid cooling: Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut
Source: Thermal Grizzly
It’s difficult to ignore the thermal solutions from the house of Thermal Grizzly while discussing thermal paste. It’s a well-known brand that specializes in thermal solutions and they have a bunch of different options ranging from thermal grease, thermal pads, liquid metal, and more. Thermal Grizzly is known to have some of the best thermal solutions on the market, although your mileage may vary. We’ve picked Thermal Grizzly’s Hydronaut thermal paste.
The company calls it thermal grease, but that’s just another way to call these thermal solutions.
Thermal Grizzly says its Hydronaut paste is suitable for most PCs, including overclocked ones. The company has a bunch of different thermal pastes in its product stack but we think this is one that most people should be looking at. It offers what we think is the best price-to-performance ratio. The company says Hydonaut has a thermal conductivity of 0.0076 K/W and 0 pS/m electrical conductivity. That’s a good thing because you don’t want your thermal paste to be electrically conductive, unlike liquid metals. That just makes the whole installation process more complicated.
The Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut has a viscosity of 140-190 pas, which means it’s more of a paste than a liquid. We say that because a lot of thermal paste tends to have less viscosity. This means you’ll most likely need an applicator to spread the paste on the CPU IHS. Thankfully, Thermal Grizzly makes it easier for you by bundling one in the package.
Unlike the ARCTIC MX-5, you’ll actually need the applicator tool to spread this paste due to its viscosity.
Thermal Grizzly has a silicone-free structure which means it has very low weight and a high degree of flexibility. This theoretically means it should be easier to apply this paste compared to some other paste that tends to be as hard as chewing gum. The company says Hydonaut is suitable for CPUs will large heatsinks, but we think it’s just as effective in the case of mainstream CPUs. You can buy Hydronaut in a variety of different sizes ranging from 1 gram to 26 grams. Each unit comes with an applicator that we talked about earlier. You get the price-to-performance ratio with the bigger quantity, so we suggest getting at least the 7.8gram unit for the best value.
Thermal Grizzly can be used with a wide variety of cooling solutions, be it air-coolers or liquid-based coolers. Thermal Grizzly says Hydonaut is based paired with high-end PCs with sophisticated cooling solutions, so this is a fantastic option to consider if you have a heavy-duty machine.
In addition to thermal paste, Thermal Grizzly also sells a bunch of different products including a cleaner that can be used to remove an existing older coat of thermal paste from your CPU and the cooler. The TG Remove is an acetone-based cleaner that’s also worth picking if you don’t have isopropyl acid with you for cleaning the CPU. You can also grab TG Shield to protect against high-temperature protective coating against liquid metal or other electrically conductive heat transfer agents.
Source: Thermal Grizzly
Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut
Thermal Grizzly’s Hydonaut is a fantastic thermal paste for those looking to add a fresh coat of paste to their CPU. It also comes with an applicator tool for free.
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Best thermal paste for easy installation: Corsair XTM50
Source: Corsair
In addition to a wide variety of coolers, memory modules, PC cases, etc, Corsair also sells a thermal paste. Not really a surprise coming from a brand that’s popular for its PC components, eh? Well, Corsair has two thermal paste solutions on offer — The XTM30 and the XTM50 thermal compound.
The XTM50 is meant for high-performance processors and it’s one of the best thermal pastes you can buy right now. It’s obviously very efficient when it comes to cooling but we picked it for the ease of use.
The Corsair XTM50 high-performance thermal compound is the only item in this collection that comes with an application stencil and spreader. Yes, it comes with a stencil to make sure you don’t have to worry about spilling the paste on your CPU socket or other surrounding components. All you have to do is place the stencil on the CPU IHS, add a sizable amount of paste to the IHS and use the spreader to evenly spread the paste. It’ll make sure a thin layer of paste is applied on the IHS and the excess paste spills over on the stencil, thereby protecting the socket as well as other components.
The XTM50 paste by itself has low viscosity, so can also just use the ‘Dot method’ to apply the paste and let the mounting pressure do its thing. But if you’re too worried about applying using that method, then the bundled stencil and spreader make it very easy to get things done.
In theory, you can use any application method for a compound with low viscosity, but the stencil makes it that much easier to apply. It’s for new builders who don’t necessarily have the technical know-how of properly applying thermal paste and how improper application can have a lasting impact on the overall performance of the CPU.
The Corsair XTM50 is available in only one size which means you don’t have the luxury of choosing a small quantity. But luckily you can re-seal the tube and save it for the next time you need to use it again. According to Corsair, the ultra-low thermal impedance of the XTM50 compound makes it better than most other cooling solutions on the market. We think it’s just as good as any other thermal paste we’ve included in this collection for cooling your CPU. The XTM50 just happens to make it easier for you to install the paste.
Alternatively, you can buy the XTM30 compound from Corsair, however, it doesn’t come bundled with the stencil and the spreader and you’ll have to rely on traditional application methods for applying the paste on the CPU IHS.
Both thermal solutions from Corsair are made out of zero volatile compounds and are non-conductive too. It’s also not going to dry as early as some other thermal paste would. We recommend going with a thermal paste with low viscosity mainly because of how easy it is to apply them. You’ll have to manually apply a hard thermal paste solution as opposed to leaving them on the IHS and letting the mounting pressure do the trick for you.
Source: Corsair
Corsair XTM50 Thermal Compound
The Corsair XTM50 is the easiest of them all when it comes to installation. You get a CPU stencil and a spreader included in the box, making it easier for you to install the paste.
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Alternate best thermal paste for easy installation: Cooler Master MasterGel Regular
Source: Cooler Master
Applying thermal paste solution on the CPU IHS isn’t particularly difficult. It’s a straightforward process in which you eject a sizable portion of the compound on the IHS and let the cooler’s mounting pressure do its trick.
That being said, it doesn’t hurt to perform some additional steps to make sure you’re getting an even spread. Because the last thing you want is to add less paste and end up with an uneven distribution of the compound on the IHS. That’s when the Cooler Master MasterGel Regular paste enters the scene.
One of the best things about this particular thermal paste option is that it comes with a flat-nozzle syringe. This syringe design makes it very easy for the user to apply the paste and even spread it on the IHS. You can also do the same using a small spatula but being able to do it easily without having to use an additional accessory makes the entire process that much easier. Building a PC can already be quite overwhelming for a lot of people and we think every bit helps in making it a smooth and easy experience.
Another thing we like about the Cooler Master MasterGel Regular is that it also comes with a grease cleaner. This grease cleaner that’s included in the package comes really handy for those who are upgrading their PC and need to reseat the CPU or the cooler.
Cleaning the existing coat of thermal paste and applying a fresh coat are extremely important every time you reseat the cooler. And being able to use the included cleaner eliminates the need to bring your own cleaning solution.
In terms of specifications, the Cooler Master MasteGel Regular thermal paste has a thermal conductivity of 5 W/mk, which is more in line with a lot of other options mentioned in this collection. The company also sells a premium version of this particular paste with thermal conductivity of 11 W/mk. This paste is grey in color and its density is 2.5 g. We had absolutely no issues applying the paste on the CPU. The overall performance of the solution has also been pretty solid as we’ve encountered no abnormalities in the CPU temps. We’ve used this particular paste for many of our builds and it’s been a reliable option.
Cooler Master, as we mentioned earlier, also sells a premium version of the paste called the MasterGel Maker. There’s also the MasterGel Pro version, which is again, slightly better than the MasterGel Regular.
We’re mainly looking at the difference in thermal conductivity and density, so you might want to check those options too depending on your budget. The Cooler Master MasterGel Regular, however, is good enough for most users and it works without any issues. The application process is also quite simple, making it a great option for those who are new to the world of PC building. This particular thermal paste is readily available on the market, and you can hit the link below to find the best price for it online right now.
Source: Cooler Master
Cooler Master Mastergel Regular
The Cooler Master Mastergel Regular is a reliable thermal paste solution. It comes with a flat-nozzle syringe for easy installation and also grease cleaner to easily remove the existing coat of paste.
Best thermal pad: Thermal Grizzly Carbonaut
Source: Thermal Grizzly
You may have heard of thermal pads being used by many as a replacement for thermal paste. That’s entirely normal because thermal pads are also highly efficient. Thermal pads are primarily used on M.2 SSD modules. As such the heatsink or the motherboard shroud covering the M.2 SSD module holds thermal pads to dissipate the heat produced by the modules. It works the same way as thermal paste, except these are solid pads as opposed to pasting or liquid solutions.
A lot of manufacturers make thermal pads, however, we think the Thermal Grizzly’s Carbonaut is one of the best options on the market. This can be used on both processors and GPUs too. The application of thermal pads involves placing the pad on top of the CPU IHS, thereby filling the gap between the IHS and the heatsink. The same goes for the GPU too, except, in this case, there’s no IHS. But why would you use a thermal pad instead of a thermal paste as we’ve been told to use for many years now?
Well, first off, there’s no mess while installing a thermal pad. It’s as simple as placing the pad on top of the component before placing the heatsink on top of it. There’s no danger of dropping extra paste onto the CPU socket or other sensitive areas on the motherboard.
Thermal Grizzly’s Carbonaut also promises not to get old, which means you probably don’t have to apply a fresh one as often as you would in the case of thermal paste. They are ideal for graphics cards and applications where disassembly is required. Laptops are also a great example here.
Applying a fresh coat of thermal paste on laptops can be too tiring since the disassembly process involve you dismantling the entire laptop. Since they don’t degrade as much as thermal paste, you can just apply them once and should be good for probably the rest of the laptop’s life unless something’s way off with temperatures.
You get a large thermal pad in a packet of Thermal Grizzly Carbonaut. You can then cut the appropriate size that suits your needs and save the rest for future applications. Remember, they don’t degrade over time. It’s proven to work efficiently on both CPUs and GPUs. In fact, the Thermal Grizzly Carbonaut is just as efficient as the Thermal Grizzly’s Kryonaut or Hydonaut thermal paste.
Some people have also used these thermal pads for overclocking and the performance seems to be on par with most thermal paste on the market.
The best thing about the thermal pad is that it’s reusable which means you don’t necessarily have to use a fresh pad after installing a new CPU or a cooler. It can also be placed on top of the GPU memory modules inside a card’s heatsink. We’ve seen a lot of people use normal thermals on the modules to regular the memory temperature, so this is a solid option for that too. You can buy just one pack of this thermal pad and cut the appropriate amount to be used on both the CPU and the GPU.
Source: Thermal Grizzly
Thermal Grizzly Carbonaut
The ARCTIC MX-5 thermal paste is one of the thermal paste solutions you can grab for your PC. It’s easy to apply and is proven to work with a variety of different CPUs.
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Best liquid metal thermal paste: Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut
Source: Thermal Grizzly
The CPU, just like many other PC components, has evolved a lot over the years.
A lot of CPUs on the market are now capable of hitting crazy peak frequencies when overclocked under favorable conditions. Our standard thermal paste is good for most use cases but you may have seen some enthusiasts use liquid metal as thermal solutions. Liquid metal thermal paste solutions are highly efficient and are used to tame some of the most powerful CPUs on the market running at extremely high frequencies. We’re talking frequencies above 5Ghz at a sustained rate, which is a lot higher than what most CPUs are advertised to push.
Thermal Grizzly is of the few manufacturers that sell consumer-grade liquid metal thermal paste. In typical TG fashion, it’s called Conductonaut. It’s essentially a liquid metal thermal paste that’s developed for applications with a high degree of efficiency. The website clearly mentions how it’s meant for «experienced users» who know what they’re doing. Liquid metal, in case you don’t know, is electrically conductive. Also, the fact that it’s liquid, makes it really hard to apply.
You have to be careful not to spill liquid metal over any other component including the motherboard, CPU socket, etc. It could lead to short-circuiting and component failure.
Due to a complex application method, it’s advised not to mess with liquid metal unless you know exactly what you’re doing. The application involves dropping small quantities of liquid metal on the CPU IHS and carefully spreading it using a piece of cotton. This will make sure you’re not spilling over any extra liquid metal outside the IHS, thereby saving yourself a lot of trouble. Building a PC doesn’t have to be more complicated than it already is, so it’s best to stay away from liquid metal thermal paste if you don’t know what you’re getting into. Thermal Grizzly, however, makes it easier by bundling all the required items in the package including applicators.
On top of that, liquid metals can’t be used with aluminum heat sinks since the Gallium in them reacts with aluminum. That’s not really an issue since most heat sinks (remember, not all) are made of copper which is nonreactive with the liquid metal.
That being said, the high risk pays off in meaningful ways the liquid metal provides up to 73 W/(mK) thermal conductivity. It’s much higher than the 0.5-12.5 W/(mK) thermal conductivity provided by conventional thermal pastes.
A lot of high-performance machines, mostly pre-built computers use liquid metal. These pre-built systems from OEMs are built by «experts» who have their ways of working with liquid metals. Then again, there’s no way to tell how efficiently they’ve applied liquid metal to the CPU. It’s also a good practice to open up these pre-built PCs to check if they spilled any liquid metal on the motherboard or other components. You may be able to claim a replacement unit in that case, which you should.
Liquid metal, however, cannot be used with compressor cooling methods, so you’ll have to stick to other options like the Noctua NT-h2 if you’re dealing with those kinds of sophisticated builds.
Source: Thermal Grizzly
Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut
The Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut is a liquid metal thermal solution for enthusiasts looking to get their hands dirty with sophisticated builds involving overclocked CPUs.
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Best premium thermal paste: Arctic Silver 5
Source: Arctic
Arctic Silver, as we mentioned earlier, is one of the most popular manufacturers in the thermal paste space due to the different kinds of solutions they offer. Artic’s Silver series is also extremely popular among enthusiasts. The Silver series has also been around for quite some time now and the company has managed to keep it relevant in the space by adding newer, better variants to match the current standards. The Arctic Silver 5 is currently one of the most popular thermal paste solutions on the market. It’s a high-density polysynthetic silver compound that’s known to be very effective in a variety of builds. It contains micronized silver and several other thermally conductive ceramic particles to offer a high level of performance and stability.
The Arctic Silver 5 happens to be one of the most premium solutions on the market. It’s made using 99.9% pure silver, or so the manufacturer claims.
Arctic says the paste uses three unique shapes and sizes of pure silver particles to maximize particle-to-particle contact area and thermal transfer. Maintaining good contact is the key to having a good quality paste and Arctic achieves that with premium compounds. It also contains over 88% thermally conductive filler to add more weight to the substance. In addition to micronized silver, Arctic also uses sub-micron zinc oxide, aluminum oxide, and boron nitride particles. All these compounds work together to improve overall performance. They also help the paste to offer long-term stability.
Arctic Silver 5’s consistency is engineered for easy application. The paste doesn’t contain any silicone, so it has low viscosity compared to some other paste in this collection. The compound thins out during the initial use to make it easier for users to apply it on the CPU IHS. Low viscosity also ensures the best physical contact between the heatsink and the CPU IHS. It thickens slightly over the next 50 to 200 hours of use before reaching its final consistency for long-term stability.
This means Arctic Silver 5 has a break-in period, unlike other compounds like Noctua NT-h2. This isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker, though. In fact, most users prefer this behavior of the paste as it allows for easy installation.
This particular thermal paste is not electrically conductive, as it should be. Electrically conductive thermal compounds like liquid metal, for instance, are difficult to work with. They come with the risk of harming your entire PC should anything go wrong during the installation. Arctic Silver 5, on the other hand, is relatively safer. However, it’s still a good idea to keep it away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. Silver 5 is slightly capacitive and it could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths. The Arctic Silver 5 is available in two sizes — 3.5 and 12 grams — and you also get an applicator tool with it. Its thin consistency should ideally make it easier to install but it doesn’t hurt to use the applicator, especially if you’re dealing with thermal paste for the first time.
You can check the availability of the compound using the link below.
Source: Arctic
Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste
The Arctic Silver 5 happens to be one of the most premium solutions on the market. It’s made using 99.9% pure silver to maximize the particle-to-particle contact area.
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Best Thermal Paste: Final Thoughts
That brings us to the end of this particular collection involving the best thermal paste on the market. All the thermal solutions mentioned in this collection are excellent options and offer enough thermal conductivity for most use-cases. It mostly comes to the ease of use and consistency that you prefer. We think most users will be satisfied with either the Arctic MX-5 or the Noctua NT-h2 thermal paste. They are both readily available in the market and relatively easy to use. Liquid metal solutions like Thermal Grizzly’s Conductonaut are difficult to work with, but they also offer the best thermal conductivity. Alternatively, you can also consider buying thermal pads from Thermal Grizzly if you don’t want to deal with a paste.
A lot of manufacturers often tend to repackage the same thermal paste with marginal upgrades, so you’re not likely to find a lot of newer options on the market. That being said, you can keep an eye on this page as we’ll try to accommodate new thermal paste solutions as they get launched. This is perhaps the best time to build a PC as the computing space is buzzing with new releases like Windows 11 and Intel’s new Raptor Lake chips. In case you’re building a new computer, then you might want to consider checking out some of our other collections including the best monitors or even the best webcams. You can also join our XDA Computing forum to join others in discussing everything in the world of computing.
Best Thermal Paste 2023 [Reviews + Guide]
Having an effective thermal paste is an essential yet underrated aspect of building a good gaming PC.
While your GPU will come with thermal paste already applied, this will only last for so long.
Your CPU most likely won’t come with any thermal paste at all! If your item has already been sitting on a shelf for a few years, chances are the thermal paste is already pretty worn out!
As such, you’ll want to replace or apply new thermal paste on most devices you buy, and you should replace it every few years on computers that you own, too.
If you don’t, your devices could eventually start to overheat with time.
However, your quest doesn’t stop there – you’ll have to decide which thermal paste you want to apply first. There are many different types and brands of thermal paste, and to the uneducated consumer, they might all seem the same.
But actually, each one has valuable strengths and weaknesses that you’ll want to consider before buying or using one of them.
So, if you’re looking for what type of thermal paste best fits your needs, this buying guide is for you. Keep reading to find out what the best thermal paste brand currently is.
- Safer than liquid metal
- Easy to apply
- Excellent performance
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- Best performance
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- Fool-proof application
- Reusable
- Long shelf life
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Table of ContentsShow
How We Tested
While thermal paste conductivity numbers are important, the raw performance numbers are what you’ll need to look at to decide which thermal paste is best for you.
For most users, the deciding factors will be a combination of real-world performance and price.
We used HWiNFO for our CPU stress tests. We tested the various thermal pastes on our $800 build PC, which features the following parts:
- AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Windforce OC
- 16 GB of Corsair Vengeance LPX
- Wraith Stealth Air Cooler
What Is Thermal Paste?
Thermal paste (or thermal grease) is a thermally conductive compound that helps to dissipate the heat generated by your computer’s CPU or GPU. Believe it or not, air acts as a thermal insulator, so even having a tiny air gap between the internals in your PC can cause heat build-up. This is where thermal paste comes in.
What do we mean by thermally conductive? Well, this means that the thermal paste will heat up quickly, transferring the heat between the processor and its heat dissipators, whatever they might be.
Many computers will have fans that help to dissipate heat and are often paired with fins that offer more surface area to release the heat into the air.
Other setups will use liquid cooling, which is a superior method of cooling your PC. It’s more expensive, though, and it can be challenging to set up.
In a computer, it’s usually the CPU and the GPU that need coolers to operate correctly. However, a GPU will often come preassembled with thermal paste, onboard fans and fins (or pipes) already put together. While it’s possible to replace the thermal paste in a GPU, it’s a bit more complicated, and you run the risk of damaging the unit if you don’t know how to disassemble it.
However, you will often be purchasing your CPU cooler independently of the CPU itself, so you’ll always want to apply thermal paste between the two before you assemble everything.
How Thermal Paste Works
When you put two pieces of metal next to each other, theoretically, heat should be able to transfer between them effortlessly. However, while your CPU and your CPU cooler might look like they’re flush against each other, on a microscopic level, this isn’t actually the case.
There will always be small areas of air caught between your CPU and its accompanying cooler, no matter how well you think they’ve been pressed together. This is where thermal paste comes in! Because thermal paste starts as a liquid, it flows into all of the microscopic abrasions and cavities that might exist between your devices and their cooling components.
As we mentioned earlier, air acts as a thermal insulator. As such, if there are air pockets between your cooler and your CPU or GPU, the air will work a bit like a winter jacket, keeping the heat in the CPU. Not only will this damage your CPU if temperatures are allowed to go too high, but it also renders your cooler useless!
Thermal paste bridges all the little gaps between your heatsink and your processing unit, allowing heat to flow between them uninterrupted.
However, some thermal paste brands work better than others. We’ll dive deep into the differences between the various types of thermal paste in the section below.
Thermal Paste Types
Thermal pastes and greases can vary in many different ways. To start, there are several different kinds of thermal paste, such as silicone, graphite, liquid metal, ceramic, and carbon-based types. Thermal pads also exist, and although these have been inferior to thermal grease for many years, solutions that can perform equally to thermal grease have started to appear on the market.
In our lineup, we feature mostly ceramic-based thermal paste, which is the most affordable type and the easiest to apply, while also being very effective. Still, some carbon-based and liquid metal thermal greases made our best picks list, too. We also feature one thermal pad in this article.
Keep in mind that thermal paste compositions tend to vary between manufacturers, too. Each manufacturer closely guards the secrets of their own paste’s formulation, and some work better than others.
Ceramic thermal paste is made from — you guessed it — ceramic.
This paste is thermally conductive but not electrically conductive. As such, they’re the easiest and safest to apply to your processors. They’re also the most popular, and they tend to be affordable, too.
Metal, on the other hand, is both thermally and electrically conductive. As such, liquid metal thermal pastes can be dangerous if not applied correctly.
While liquid metal thermal grease is easily the most effective of the thermal greases available today, if you spill even a little bit on the other components of your PC, you could cause unwanted damage. It’s also far more expensive than the other types of thermal paste we feature here.
Carbon-based thermal pastes are similar to ceramic thermal pastes in that they are thermally conductive, but not electrically conductive. Carbon-based thermal pastes also apparently have a longer shelf life than other types of thermal paste.
Thermal pads come in several different materials, but the most common are silicone and graphite.
These pads are firm at room temperature, but once the CPU hits higher temperatures, they soften, melting into the air pockets between your heatsink and CPU.
Some thermal pads are even reusable, meaning you can keep the pad if you upgrade your CPU or heatsink. Thermal pads have historically been unable to compete with thermal paste and grease in terms of cooling performance, but this has started to change.
How To Apply Thermal Paste
For beginners, applying thermal paste might seem daunting. After all, applying an excessive amount of thermal paste can result in performance issues for your PC, as can applying too little! This danger is only multiplied when using something like liquid metal thermal grease, which can cause permanent damage to your computer’s internal components if misapplied.
For most standard thermal pastes, such as the ceramic and carbon-based types, all you need to do is squeeze a pea-sized amount onto the area where the heatsink contacts the outside of the CPU.
When you press the two pieces together during assembly, the thermal paste will spread out between them, filling any gaps or air bubbles.
Some ceramic thermal pastes may come with a spreader and instructions to spread the thermal grease before applying. We always recommend following the manufacturer’s directions for these pastes.
Application with liquid metal thermal paste is a bit different and involves spreading a very thin layer between the components of your PC. Again, always consult the manufacturer’s directions before applying your chosen thermal paste.
Using a thermal pad is as simple as removing any leftover thermal grease, then placing the pad between the heatsink and the CPU. Some of them can even be reused between different systems (with varying degrees of effectiveness).
Our Thermal Paste Results
The Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut is Thermal Grizzly’s answer to consumers needing a reliable, high-quality, and inexpensive ceramic thermal grease.
However, because of this, it occupies a strange space between other ceramic pastes and the Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut.
It’s the most expensive ceramic paste in our lineup, but the temperature advantage over the next runner up (Gelid Solutions GC Extreme) is minimal.
While Thermal Grizzly’s products are undeniably high-quality, they tend to be more expensive than the competition. The unique performance of the Conductonaut thermal grease is a different story, but is there any reason to pay more for the Kryonaut when other competing pastes cost half as much?
The answer is: if you’re looking for the best possible performance out of your thermal grease or plan to do some overclocking, but you aren’t willing to make the jump to liquid metal (or you’re planning to apply both), get the Kryonaut.
While the temperature difference between the Kryonaut pastes and the other ceramic pastes in this lineup is small, those few degrees can make a massive difference if you overclock or otherwise push your PC’s performance.
This is where the Kryonaut will truly show its usefulness.
Thermal Grizzly’s Conductonaut has been the leader in thermal paste performance for several years now. However, that incredible performance comes at a price. To begin, the Conductonaut paste is a liquid metal paste, meaning it can cause damage to different parts of your computer system if misapplied.
Additionally, you’re out of luck if your CPU has an aluminum heat sink or cover. The Conductonaut paste will react with any aluminum it comes into contact with, leaving ugly black marks and damaging the metal. It won’t be able to do its job in this situation, either.
Many users choose to use Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut between the die of the CPU itself and the CPU cover, then use a ceramic thermal grease between the cover and the heatsink. This is an option for performance aficionados, too, if you’re familiar with and confident performing the process.
We don’t recommend removing your CPU cover unless you know what you’re doing, especially when messing with conductive materials like Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut.
The Gelid Solutions GC Extreme is another premium paste that results in low temperatures and steady clock speeds.
Conveniently, the GC Extreme comes in three sizes: you can purchase it in the standard 1 gram tube, a slightly larger 3.5 gram tube with an included spreader, or a 10 gram tin. This will be a convenient option for PC builders or repairers who replace thermal paste regularly.
The Gelid Solutions GC Extreme also boasts no curing time. This means that you can put it on, and it should do its job right away. Some other thermal pastes, especially those with thicker formulations, need to be heated or otherwise “burned-in” before they’ll show their full effect.
These pros make the Gelid Solutions GC Extreme stand out from the pack, and its performance is nothing to scoff at. However, as a ceramic thermal paste, it doesn’t quite measure up to the Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut, and at about the same price, it seems like a generally inferior choice.
The Gelid Solutions GC-2 is Gelid’s budget-friendly answer to those looking for an inexpensive thermal paste. At the same price as the GC Extreme, but with a stock 7-gram bottle, you get nearly seven times the product for the same price.
However, in the context of our study, the GC-2 does leave something to be desired in terms of performance. It comes in a full degree Celsius hotter than the GC Extreme.
That being said, this thermal paste does provide extraordinary value. Assuming you use enough thermal paste to go through the whole bottle before it expires, you would end up saving approximately 80% of your hard-earned money.
Someone who goes through a lot of thermal paste and isn’t concerned with maxing out performance would see amazing benefits from this paste. However, to the typical PC user or builder, this paste will be more than necessary volume-wise and less than you need performance-wise.
Released in 2019, Noctua has released a newer, better version of their previous thermal paste, and it’s none too shabby.
While it only hits the middle of the pack performance-wise, this thermal paste is an excellent value. It comes standard in a 10-gram tube, meaning it’s excellent for substantial or repeated applications.
Like the Gelid Solutions GC-2, the sheer size of the Noctua NT-h2 makes it a bit excessive for many builders, especially if you only need one small application from it. Since the NT-h2 costs about twice as much as a tube of Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut, it would be a definite downgrade for just one use. However, for larger projects, you really can’t go wrong with this paste.
The Arctic MX-4 has been a staple of thermal compound users everywhere for generations. However, as newer and better compounds have entered the market, the Arctic MX-4 has fallen to the middle of the pack in terms of performance. While it still provides excellent thermal transfer at an appealing price, it is no longer the best option on the market.
However, the Arctic MX-4 paste is still unique because of its composition.
It’s the only carbon-based entry in our lineup, so users explicitly looking for this will likely default to this paste. Because of its unique structure, it’s difficult to compare the MX-4 paste with other ceramic pastes.
In the end, it will be up to the user to decide whether the MX-4 is usable for them. While very affordable in a stock 4-gram tube and trusted for many years, it’s undeniably no longer the best. However, its loyal following means it will remain a contender for years to come.
The Arctic Silver 5 is another unique addition to the world of thermal paste and thermal grease. This is because the Arctic Silver 5, as the name suggests, contains small, suspended silver particles that assist with the thermal conductivity of the paste.
However, just like the Arctic MX-4, the Arctic Silver 5 has been overtaken by newer, superior brands of thermal grease in recent years. While it still performs admirably, even the thermal pad in our lineup beat out the Arctic Silver 5 paste in terms of performance.
Unfortunately, these specs don’t make the Arctic Silver 5 much of a contender, and its position is hurt all the more by the fact that the Silver 5 can potentially cause some electrical conductivity issues. While Arctic Silver maintains that the paste is not conductive, they recommend taking extra care not to spill it on your computer’s internal components anyway.
The Kingpin Cooling KPx thermal compound is a bit of a wild card among the thermal pastes in our lineup. The first thing users will notice is that the paste is blue instead of white or grey. The next thing they will notice is that the adhesive is extraordinarily thick. In fact, it’s recommended that you heat the paste slightly before applying, as it doesn’t spread easily otherwise.
Besides this slight barrier to use, the KPx paste shows excellent performance on our tests. However, it’s important to remember that thick pastes like the KPx must be applied differently than thinner ones.
Additionally, this compound is a bit more expensive than similar ones in our lineup, though it still comes in cheaper than the Kryonaut, Conductonaut, and GC Extreme.
Cooler Master has been an active business to follow when it comes to PCs, accessories and other tech-related gadgets. However, the Cooler Master High Performance Thermal Compound performed disappointingly in our stress tests.
While it’s still a viable thermal paste option, of course, it performed the worst out of all of the pastes we tested. It’s also not the cheapest option on the list, either.
As such, we really believe that this Cooler Master thermal compound should not be considered as an option when compared to our other contenders. As a standard ceramic thermal paste, it has no obvious advantages over our superior thermal pastes, and its performance and price are substandard.
However, we should note that some of Cooler Master’s other thermal grease options, such as the Cooler Master MasterGel Maker Nano, make a much better showing.
As we mentioned before in this article, thermal pads have not been effective enough in past years to warrant choosing them over a high-quality thermal paste. However, recently, that trend has started to change. This thermal pad from Innovation Cooling features graphite, an ultra-conductive material found in pencils and other sources.
While the Innovation Cooling thermal pad still can’t compare to high-end thermal greases, its numbers are nothing to scoff at. On top of that, thermal pads are increasingly attractive options because of their ease of use. Just clean off any thermal grease residue from your CPU and cooler, then place the thermal pad between them.
Additionally, Innovation Cooling claims that its thermal pad can be reused several times. Even though the small Innovation Cooling thermal pad costs as much as a bottle of Kryonaut, the fact that it can be used over and over again is compelling. Also, unlike thermal greases, this thermal pad has a near-indefinite shelf life, whereas many thermal greases will dry up or lose efficacy after several years.
How We Chose The Best Thermal Paste Products
When we test products to include in our buyers’ guides, we’re always looking for the ones that are useful and reliable to the consumer. As such, we like to provide a representation of the wide variety of products available while also choosing only the best options for you.
In the end, we believe that the Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut is the best option for an experienced PC builder. While it’s the most expensive of the ceramic thermal pastes in this lineup, as far as PC additions go, thermal grease is not typically a significant expense anyway. It’s worth dropping a dollar or two more for a thermal grease that you know will offer superior performance.
We also think that the Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut is an excellent additional option for true PC enthusiasts looking to push their overclocking to the max. However, we do recommend that only experienced and confident users purchase it, both because of its difficulty of use and its inherent dangers.
Lastly, we believe that beginners and experienced users alike might want to consider trying the Innovation Cooling Graphite Thermal Pad if they’re feeling adventurous. As a reusable, easy-to-install and long-lived option, the potential of this cooling pad is very high. However, as this is a newer product that’s only just gaining a following, some users will still want to stick to their own picks instead.
Some of the products on this list are returning contenders that have been reliable options for years, while others are newcomers on the market that have enormous potential. Whatever your experience and budget, we’re sure you’ll find a perfect fit among these picks!
Reviews for thermal grease exegate ett-2wmk standard 8 g from buyers and craftsmen
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Thermal pastes and thermal pads ExeGate
- Thermal grease ExeGate ETT-2WMK Standard 8 g
code: 0705561
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| Thermal conductivity : |
1. 63W/(m*K)
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| Weight: | 8 g |
| Warranty: | 12 months. |
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qualifying round / PC platform / iXBT Live
Hello everyone! I have been buying, studying and testing thermal pastes with Ali for a long time. Nobody knows almost all of these pastes, and due to my own curiosity, I bought and tested them. I did not think that the number of tests would be so large. I continued to buy and accumulate test results, someone reading this material saw them. I have plans for thermal paste tests and while I’m in the process of implementing those plans, I’ll post the results I’ve got so far. We meet, the result of my acquaintance with a lot of thermal paste! Let’s go!
Contents
- Test Participants
- Test Stand and Test Method
- Specifications
- Results
- Price
- Bottom Line
Before I Go To My Test Results, I’ll ALL call the qualifying round, before a more serious test.
I began to test pastes on the first iron that came across, which I did not feel sorry for if I ruined it. It was too late to retreat from the test hardware at some point, the accumulated material could be compared with new results, etc. I will describe the test bench and methodology later, first I will go through the participants in the race.
Test participants
The list of pastes will be compiled in chronological order for me. Those. I will begin listing the pastes in the order in which I received and tested them.
I will introduce you in parties: a group photo + a very brief description. I will try to be as brief as possible, otherwise there will be sheets of text.
GD900 — Pasta, which I have been working with for several years and am satisfied with it to this day, inexpensive and quite effective. There are both good samples of pasta, and incomprehensible in quality. The paste is grey. The container is varied. I tested it with heat and time.
Aigo ZER-07 — The first golden paste.
HY880 — The first Halnziye paste I met.
GD900-1 — An improved version of the paste, according to the manufacturer. contains silver. A little more expensive, a little better, grey. The container is varied.
GD007 — The crowning achievement of Foshan High Conductivity Electronics. Even more expensive, even more efficient, also gray. The container is versatile.
HY510 — Plain gray and cheap paste. The container is varied.
HY410 — Also a simple entry-level paste. White, various containers.
Aerocool Baraf she was periodically asked to test, the color is gray. At the time of the review, it was quite fresh pasta, and therefore interesting for many.
Aerocool Baraf-S — An improved version of the Baraf. We slightly improved the thermal resistance parameter and that’s it.
PCCooler GT-1 — The paste I had high hopes for. Expensive and excellent according to the description, and almost a brand. Color grey.
Shin-Etsu 7783 — Japanese guest at the Chinese site.
My copy of the paste was VERY thick and difficult to apply. Color grey.
PCCooler GT-2 — After testing the first version, I couldn’t just skip the second version, which is even more expensive and has better specs.
HY710 — Despite my prejudice against silver and other «colored» pastes, I couldn’t just skip a sample. Silver. The container is varied.
HY810 — Another gray paste from Halnziye. The container is varied.
Thermalrigth TFX — This paste brought my test bench to its knees. One of the top thermal pastes. Expensive, effective, branded. From her, I realized that I ran into a test bench and I needed to change something, and more specifically, EVERYTHING.
Liquid metal (pure gallium) — I spent a long time approaching this thing, studying it for a long time. And she really impressed me. The review was great and interesting. Sold in different forms, including syringes.
GD100 — One of the initial pastes from Foshan. White and simple. The container is varied.
GD220 — And this is one of the initial pastes from Foshan, but in gray. The container is varied.
GD280 — White paste variant. The container is varied.
HY610 — A golden paste that I was very interested in. The container is varied.
GD450 — Golden version of the paste, but from Foshan. There are a lot of containers.
GD380 — Gray paste, it seemed to me that this was a clone of their own pastes. And this feeling will visit me more than once. There are a lot of containers.
GD460 — Silver from Foshan. There is also a choice of containers.
DRG-102 — Non-name gray, cheap enough.
HC-151 One of the pastes in the HC-xxx series. the manufacturer is not clear, but there are several similar pastes. Color grey.
ZP 1.22 W / mk — Thermal paste without a name, but with the label ZP, there are also several such pastes. White color.
GD66 — Another starter paste. Gray.
HT-GY260 — Another gray non-name. Lots of execution options.
And with different thermal conductivity.
YJ-W100 — Incomprehensible gray paste, incomprehensible because there is a white one with the same name.
PCCooler A1 — Top paste from PCCooler. Gray.
YJ-G190 — Another paste from the category of unknown to anyone. Gray.
AVE 1.17 W/mk — Available in sachets only. Gray.
火箭 (Fire Arrow(Rocket)) 5.93 w/mk — Not a word in Russian or English. Gray.
HT-GD660 — Another «gold». Merciless. Lots and cheap.
HY420 — One of the HY4XX variants. White.
ZF-12 — Application for the title of one of the top purebred Chinese pastes. Gray.
Stars-700 — A silver version of thermal paste from a well-known manufacturer, many people know Stars-922 thermally conductive adhesive. Silver color.
YJ-W100 — One lot, another comes, and we have two pastes of different colors with the same name. China… White.
HT-WT160 — White and cheap paste.
HY-A8 — A separate class of pastes from Halnziye.
Gray.
HC-131 — White, expensive and most likely useless paste.
JSD-2042Y — Again, replacing one unknown paste with another. Silver.
Arctic MX-4 2019 — I could not get around the «legend» side, especially the latest version. The color is grey, of course.
HY-A9 — Another gray paste from Halnziye’s upper echelon.
HY883 — The oldest of the HYXXX thermal pastes. Those. positioned as the best cheap Halnziye. Gray.
HY-T1 — Strange pasta, but richly equipped. Gray.
GD32 — The cheapest of the Foshan range. White.
HY-P11 — Serious gray paste.
HT-SR760 — Another «silver». Expensive.
HY-P13 — Top paste from Halnziye. Effective and expensive gray paste.
HY530PI — A fun pink version of the paste. Interesting)
TU-746 — White non-name. The description states that both solder paste and thermal paste.
ZC-T001 — Non-name grey.
HC-TG150 — An extremely cheap and effective non-name. It is not known what will happen over time.
Arctic MX-2 2019 — Another updated «legend». Gray.
Vipben — Nothing is known, only the color is white.
PCCooler A3 — Gray paste from more or less brand.
Huitixi — Silver paste from a certain company Huitixi. There are several pastes with such a company, that’s all with the information.
Jakemy JM-SW-02 — A good gray paste from a fairly well-known tool manufacturer.
KPT-8 from «Connetor» — A good example of KPT-8. White color.
Kafuter K-5211 — Thermal paste from the manufacturer of sealant and thermally conductive adhesive. White.
Aigo Pro Gaming — Gray paste from a manufacturer of computer cooling systems and more.
QM850 — Unknown gray animal. It happens in banks.
DHAS-12 — Rare gray thermal paste. Expensive and efficient.
TanbasshMX-4G900 — Fresh pasta that combines the names of both MX-4 and GD900. Grey.
IArmour (IN.CLOON) S6 — Rare, with a complex and unpronounceable name, thermal grease.
Expensive and efficient. Gray.
Aigo Pro — Another gray paste from Aigo.
Aigo ZER-09 — Silver thermal paste from Aigo.
Aigo Pro 11 — Pre-top thermal paste among the company’s range. Gray.
Aigo Pro 13 — Aigo Top Paste. Gray.
ZF-12 Evo — Upgrading a good thermal paste from Thermagic. Gray.
ZF-14/ZF-EX Top thermal paste from Thermagic. Gray.
Snowman MTG2 — Thermal grease from the creators of the cooler of the same name. Gray.
Alseye T9+ Platinum — Alseye’s top thermal paste. Gray.
Test stand and testing methodology
I conducted the tests on rather old hardware: AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2 GHz 125W stepping C3, which I overclocked to 3.8 GHz and cooled it in my own way with a wonderful Zalman CNPS10 Performa cooler. As a heating pad, I used Stress FPU and AIDA64 software, the stone is old, so it warmed up about the same on LinX, on Prime95, which is on OCCT. Therefore, it was easier for me to take AIDA for both heating and monitoring.
The test was run for 45 minutes, at a temperature of 23.5 degrees Celsius, doors and windows closed from drafts. Applying with a drop, then pressing and twisting the heatsink and then tightening the screws. If the paste is thick, then pre-warmed the paste and surfaces. Each change of paste: removal with cotton pads, then degreasing with Nefras C2-80/120 «galoshes» / «galoshes».
Features
the table turned out to be large, or rather long, I’ll hide it under the spoiler. 9
Belly
15 W/M*K to 300
Gray
63 W/M*K 0
900 900 900
96 W/M*K 
17 W/m*K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. M*K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K ? BELL
?
900.
50 to 200
2.5 W/M*K
9 -30 to 280
5.5 W/m*K
2 W/M*K to 300
5 W/M*K I took the characteristics from where it turned out. Where there are official sites, I took from there. Somewhere from the pages of stores. If there were different data, then I entered those that came across more often. And where there is no data, then they are not, I will not invent them.
Results
Price
Prices have not been updated for about 3-4 months, but the price usually does not change much, so I decided to add this chart for reference.
Total
Let’s summarize my testing on 03.21. A lot of pastas have been tested. There were all sorts of cheap and expensive, effective and stupid, well-known and generally dark horses. And many more combinations of these options.