Prolimatech PK-3 - thermal paste

Product Information

We'll go into our breakdown of how we test these thermal pastes below, but the key takeaway here is that a single thermal compound can perform differently based upon several variables, such as what type of cooler and mount you use. To cover all the bases, we've tested every thermal paste with three variables: For many years, IC Diamond was the king of cool when it came to thermal compounds. And while it’s no longer sitting on the throne as the best in class, this diamond in the rough is still a solid choice with the IC Diamond 24 Carat Thermal Compound. The results for gpu applications would be different though, as the more viscous pastes would have an edge here - at least from what I've read so far. Liquid metal compounds make their way to the top of the temperature chart with slightly cooler values than the traditional pastes. Interestingly, the difference between the top and bottom of this chart is less than 4C. We're also putting a new take on an old approach to the test — thermal pads. These pads can be used as TIM and come as a single sheet you simply apply to your heatsink, with Thermaltake's Heilos Pad being the first new thermal pad entrant to see our test bed in the coming weeks.

I appreciate the work that has been put into this test, where one can see comparison for most known products. Whoa, that's pretty cheap per gram, especially given it's got Noctua on the label. Surprised it isn't beige or brown. I would like a paste I can apply to both the CPU and GPU. I have never applied paste, and I would like to only have to do it every very long period, but I know heavy gaming is hard on the paste.MX-5 is a new compound which does not directly replace their popular MX-4 but is a new formulation for enthusiast use based on carbon micro-particulates in what is assumed to be a silicon or silicone base. The slight-blue tint and smooth, viscous compound has a bit more fluid consistency much like thin toothpaste making it easy to apply and cleanup which lends to very smooth and fast spreading during cooler tension, but can also be prone to dripping and running if applied on vertical surfaces.

CoolLaboratory Liquid Pro is a liquid metal compound that is applied with a syringe and capillary tip to the CPU integrated heat spreader, and it ships with a scouring pad and alcohol swab for prep and cleanup. In addition to its excellent performance, it’s also beginner-friendly, and comes with extras to make the job easier. These extras include a spatula, CPU templates to help prevent messes, alcohol wipes, and a finishing card. It’s no surprise that the liquid metal compounds once again sit atop the thermal comparison. Still, a 6C difference between all 15 thermal compounds tested shows there isn’t a lot of variation, even with a 360 all-in-one cooler with a push+pull fan setup for performance. For a compound that costs less than half as much as leading competitors , Phobya's Liquid Metal Compound LM offers impressive performance, often besting the the CoolLaboratory Liquid Pro or Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut in our tests. Wow, how's things have improved! I've used MX-4 for like the last decade. Good to know there's something better and not overly expensive.When it comes to thermal paste, there are quite a few different types, with liquid metal being the most thermally efficient. However, due to the electrical conductivity of liquid metal, most people opt for an electrically non-conductive thermal paste. Perhaps the next most thermally efficient type of thermal paste is a carbon-based paste, and with the BSFF Thermal Paste, it’s easy to see how that’s the case. The performance value chart shows most of the liquid metal compounds with a poor value-per-gram rating, but once again, Phobya LM proves to be the outlier for that sub-category with its budget price tag. Pactum PT-1 is grey, and its thermal conductivity is 4 W / mK, with a density of 2.5 g /cm³. As the density is relatively low, the paste is very easy to apply. The product does not conduct electricity. Together with the syringe, in which there is 4 g of the compound, the manufacturer adds a plastic spatula to facilitate applying the paste. It's interesting to see, that between (popular) similar priced thermal pastes , there's quite a difference in performance. Here I would say, the difference of 2°C (and bigger) is important enough to influence our decision.