5 Thermal Compound 3.5g Tube

Despite building various computers and working on others, this the first time I have reviewed thermal paste. I have always believed that when it comes to certain PC components, there is no point in buying cheap as you will always end up having to replace it sooner; thermal paste is one of them. If you don't know, thermal paste is used to create a thermally fused bridge between a chip such as a CPU with a heat sink; this is done to ensure as much heat can be dissipated from the chip as quickly as possible. Why? Because we don't want anything to overheat and potentially cause permanent damage. Packaging: This came in a clear resealable bag. The tube itself is a spring loaded syringe that feels strong. Ease of use: I recommend sacrificing a small amount to start with as it is nearly always slightly watery compared to the rest of the tube. Firstly, you MUST wipe off any old thermal paste from the heat sink and chip that you wish to apply this too. I recommend using 99% rubbing alcohol and cotton buds to work off any residue. Once clean, apply a small line to the chip and very carefully put the heat sink down evenly so not to smear the paste. Tighten in a cross motion, that is, tighten screws as opposite pairs so that the load is even across the heat sink. Doing this will help spread the line of thermal paste in an even manner. Many people think you need to cover the chip entirely, you do not, don't forget, the heat sink is in contact with the chip anyway and the paste only serves as a very fine bridge between the two. Performance: I have used this on so any PCs and have only ever seen decreases in temperature. Notable examples include repairing an old Xbox 360 using different screws for the heat sink and replacing the paste with this stuff. The Xbox no longer overheats and still works now. This specific order was used for an old Acer Aspire Revo Nettop. In order to upgrade the hard drive I had to remvoe the heat sink. Because th eheat sink was coming off, I needed to replace the thermal paste. Running Kodi before showed idle CPU temps of 70-75 degrees. Since replacing, I haven't seen it go over 71 and idles at around 63. It seems to be often the case that factory used thermal paste just isn't as good quality as the dearer ones such as this. Value: Considering I still have at least 3g left, I'd say that I will get another three big uses out of this tube, and at £5.99 delivered next day, this is great value. Pros: - Spring loaded syringe - Thick compound - Excellent quality Cons: - Paste separates in storage (but all seem to do that) If you are looking for a thermal paste, buy this, you will not be disappointed.

Bought this as my tube of AS3 had dried up and I only had some standard thermal paste lying around and I needed to replace the graphic card on my Rock laptop. The graphic card's chips uses a set of thermal pads but the paste is needed for the CPU when reinstalling the fan and cooling assembly. The new card came before the thermal paste, my fault, so initially I used the standard paste I had lying around. Normal (browsing, checking emails, using Windows Explorer, watching an AVI video with KMPlayer types of thing) usage CPU temperature with the standard paste was 58-62C with idle around 56C. When the AS5 arrived and I used it, initially there was a ~5C difference between AS5 and the standard paste in similar usage (53-57C & 51C idle). But after a few days bedding in, (common with many of the more sophisticated formulations of thermal pastes) I lost another couple of degrees across the board (51-55C & 40 idle). Note, previous to replacing the graphic card, normal CPU temps, even though it had a better than standard paste on the CPU, was closer to the temps seen with the standard paste. Other bonus points, it has made a difference to the maximum temperature seen. Previously, when e.g. encoding video, which would push the CPU to max for long periods, max temperature would get up to around 88-90C. Now doing the exact same task, I never get above 83-84C. This is also reflected in the fact that now, even when doing some heavy lifting with the laptop, it is noticeable that the fan now runs for far shorter periods than it used to, i.e. the temperature drops far quicker. Though I have not changed any of the fan control settings in the BIOS or the on board SW I use. All in all, money well spent and a bargain at a fiver and a very pleasant surprise as it has produced far better results than I expected.

It is genuine and functions well. Easy to apply although like all paste it is a bit messy. There is usually enough in the tube to reapply if needed.

It’s the most well known and well received thermal paste on the market, and for good reason. It absolutely does the job, and it’s perfect for beginner builders due to how well it spreads against the CPU die regardless of application method. I would say that it’s thermal performance isn’t up to par with slightly more expensive options like the MX-4 or Kryonaut, but for something to keep in your back pocket when the better alternatives have run out, it’ll do the job.

Does the job, best on the market

I bought this as I am the owner of a Sony Vaio "F" series, with the Intel i7 processor. These models are prone to serious cooling or rather, lack of issues. The fan is constantly spinning at high rpm's. I decided to strip it down and clean the fan, and re-apply the thermal paste to both the CPU and GPU. Searching YouTube I found a video explaining the disassembly process. Once you have it disassembled give it a good blow out with the Air can. Then remove the fan and the attached copper piping, I was amazed looking at both the CPU and GPU which were absolutely covered in crusty old thermal paste, some parts on the top had no paste and down the sides was a mountain of crusty old paste spilling out on to both the processors!!!! Obviously who ever had applied this had no idea at all, Sony really should look into this as it really was bad, and I think this could be a major reason why Sony have had so many complaints about hot "F" series laptops. If you are planning on doing your machine you will need the following. A can of compressed air, cotton balls and cotton buds, Isopropyl alcohol, available at a pharmacy, a credit card or something similar, a very small flat head screwdriver. Starting with the copper pipe part, of the CPU and GPU apply plenty of alcohol to the copper pipe and rub away to break up the old paste I used cotton buds to gradually shift it, then move to the CPU and GPU, be careful here, and go easy again using cotton buds and lots of alcohol I cleaned the tops with care and for more stubborn areas around the sides I soaked liberally with alcohol and carefully picked away the hardest bits with a tiny flat bladed screwdriver. This took me over 30 mins just be patient as you go along, once you are finished, blow again with the air can to remove any minute debris. Take your Arctic Silver and apply a tiny amount to the GPU, approx. that of a very small grain of rice and apply to the top of the GPU, I used a cotton bud compressed tight to apply it evenly,, then get the credit card and smooth until very fine, then do the CPU with it being larger just apply a little more than the GPU, again smooth and apply, you do not need lots, just a thin coat! Allow to dry slightly for about 20 mins then clean up any excess around the CPU and GPU. Finally reassemble. Once I rebooted my temperatures had fallen from around 70c to an unbelievable 45c, and the fan is almost silent, good news is it can take 200 hours to bed in! so I expect the temps to drop even more. In summary a worthwhile investment worth every penny, and lots left should I need to do it again.

WARNING: SILVER BASED THERMAL PASTES ARE ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE, UNLIKE MOST CHEAP PASTES THAT COME FACTORY INSTALLED. BE CAREFUL TO ONLY GET IT ON THE CPU DIE AND NOT ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE CPU OR CIRCUITBOARD. CHECK YOUR FINGERS OFTEN AS YOU CAN SPREAD IT THAT WAY. I've used Arctic Silver 5 many times on desktop PCs and it works great. Basically, if you're going to take your heatsink off the CPU, you should always clean it and replace the paste before putting it back together, and this stuff is the enthusiast's standard. I won't say it will always drop temperatures by X degrees or slow the heat up or hasten the cool down of CPUs by Y seconds, but it is definately far superior to the goo that comes under many preinstalled CPUs and heatsinks. In this case, I opened my 1.5 year old laptop up, took out the fan, cleaned out the heatsink (which was almost totally blocked with dust), lubricated the fan with silicon based lubricant and replaced the CPU and GPU thermal pads with this product. Couldn't change the thermal pads on the northbridge and southbridge because there was a big gap that the pad was filling and paste can't fill big gaps. Cleaning the heatsink made the most difference, lubricating the fan made the least but it stopped the fan from groaning; but all together my computer went from fluctuating at idle 55-80 degrees as it did background tasks, to idling at 40 and only reaching 70 after a couple of minutes hard CPU stressing with "StressPrime". A massive improvement.

Despite the 200 hour break-in period which I am still to reach, I have noticed a massive improvement in my temperatures. I have a Toshiba Satellite L500 laptop which used to have a T6500 core2 duo which used to run idle at 45 to 50, and would easily reach temperatures upto 65/70 which i consider not acceptable. The laptop is 3.5 years old now though. Rather than buying a new laptop I recently put in a new CPU, the P8600 2.4ghz which actually runs cooler, but only just at idle of 40C. I used some cheap ebay paste, the 2 for a pound type ones, but then I got some of this paste as it is relatively inexpensive (and i got the cpu from ebay for £10 which i considered a bargain so an extra £6 on paste wasnt too bad, especially as it will last an absolute age with how little you use per application). Following the instructions online, I applied a blob onto my CPU to spread into a thin layer across the surface, and I mean THIN, the metal reflection on the die should turn into a "translucent haze". Applying onto the metal of the heatsink is also a good idea as the paste will bridge the metal surface imperfections. My laptop CPU runs idle at 30C now, and with 100% load I havnt seen it climb over 52C, the fan pretty much never comes on. I just hope it continues to perform this well. The software I use to monitor hardware temperatures is called speedfan. A couple of comments about the product packaging, I did have it delivered by amazon prime, not sure if that makes a difference, but the product wasnt in OEM packaging, it was just in a small plastic bag, meaning no instructions or any useful hints/tips. I guess this is for a reason, people who buy this should really know what they are doing with it. I did my homework before buying this product and its important you do the same, check the arctic silver website for full application tips per processor family, it will tell you exactly what you need to do, apparently getting it wrong can give you worse performance.