Thermal Paste consistency!?

Lass3 · Feb 4, 2019

I have tried many different compounds over the years, alot of them seem to clump up on application, even brand new ones.
Do you have some tips on how to make them easier to apply?

I tried XSPC K2 the other day, it was a breeze to apply. No clumping and not "stiff" at all.

I order some Gelid CG Extreme and it was very hard to apply compared to the K2, almost impossible unless you put too much.
The CG Extreme was brand new, 2 months old now. Noctua H1 same thing, clumping almost instantly, the H1 were a few years old tho.

Now I have ordered a tube of Kryonaut. I hope it's easier to apply.

Do you have some tips on how to make thermal paste easier to spread? :/

Xinoxide · Feb 4, 2019

Warm it up. put it in a ziplock bag and put it in some warm water.

Or.. set the tube on your videocard backplate and play some furmark.

white owl · Feb 4, 2019

Lass3 said:
Now I have ordered a tube of Kryonaut. I hope it's easier to apply.

Get ready for disappointment, most say it's the worst paste to spread.

My secret:
I use normal paste (MX4) that's easy to apply and once I apply it I leave it there until something changes.

ezveedub · Feb 4, 2019

I use ARCTIC MX-4, not clumpy at all, BUT, as TIM gets old, they get thick and clumpy which means time to dump them for new TIM. My old Ceramique tube was like clay when it got to 4-5 years old.

white owl · Feb 4, 2019

ezveedub said:
I use ARCTIC MX-4, not clumpy at all, BUT, as TIM gets old, they get thick and clumpy which means time to dump them for new TIM. My old Ceramique tube was like clay when it got to 4-5 years old.

This is common of all silicone pastes I believe, used or unused. That's a big reason why we use LM for delidding.

Lass3 · Feb 4, 2019

Yeah warm water might do the trick. It's not like it's impossible to spread but could be easier..

white owl said:
Get ready for disappointment, most say it's the worst paste to spread.

Well I have actually already tried some and it was easy to apply.

Just like shown here.

I have some MX4 but temps are like 5C higher than when im using CG Extreme, or 2-3C higher compared to Noctua H1 and Kryonaut is better than all of these.

ozlay · Feb 4, 2019

white owl said:
Get ready for disappointment, most say it's the worst paste to spread.

Interesting, I would have never considered it to be hard to spread. It seemed pretty easy when I used it last. However MX4 is really easy. I think the hardest paste I've used was the stuff with diamond particles. Which are probably fake. But they were worse then LM for me.

ThrashZone · Feb 4, 2019

Hi,
Noctua nt-h1 mostly for me good price usually 5x the product compared to kryonaut and doesn't dry out like kryonaut does in the package not to mention applied

JackCY · Feb 4, 2019

Warm it up in warm water, although even that may be not enough for GCEX. So just forget it and spread it like any other paste. I don't know what people complain about most pastes come with some form of an applicator to spread them on a surface and if that's not your thing drop a dot or more and let the cooler spread it for you. Good thermal conductivity pastes are often harder to spread. If it doesn't stick to your surfaces then clean them first with isopropylalkohol.

I have no issues with GCEX drying out over years especially in the tube unused.

ORL · Feb 4, 2019

If your thermal paste has aged to long you might as well just replace it also. I recently threw out all of my Shin Etsu an IBM rep gave me a few years back. Unfortunately it has gotten far to stiff for usage anymore and wouldn't spread correctly. This left me without any TIM at home so I ran to Best Buy and grabbed some Thermaltake TIM as a stop gap. Oddly enough on its package it specifically states that the product expires two years after manufacture. While this will change I'm sure on a product basis, just keep it in mind for your really old stuff, sometimes it is better to just replace.

The Pook · Feb 4, 2019

I use either Gelid Extreme ($$$) or MX4 ($) on anything that doesn't get liquid metal.

Renegade5399 · Feb 4, 2019

Xinoxide said:
Warm it up. put it in a ziplock bag and put it in some warm water.

Or.. set the tube on your videocard backplate and play some furmark.

:laughings Actually, not a bad idea!

ezveedub said:
I use ARCTIC MX-4, not clumpy at all, BUT, as TIM gets old, they get thick and clumpy which means time to dump them for new TIM. My old Ceramique tube was like clay when it got to 4-5 years old.

LOVE MX-4. I have an old tube of MX-2 that's fine to apply after just holding it in your hand for a minute.

The Pook said:
I use either Gelid Extreme ($$$) or MX4 ($) on anything that doesn't get liquid metal.

Gelid would be my go to if not so pricey. MX-4 has been showing it's really a top notch paste for the price though.

jfriend00 · Feb 4, 2019

Or, use the central dot or single line or multi line or X-shape methods of application and then you don't have to spread it at all. I like the X the best. Has worked just fine for me across four systems.

See https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Thermal-Paste-Application-Techniques-170/ for a comparison of techniques.

Renegade5399 · Feb 5, 2019

https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/3346-thermal-paste-application-benchmark-too-much-thermal-paste

Or any method really. If you think it looks like too little, then add a bit more. As shown above back in July, too much is OK (messy, but OK) but too little can be bad.

*Note: This applies to all NON-conductive pastes. Obviously don't do this with metal based pastes.

Thermal Paste consistency!?

Lass3

Xinoxide

white owl

ezveedub

white owl

Lass3

ozlay

ThrashZone

JackCY

ORL

The Pook

Renegade5399

jfriend00

Renegade5399

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