AS5 vs AC MX-4 Thermal Paste.

[ArCElM]

Hi,

I always used Arctic Silver 5 for many years now however I happen to have a new CPU and I have some Arctic Cooling MX-4 so I am happy to try that.

I wanted to ask though two things, one: from what I have read there is not much difference between this and arctic silver 5 so I do nto need to worry about that? and two: is there anything I should do differently using this thermal paste instead of AS5 - like should I basically use it in the same way? apply it the same way? etc.

I have a H80 and the CPU will be an i7 2700K


MANY thanks.

[graphic harbour]

hi ArCElM, i have a couple of links that should help,
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/artic...-Compound/1303
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/artic...rmal-Paste/274
I hope this helps, by the way this is the thermal past i have used on my 3930k
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/13...tl=g8c127s1493

[zanzabar]

as far as thermal paste goes as5 is anchient and outdated. anything modern will do a few c better than as5, and mx-2 or mx-4 will not dry out like as5 will. i really like mx-2 since it is cheap and spreads thin when applying pressure but mx-4 performs a little better.

[Salamndar]

AS 5 is a classical good old thermal paste, most of mediocre modern thermal pasts will outperform AS 5.

MX4 is waaaaaaaay better than AS 5, I personally prefer GeLID extreme, in fact all my 3 graphics cards and CPU are greased by it .

[AMDforME]

as far as thermal paste goes as5 is anchient and outdated. anything modern will do a few c better than as5, and mx-2 or mx-4 will not dry out like as5 will. i really like mx-2 since it is cheap and spreads thin when applying pressure but mx-4 performs a little better.

This statement is simply NOT true so please do not continue to perpetuate this false information.

Any number of TIM tests will show that AS5 is one of the top TIMs available, period. It isn't outdated because it still performs very well as objective, sicentific testing confirms.

Any of the top 25+ TIMs will be within a couple degrees of each other. Use whatever TIM makes you happy because your CPU will not know the difference with 1C-2C change.

This is just one link. You will find numerous other TIM test by Tom's, Anandtech and others that all mirror these results. Any tests that shows big differences in any of these TIMs in likely to be bogus.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/artic...ry-2012/1490/5

As we see from the test results, people's subjective opinions don't match the reality of scientific testing. You can pay a lot of money for hype and you are welcome to do so, but please don't mislead people with meritless, inaccurate technical information.

BTW, the reviewer at the above link, who has built a large TIM database, is a physics professor.

[tipes]

AS 5 is a classical good old thermal paste, most of mediocre modern thermal pasts will outperform AS 5.

MX4 is waaaaaaaay better than AS 5, I personally prefer GeLID extreme, in fact all my 3 graphics cards and CPU are greased by it .

Gelid extreme gets the thumbs up from me as well - superb stuff.

[lowdog]

6 of 1 half a dozen of the other.....a review was done a year or two back pitting all the name brands of thermal compounds head to head......results!....showed a degree or two difference at best, heck! even Vegamite was tested and was nearly as efficient as the top brand name thermal compounds. So just use whatever takes your fancy and then you won't have to worry about all the knots in your knickers.

[AMDforME]

Even mayonnaise works resonably well in a pinch. Really. It's far better than butter, spray cooking oil, mustard, etc. See the data link above.

[DefStar]

solder works better than mayonnaise, there is a review pitting the two up against each other but I can't find the link.

[AMDforME]

solder works better than mayonnaise, there is a review pitting the two up against each other but I can't find the link.

A lot of TIMs work better than mayo. The point was there are 25+ TIMs that are all within 1C-2C but if you were desperate you literally could use mayo and only be 3C hotter than the top TIMs. The link above shows the many options and how mustard, mayo and other food products perform when used as a TIM.

Thus it's pointless to worry about 1C-2C or to pay a premium for marketing hype. Buy whatever TIM makes you happy but don't deceive people with meritless opinions that aren't based in reality as this is a disservice to those looking for accurate tech info.

[ArCElM]

Thanks very much for some great information.

However my main question was, as I have only - EVER - used AS5, should I do anything even slightly different with MX-4 or use it in the exact same way?

Much thanks.

[AMDforME]

There is no magic to applying TIM. Most sources recommend a very small quantity about the size of an uncooked grain of rice be placed in the center of the CPU and then the cooler installed. That's all that is required. If you desire to be a little more fancy you can use even less than this amount of TIM and apply a translucent film across the CPU so thin that you can actually read the lettering on the CPU. The thinner the better as long as the CPU heat spreader and cooler base are both flat.

More TIM is not good as metal-to-metal contact is far better for heat transfer as TIM is an insulator compared to metal-to-metal contact. TIM is actually only intended to fill the surface scratches or minute imperfections. Most people use 10x the amount of TIM that should be used and this can cause higher temps and other issues when the TIM squeezes out and gets on the mobo components.

[zanzabar]

This statement is simply NOT true so please do not continue to perpetuate this false information.

Any number of TIM tests will show that AS5 is one of the top TIMs available, period. It isn't outdated because it still performs very well as objective, sicentific testing confirms.

Any of the top 25+ TIMs will be within a couple degrees of each other. Use whatever TIM makes you happy because your CPU will not know the difference with 1C-2C change.

This is just one link. You will find numerous other TIM test by Tom's, Anandtech and others that all mirror these results. Any tests that shows big differences in any of these TIMs in likely to be bogus.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/artic...ry-2012/1490/5

As we see from the test results, people's subjective opinions don't match the reality of scientific testing. You can pay a lot of money for hype and you are welcome to do so, but please don't mislead people with meritless, inaccurate technical information.

BTW, the reviewer at the above link, who has built a large TIM database, is a physics professor.

you could look at something done in a controlled environment with proper testing methods like from skinee http://skinneelabs.com/2011-thermal-...-comparison/2/ . AS5 has a cure time, is expensive, drys out, is hard to get a good mount, and is not as good as the silicone based compounds with aluminum oxide or diamond mixed in.

[AMDforME]

you could look at something done in a controlled environment with proper testing methods like from skinee http://skinneelabs.com/2011-thermal-...-comparison/2/ . AS5 has a cure time, is expensive, drys out, is hard to get a good mount, and is not as good as the silicone based compounds with aluminum oxide or diamond mixed in.

There are plenty of "controlled test" on the many TIMS and the reputable ones all mirror the link above which was the first one I grabbed with a search. Tom's Hardware, Anandtech and many others have done "controlled" tests and the results were virtually the same.

As far as AS5 the difference in temp from the cure time is typically 1C, which most people would never even know. AS5 is not expensive at all and is priced similar to most other quality TIMs - like $8. or less in the U.S. which is lower than most of the over-hyped TIMs that do not perform any better. You got to be kidding with such meritless comments as it's hard to get a good mount with AS5. Your comments are personal bias, not fact.

The TIM tests tell the facts and speak for themselves. If you want to believe the false information that you have posted that's just fine but it's simply not true as the scientific testing shows. As I suggested above people should buy whatever makes them happy but posting baseless, disparaging product information is wrong and a disservice to those who desire accurate technical info. - which you have NOT provide with your baseless subjective comments.

[Rob94hawk]

Is MX-4 the successor to MX-2?

[AMDforME]

Is MX-4 the successor to MX-2?

MX-4 is a newer TIM and the one Arctic is promoting the most. If you follow the link below it gives some basic tech info. on the two TIMs. MX-4 has a higher thermal conductivity than MX-2 so in theory it should transfer heat better but... if you look at the test results links below and there are many online, you'll see that the difference is either essentially zero or 1C-2C depending on the review test results, thermal load, margin of error, etc.

http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/cooling/thermal-compound.html

http://www.madshrimps.be/articles/ar...#axzz2RRJ7Ez4D

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/338...nd/index4.html

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/review...rformance.html

The bottom line is that ANY of the top ~25+ TIMs will be within 1C-2C so pick whichever one makes you happy.

What is important to understand is that your CPU is not going to show any significant performance improvement by a change in CPU temp of a couple degrees C so any of these TIMs including mayonnaise (short term), will work just fine because 100% metal-to-metal contact of the heat spreader to the heatsink is the objective for the best heat transfer and CPU/GPU/APU cooling. TIM is only intended to fill the micro scratches in the two surfaces. TIM is not meant to be spread on a CPU like peanut butter or cake frosting... as many people do.

[madmaxx]

AS5 Has been in my tool drawer for years, and it aint going anywhere anytime soon. It dries out, so what? Don't you service your PC every 6 months or so anyways? LoL

Pretty sure every paste eventually dries out or turns to glue LoL

Gonna be trying out some CoolLaboratory Liquid Ultra something or other but it wont be my go to paste, mainly because of cost.

[DefStar]

I just started a thread in the "Air Cooling" section about my disappointing experience with MX-4 on my HD 7950, here's a snippet:
"" Arctic MX-4 Lacks Longevity
So I bought a couple ounces of Arctic's MX-4 since there are so many reviews that rave about how great it is...and decided not to buy Silver since it's, and I quote, "old". So here is my experience from the past year with MX-4. I bought a Powercolor 7950 and mounted an Arctic Accelero Plus II (By the way Arctic, nice 6-year warranty? WTF) up to it and used MX-4 as my thermal compound:

12 months ago: idle temp-34C, load temp-64C
8 months ago: idle temp-34C, load temp-90C

Removed Accelero and re-applied MX-4:

8 months ago: idle temp-34C, load temp-64C
4 months ago: idle temp-34C, load temp-90C

Removed Accelero and re-applied MX-4:
4 months ago: idle temp-34C, load temp-64C
Yesterday: idle temp-34C, load temp-100C

Removed Accelero and re-applied MX-4:
Today: idle temp-34C, load temp-64C

Notice a trend here???? It's not dried or brittle either, its still just as creamy as when I put it on.. ""

So, I think there is something wrong with MX-4 in the long-run and so I will be trying something metallic based (electrically conductive) since I believe copper or silver is less likely to decompose over time in this application.

Longevity of thermal paste is a big deal, look at how our CPUs and GPUs mount up...most hardware mounts have cheap screws and just enough threads to hold it snug....they aren't made (especially stream-lined and cast stuff) to be frequently pulled off and remounted. That said, I just pulled the steel threads out of the base-plate of my Arctic Acellero last night--because it has maybe 3 1/2-turns of worth of thread in the plate that wear down every-time you put tension on it and thread a screw in (unless you use some kind of grease??? hmm idea...).

[Ket]

I've been using MX4 on my 7950 (custom fitted with a Gelid Icy Vision A) for a good 4-5 months now and load temps are the same as they were when I first applied it :/ Maybe the way you are applying it has something to do with it? (I know it shouldn't make any difference) I tend to just put a small blob exactly in the center of the die / IHS and let pressure do the rest.

[rubber5]

i have used both and all i can say is there is about 1-3c difference between them
but artic silver 5 is more of a pain to cleen up and harder st squeeze when cold its also thicker and costs more
im now using artic cooling mx4 and i love it plus i dont need to warm it up to get it out the tube lol

[Hazaro]

MX-4 Absolutely. I just did about 2 hours of research on TIM tonight.

you could look at something done in a controlled environment with proper testing methods like from skinee http://skinneelabs.com/2011-thermal-...-comparison/2/.

Agreed. Show me another review with the amount of data, photos, and this testing methodology.

http://skinneelabs.com/ac-mx-3-mx-4/2/