IC diamond 7 carat thermal compound VS ...

I don't know any better but applying TC to a GPU sounds kinda tricky..

For you xigmatek i would use the IC diamond it will work great if you apply it properly, and as for the gpu its the same if you apply it properly then there will be a decrease in temps

I read some reviews and saw some charts that say the AS ceramique is better but then again i've recommended on here to get the IC and saw some reviews that it was up with AS 5 silver and some others.

yes i personally tested the IC vs AS5 and i did the same apply method and dropped my temp about ~ -5 C on load and idle with no cure time like as5 has

isn't ceramique ment for RAM and mosfets only? dunno, but i say you should test em all and put up the results!

IC Diamond
OCZ Freeze
Arctic Cooling MX-2

Changing the thermal paste on the GPU is almost exactly the same as for the CPU. Just remove the heatsink/fan from the card by removing all the screws. Then clean off the old thermal paste with some alcohol and apply new paste. You want to spread the paste over the entire GPU with your finger. Re-install the heatsink and tighten it down. Just be sure not to disturb the thermal pads that are on the video card's memory.

i will say which TIM dropped my temps the most when my xiggy gets here, should be a couple of days. I will also be doing a wire tuck and installing 2 more high speed yate loon 120mm fans. I was thinking of switching the stock fan on the heatsink with one of the yate loons but the stock fan is quieter and moves a little more air.

I got my 2 yate loon high speed 120mm fans in and i already put electrical tape and some strips of scotch tape because the electrical tape was loosening up. My heatsink should come in any minute now.
EDIT: its here now lol

the heatsink comes with high performance thermal grease, i will still use the IC diamond compound and see how it handles my OC'd q6600, right now my temps are averaging 34C with the zalman thermal grease. I am putting it together now then i will install and arrange my yate loons and the heatsink.

I have an issue now, i was trying to take apart my video card but after i took off all the screws the casing wouldnt come off. So i just decided to forget about it and put all the screws back on, tightened them, and installed everything again. When i turned it on, it would turn on then turn off for a sec then boot up again, that usually happens when i unplug it. I am anxiously waiting for it to boot up but the monitor says No input then it goes to sleep. I check everything, the power cables to the video card, made sure it was connected to the mobo, the green light on the back of the video card is on so it is getting power but it wont show anything on the screen. What do i do?

EDIT: Got it working will report in about 5 min.

Alright i got everything just right and my temps now are 31C. I did have to take out the side fan right next to the heatsink because it would not fit luckily it was one of the stock fans. My side yate loon fan is still making the whining sound so i guess the electrical tape didnt help for that one but the other fans are quiet.

Strange i am not seeing a difference anymore, my temps for some reason are up to 40C and i am just downloading something at full speed, could that be it? I think the Arctic silver Ceramique compound is better, i remember my temps are always below or 30C when i had that on and my Arctic cooler freezer pro 7 and that is no where near as powerful as the heatsink i got now.

I put IC Diamond on both of my 4850's with the single slot reference coolers and saw a temperature drop of 10c at idle and 15-20c at load. It really performs despite its low thermal conductance rating.

Try a reapplication.

I dropped 4-5C at load just by applying ICD7 yesterday. Of course I am comparing it to the no name generic white thermal paste I had before. I've been running prime 95 for the last hour and a half and temp is steady at 45C

but how much exactly do i apply i think i am putting too much to where it covers the majority of the cpu.

should it cover the entire cpu or just most of it? I always read about how less is better.