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Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra vs Liquid Pro vs Phobya Liquid Metal

146K views 370 replies 101 participants last post by  Batboy 
#1 ·
Click here for new test results which now include Phobya Liquid Metal

I've been unable to find a comparison between these two compounds so I thought I'd compare them myself. I've had it confirmed by the CEO of Coollaboratory that Liquid Ultra is rated at 38.4w/mk and Liquid Pro is rated at 32.6w/mk.



System
CPU: Intel 3770K @ 4.7GHz 1.224v (de-lidded)
Mainboard: ASUS Maximus V Formula
Cooler: Corsair H100 (2x Corsair SP120/2x Scyte Ultra Kaze 3000)
Memory: 2x4GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer @ 2000MHz
SSD: Crucial M4 128GB
Graphics:Sapphire 7950
Case: Corsair 800D
Operating System:Windows 8 Pro x64

The case is very well cooled. There are a total of 9 case fans all intake. The H100 exhausts out the top.

I have a temp sensor measuring the room temperature. Attached to it is a sensor which is inside the case, next to the mainboard. There are 4 more temperature sensors attached to the fan controller at various points inside the case. The case temperature was recorded at the start, after 15 minutes, after 30 minutes, after 45 minutes and at the end of the testing. The average was then used.

I used the latest version of Aida64 running "Stress FPU" for 1 hour. FPU stressing means AIDA64 System Stability Test will use a floating-point calculation task that stresses the FPU part of your processor. Modern processors all have an integrated FPU, and from all the components that are integrated, the FPU is the most complex one. Hence stressing only the FPU actually stresses most of your processor, and usually drives the processor to its maximum temperature. The average core temperature is recorded by Aida64.

The compound was painted on the die, on both sides of the IHS and on the base of the H100. Each compound was applied, tested then re-applied and tested again. The best results were posted.

<update> I noticed no difference in temps when I applied the liquid metal to the underside of the IHS and when I didn't. The amount used however can have a dramatic effect on temps. Despite what others may say, I found that applying too much or too little caused a noticeable increase in temps. It's worth applying it multiple times if you believe your temps could/should be better. As you can see from these results using Liquid Ultra, the hottest core was only 53c with an average temp of 49c. I have so far been able to achieve the same results so I'm waiting for more to arrive so I can keep trying.



Liquid Ultra


Liquid Pro




Liquid Ultra has a delta temp of 3.1c lower than Liquid Pro in my system

3770K @ 5GHz 1.416v

Liquid Pro


Liquid Ultra




This time Liquid Pro was 1.71c cooler than Ultra.

If we use a +/- 2c margin of error there is nothing separating these two compounds. Liquid Ultra is better to work with. I wouldn't use the cotton tips that are supplied with Liquid Pro because I found more compound stayed on the cotton than on the IHS. Also there is the risk of cotton fibers sticking to the die or IHS which would impact temps. I used the brush that is supplied with Liquid Ultra which makes the application very easy.

Cleaning is another issue. Liquid Ultra simply wipes off but Liquid Pro often forms tiny balls which when accidentally smeared leaves quite a big mess. I had the stuff all over my fingers by the time I finished wiping it off.

If you are using one or the other than stick with it. There is nothing to gain by switching.
 
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#2 ·
Cool that you tested this tw33k. I have used both TIMs myself to see how they worked in my system. For my system I had PRO better than Ultra by 1-3C. Did you do the test multiple times in case it was just one application being better than the other the time it was done? I know I do not apply TIMs perfectly everytime I try and it would be great to know if your results were from 5-10 applications with highs and lows for each TIM to better account for mounting issues.

Lots of the guys on the delidding thread think PRO is better than Ultra too, so if you could get a good case of mounting samples showing that Ultra is better it might spark some additional testing on other systems too.
 
#4 ·
I only have 1 lot of each so I tested both of them twice and posted the best result.
 
#5 ·
Major thanks tw33k!

One batch of Liquid Ultra coming up!
 
#6 ·
nice test tw33k,
thanks for taking the effort and time to do this,
in general it seems liquid pro performs a bit better then liquid ultra in our delidded thread,
keep in mind theres always a fault tolerance of about 2-3C, one time you apply the tim better then other times etc..

liquid ultra is the new pro, its easier to clean later on, thats what we do know, i contacted Coollaboratory
again, to ask about the w/mk liquid pro has, we know for sure now the w/mk of liquid ultra, 38.4 w/mk,
liquid pro has a w/mk of 82 as far as we know..
my guess is, theres a " optimal" w/mk for use on the die,
the difference in w/mk gets less when its over a certain point, tempwise that is
smile.gif


i dont think if there was a tim with 150 w/mk, it will drop temps by alot more then using liquid pro on the die
theres a maximum in heat dispersion from the die to ihs, or to the cooler block(direct die)
 
#7 ·
Yes! Very good guide!
smile.gif


I applied pro on the CPU, then Ultra on the IHS. I ran out of ultra though as I stuffed up my 7950's application and tried a Pentium 4 IHS which failed.

For the record Ultra stains the bottom of the heatsink...
 
#9 ·
Thanks guys.

It would be good if those people who claim to have used both posted their results. It's not good enough to simply say "I found Pro performed better" Post proof otherwise it appears you're not being truthful
 
#10 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by tw33k View Post

Thanks guys.

It would be good if those people who claim to have used both posted their results. It's not good enough to simply say "I found Pro performed better" Post proof otherwise it appears you're not being truthful
Ive used both why do i need to Lie about it? Liquid Pro is better on the Die then Ultra ...

Also Ultra is just as hard to clean off as Pro so i donno ?

Maybe it is your App or the wimpy 1.24 v core you are using? for all we know Ultra could perform better with low V core and Pro with High V core?
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by tw33k View Post

Thanks guys.

It would be good if those people who claim to have used both posted their results. It's not good enough to simply say "I found Pro performed better" Post proof otherwise it appears you're not being truthful
I didn't accurately document my results of Pro vs Ultra. By the time I tested with Ultra on the same chip I used Pro on originally I was on a different motherboard. I do like that Pro has an actual needle on the syringe. The Ultra I bought had leaked out of the cap and was a mess. Probably the retailer or carriers fault but I wasn't happy. I got two applications out of it compared to the 7 applications I got of Pro.

The results didn't seem too far off though.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by stickg1 View Post

I didn't accurately document my results of Pro vs Ultra. By the time I tested with Ultra on the same chip I used Pro on originally I was on a different motherboard. I do like that Pro has an actual needle on the syringe. The Ultra I bought had leaked out of the cap and was a mess. Probably the retailer or carriers fault but I wasn't happy. I got two applications out of it compared to the 7 applications I got of Pro.

The results didn't seem too far off though.
Silence! he who ships fans and does not clean them first!
tongue.gif


You owe me 4 Qtips!
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by stickg1 View Post

LOL, I blew it off with 120 psi of compressed air. That's about all the cleaning I do bro. If I clean its with power tools, not with cleaning products
biggrin.gif
LoL i can tell u do not smoke or not much..

When i clean my fans after 3 months use the dust is like tar lol.
 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hokies83 View Post

LoL i can tell u do not smoke or not much..

When i clean my fans after 3 months use the dust is like tar lol.
I do but I'm not allowed to smoke inside because of the kids. Well I'm glad you got them in one piece, supposedly the entire spindle and blades comes off, I guess so you can clean them easier, IDK. I never tried.

Also I only used them for like 2 weeks. I got them replace some sickleflows because an anandtech review said they were so much better but they were actually the exact same performance and then I got some Corsair SP-120's for free on a newegg sale and a rebate card so I hadn't used them since.

Okay I'm done thread jacking/OT
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hokies83 View Post

Ive used both why do i need to Lie about it? Liquid Pro is better on the Die then Ultra ...

Also Ultra is just as hard to clean off as Pro so i donno ?

Maybe it is your App or the wimpy 1.24 v core you are using? for all we know Ultra could perform better with low V core and Pro with High V core?
lol...
 
#20 ·
5GHz results posted
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by tw33k View Post

5GHz results posted
Nice! I do like the little brushes that Ultra comes with, those are better than the cotton swabs IMO. I don't like the syringe with no needle, I find it harder to get the exact amount of TIM you need. With the Pro if you accidently squeeze out too much you can suck it back up with the needle.
 
#22 ·
i posted in your anandtech thread. I'm always searching on this topic, glad someone finally tested it.

Can you not use the rice grain method with liquid ultra/pro? I know the company says use the spread method, but every time I've done the spread method, my temps were about 5*C+ over rice grain method, and that's with multiple spreads and mounts. I know the company says to do it one way, but Prolimatech says you should use the spread method too and it just completely messed up temps.

Rice grain is so much better, unless Liquid pro/ultra viscosity in some way prevents rice grain (maybe it's super liquidy? I mean i dont have any so i dont know how it acts) I can't see spread being better than rice grain. All you need is enough to cover the die (when put on the IHS), everytime I used enough paste using rice grain method to spread out to cover the entire IHS, it ended up being way too much thermal paste.

I think it was hardwaresecrets that did a spread method comparison (without even testing temps...) and they concluded certain methods being better than others based on how well it spread out and covering the underside of the heatsink block, but the optimal amount in my tests was always when the TIM just barely covered over the die, like a circle half the size of the total area of the IHS.

edit: some guy on spreading liquid ultra saying spread is better than ricegrain but... doesnt really sound like he knows what he's talking about:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2072263

edit2: sounds like he shorted out his system by lapping a piece of metal into his pins
 
#23 ·
I never spread regular paste but I believe spreading this liquid metal is the best idea because it ensures the compound is evenly spread across the entire surface. I can't see it spreading out the way regular paste does.

I'm going to run the Ultra at 5GHz again because I can't shake the feeling that I used too much.
 
#24 ·
In the tests I did, you actually didn't want the paste spread across the entire IHS (if you used enough to do so, that would mean you used too much basically). But if you can't do the ricegrain method, then you can't do the ricegrain method.

Did you have any difficulty with either of the liquids staining or staying on permanently? That guy seemed to have an issue where he had to lap the ultra to get it off, that it was staining his heatsink and cpu ihs, ie it wasn't coming clean off like a normal paste would. the guy seemed half ******ed (lapping his block and letting it fall into his cpu socket and frying out his chip? *** was he doing).
 
#25 ·
Like I said, with regular paste I never spread it, I allow the pressure from the heatsink to do it.

As far as staining, the top of the chip is slightly stained but I've applied and removed the TIM quite a few times. The base of the heatsink is really stained to the point where I'd have to lap it to remove the stain which I am considering. I doubt it would impact temps but I'll need to do more testing to see. I've just ordered 3 more of both Pro and Ultra. I really wish I had room for a test-bench.
 
#26 ·
I don't think the grain of rice method will work with CL Pro or Ultra. It's not a paste, when you push some out of the syringe onto the die you get a liquid metal ball, kind of like a bead. To apply it you need to move it back and forth gently across the die and eventually you will break the surface tension and it will begin to spread, then you "paint" it onto the die. It is very runny, it is a very strange compound. Hard to describe, you will just have to see for yourself.

Putting TIM on a die is way different than putting TIM on an IHS. The entire die is active and generates heat, the entire die needs to be covered in TIM and make contact with the IHS. An IHS is just that, a heat spreader. It spreads the heat, the entire IHS is not active. That's why a small dot in the middle is ideal because the pressure of the block or cooler will spread the paste to cover, more often than not, the area of the die residing under it.

I would not recommend the grain of rice method on the die, especially with liquid pro/ultra. It would most likely stay in its bead like form and be pushed off the die. If you did somehow manage to set the IHS on the die perfectly level in all four corners instantaneously (which would be extremely difficult), it is likely that the compound would not cover the entire die unless you used way too much TIM, which is just as bad.

So you can be the guinea pig if you want, but I wouldn't do it.
 
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