Best Thermal Compound for CPU

[Jodiuh]

Here's what happened when I plastic baggied a glob of AS5 evenly on the CPU and then gently put a a thin layer of Zalman's STG on both HSF and CPU.

[IKIKUINTHENUTZ]

HMMM will any super fine diamond polishing compound do???
And what would you mix it with to make it a grease???

If you could use some normal diamond polishing compound and some silicon grease it wouldn't be very hard or expensive to make it.
They use man made and crappy diamonds to make those compounds anyway.

That makes me thinking. If it was that easy, wouldn't diamond paste be out long ago?

Also diamond and one of the 3 hardest substances. Think about those pressure mounts people often use on cpu IHS and heatsinks, chipsets, etc on anything that needs a tim to transfer heat. Now pressure mounting with a paste that has diamond dust in it and a copper heatsink and copper IHS, copper is 'softer' than diamond. Overtime, wouldn't the diamond be pushed into the copper making microscopic groves?

[KMEI]

I've ordered one Coollaboratory MetalPad for my Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme

But please enlighten me, can I use Liquid Pro on this heatsink? I've heard stuff which implies that it'll eat heatsinks not made out of copper.

[TheDoc]

Cool labs do not recommend you use an aluminum based heat sink
with Liquid pro as there is a reaction to the aluminum and the liquid pro
Hope this helps
Doc

[KMEI]

Is the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme made out of aluminium? I guess so, but you see, I'm clueless. Guess I'll go with the pads if that's it.

[SaII]

no ultra's base is made of copper with a nickel plating

[Machinus]

MX-1 seems to be the best combination of thermal conductivity, safety, and price.

[WSX]

I use MX-1 too ... cheap, cheerful & effective

[Jodiuh]

And it comes in a a vicious looking syringe!

[IFMU]

Just as a lil FYI.

IC Diamond 7 Carat Thermal Compound Now available from The Heatsink Factory. How it was developed and tested HERE.

Could be promising, looks like you get a decent amount for 5 bucks, before shipping. I'd say, maybe 5 to 10 applications. Not too bad.

IC Diamond 7 Carat Thermal Compound - 1.5 gram

IC Diamond 7 Carat Thermal Compound maximizes thermal heat transfer between the CPU core and heatsink by taking advantage of diamond’s superior thermal conductivity. Purified synthetic diamond has a thermal conductivity of 2,000-2,500 W/mK compared to 406-429 W/mK for pure silver. Diamond’s five times better thermal conductivity compared to silver makes it a superior heat transfer material for cooling high performance CPUs and is electrically non-conductive and non-capacitive.

Key Features
# Each tube of IC Diamond Thermal grease contains 7 carats of micronized diamond with diamond particle loadings @ 92% by weight, 94% after 10 minute dry-out prior to heat sink installation. Material loading above 90% is recommended as the best combination of rheological and thermal properties to minimize interface pump out due to thermal cycling.
# Superior bulk conductivity
# Excellent thermal impedance
# Tight particle distributions
# < 40 μ maximum particle diameter
# Silicone free
# Lower viscosity
# Greater stability
# Non capacitive or electrically conductive Application IC Diamond contains a solvent which enhances application to the CPU. For optimum results, after applying a thin coat of IC Diamond on the CPU, DO NOT install the heatsink for 10 minutes to allow solvent to evaporate.

Curing Time IC Diamond requires minimal time to attain peak performance; in most cases, IC Diamond will reach peak performance after two hours of use.

Stability IC Diamond is designed for stability – it will not bleed or separate in normal use.

Key Specifications
Thermal Conductance: 4.5 W/m-K (data acquired with an ASTM D – 5470 thermal interface test instrument)
Thermal Resistance: 0.25oC-cm2/W@ 100 μ BLT
Average Particle Size: <40 μ maximum particle diameter
Compliancy: RoHS Compliant.

[Machinus]

Could be promising, looks like you get a decent amount for 5 bucks, before shipping. I'd say, maybe 5 to 10 applications. Not too bad.

Has anyone tested this independently? Those are big claims.

[ChaosMinionX]

Sounds like it might be better than AS5 for NB,GPU applications , I very much doubt it will beat liquid metal though.

EDIT: Speaking of course about the 7carat diamond paste

[Jodiuh]

Screw $600 video cards...I proposed to my machine w/ this! Haha, seriously tho...someone buy it!

[swolfe]

Overtime, wouldn't the diamond be pushed into the copper making microscopic groves?

No, this would not happen.

[gOtVoltage]

MX-II replaced my AS-5 about three months ago!