80-way Thermal Interface Material Performance Test

Written by Olin Coles

Sunday, 14 June 2009

Article Index
80-way Thermal Interface Material Performance Test
80 Thermal Pastes Compared
Surface Preparation
TIM Application Methods
Square-Base Application
Application on HDT Coolers
Thermally Conductive Element Reference
Thermal Testing Methodology
TIM Testing and Scores
D: Poor Enthusiast Performance
C: Fair Enthusiast Performance
B: Good Enthusiast Performance
A: Excellent Enthusiast Performance
Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Page 2 of 14

Thermal Pastes Compared

I will admit that testing eighty thermal paste products amounts to more than what was really necessary to convey our message. What actually transpired was a search for the best TIM out of about fifty products sent to Benchmark Reviews over the past year, and halfway through the project I decided to accept everything that fit the description of thermal paste; even if it's a product that's no longer commercially available. The project dragged on as last-minute entries were accepted (I really wanted an even number of products, anyway) such as the Gelid's GC-Extreme, Zalman's ZM-STG2, and Tuniq's TX-3 which arrived mere weeks before this article was to be published.

Antec 77063 Formula 5 Silver Thermal Compound ⁽¹⁾

Antec 77064 Thermal Grease ⁽¹⁾

Arctic Cooling MX-1 Thermal Compound ⁽⁰⁾

Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound ⁽⁰⁾

Arctic Silver II Silver Thermal Compound ⁽²⁾

Arctic Silver 3 Silver Thermal Compound⁽³⁾

Arctic Silver 5 Polysynthetic Thermal Compound⁽⁴⁾

Arctic Silver Alumina AA-14G Thermal Compound ⁽⁰⁾

Arctic Silver Ceramique ⁽⁵⁾

Arctic Silver Lumiere ⁽⁰⁾

Cooler Master HTK-002 Thermal Grease ⁽⁰⁾

Cooler Master PTK-002 Thermal Grease ⁽⁰⁾

Cooler Master NanoFusion R9-GE7-PTK3 ⁽⁰⁾

Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400

CooLaboratory Liquid MetalPad ⁽⁰⁾

CooLaboratory Liquid Metal Pro ⁽⁷⁾

Coolink Chillaramic ⁽⁰⁾

ESG Associates Nanotherm ⁽⁰⁾

Evercool STC-01 ⁽⁰⁾

Evercool STC-02 ⁽⁰⁾

Evercool Cruise Missle STC-03 ⁽⁰⁾

FrozenCPU Copper Thermal Compound ⁽⁰⁾

GC Electronics Silcone Z9 10-8108 ⁽⁰⁾

GC Electronics Type 44 Non-Silicone 10-8120 ⁽⁰⁾

GC Electronics Water-Soluble HTC 10-8132 ⁽⁰⁾

GC Electronics HTC 10-8135 ⁽⁰⁾

Gelid GC-1 ⁽⁰⁾

Gelid GC-2 TC-GC-02-A ⁽⁰⁾

Gelid GC-Extreme ⁽⁰⁾

Innovative Cooling Seven Carat Diamond⁽⁶⁾

Jetart CK4000 ⁽⁰⁾

Jetart Thermal Compound ⁽⁰⁾

Kingwin White Freeze WF-2 ⁽⁰⁾

Laird Technologies T-grease 880 ⁽⁰⁾

Laird Technologies T-grease 1500 Non-Silicone ⁽⁰⁾

Laird Technologies T-grease 2500 ⁽⁰⁾

Masscool Fanner-420 ⁽⁰⁾

Masscool AK-100 Stars Heatsink Compound ⁽⁰⁾

MG Chemicals 8463 Silver Conductive Grease ⁽⁰⁾

MG Chemicals 860 Silicone Heat Transfer Compound ⁽⁰⁾

MG Chemicals 8610 Non-Silicone Heat Transfer Compound ⁽⁰⁾

Noctua NT-H1 ⁽⁰⁾

OCZ Freeze OCZTFRZTC ⁽⁰⁾

ProlimaTech PK-1 Thermal Compound ⁽⁰⁾

Rosewill RCX-TC001 ⁽⁰⁾

Rosewill RCX-TC050 ⁽⁰⁾

Rosewill RCX-TC060 Nano Silver ⁽⁰⁾

Scythe Thermal Elixer SCYTE-1000

Shin-Etsu MicroSi G751 ⁽⁰⁾

Shin-Etsu MicroSi Silicon Compound ⁽⁰⁾

Shin-Etsu MicroSi X-23-7762 ⁽⁰⁾

Shin-Etsu MicroSi X-23 7783D ⁽⁰⁾

Shin-Etsu MicroSI X23-7774-4 Thermal Gel ⁽⁰⁾

SIL Heatsink Compound ⁽⁰⁾

Stars 612 Copper Grease ⁽⁰⁾

Stars 700 Silver Grease ⁽⁰⁾

Startech Silver Grease ⁽⁰⁾

SYBA CL-PTSL-COOL Silver Cool ⁽⁰⁾

Thermalright Chill Factor ⁽⁰⁾

Thermaltake Grease A2014 ⁽⁰⁾

Thermaltake Grease A2150 ⁽⁴⁾

Thermaltake CL-O0027 TG1 ⁽⁰⁾

Thermaltake CL-O0028 TG2 ⁽⁰⁾

Thermolab Thermal Grease ⁽⁰⁾

TIM Consultants T-C Grease 0098 ⁽⁰⁾

TIM Consultants T-C Grease 0099 (Copper) ⁽⁰⁾

TIM Consultants T-C Grease 0099NS (Non-Silicon) ⁽⁰⁾

Titan Technology Royal Grease TTC-G40030 ⁽⁰⁾

Tuniq TX-2 ⁽⁰⁾

Tuniq TX-3 ⁽⁰⁾

Ultra Thermal Compound ⁽⁰⁾

Ultra Thermal Gel ULT40124 ⁽⁰⁾

Xigmatek PTI-G3801 ⁽⁰⁾

Zalman ZM-TG2 Thermal Grease ⁽⁰⁾

Zalman ZM-STG1 Super Thermal Grease ⁽⁰⁾

Zalman ZM-STG2 Super Thermal Grease ⁽⁰⁾

Zaward HSC-W ⁽⁰⁾

Zaward HSC-G ⁽⁰⁾

ZEROtherm ZT-100 ⁽⁰⁾

(0) No Curing Time or Special Application Suggested
(1) Antec Formula 5 Application Instructions (no curing time recommended)
(2) Arctic Silver II Application Instructions(48-hours minimum curing time recommended)
(3) Arctic Silver 3 Application Instructions (up to 200-hours recommended curing time)
(4) Arctic Silver 5 Application Instructions (up to 200-hours recommended curing time)
(5) Arctic Silver Ceramique Application Instructions (25-hours minimum recommended curing time)
(6) IC Seven Carat Diamond Application Instructions (10-minute evaporation time, 2-hour curing recommended)
(7) CooLaboratory Liquid Pro Application Instructions (no curing time recommended)

Thermal Material Composition

Thermal Interface Materials (also known as thermal compound, grease, and paste) use one or more of the following thermally-conductive substances in their formula:

Carbon-based Thermal Interface Materials

Carbon-based TIM's have recently become extremely popular for manufacturers over the past two years. Carbon nano-tubes, carbon fibers, diamond powder, and other exotic mixtures are now being used in many commercial products. Because this method of building a thermal material has become the current market standard, most recipes are considered an industry trade secret. Carbon-based TIM is generally non-conductive and will not transmit electrical energy, making it perfect for all electronics application. As of May 2009, Carbon is the most widely used component in high-performance premium thermal paste products.

Metal-based Thermal Interface Materials

Past generations of popular thermal material products have been metal-based, using a component that includes solid metal parts in the formula. The most popular ingredients feature silver, copper, or aluminum as their base. Metal has a better thermal conductivity than ceramic-based material. Unfortunately metal is also electrically conductive, which can cause problems if it bridges the contacts or electrical connections on an integrated circuit. Metal-based TIM's are not as prevailant as they once were, as the cost of manufacturering often exceeds the benefit over using other compounds.

Ceramic-based Thermal Interface Materials

Ceramic-based thermal material offers a decent thermal conductivity performance, and remains the most common component used in generic and low-cost thermal pastes. Ceramic-based material and is usually composed of a ceramic powder suspended in a liquid or gelatinous silicone compound. This material is often given the name "silicone paste" or "silicone thermal compound". The most commonly used ceramics and their thermal conductivities (in units of W/m·K) are:beryllium oxide, aluminum nitride, aluminum oxide, zinc oxide, and silicon dioxide. This Thermal Interface Material is usually white in color, since these ceramics are all white in their powder form, and has earned the name "white paste" inside enthusiast circles.

Liquid Metal-based Thermal Interface Materials

Some Thermal Interface Materials are made of liquid metal alloys or gallium. These TIM products are rare, and often times corrode metals they are not meant to come in contact with. At the time of this article, Benchmark Reviews has tested only one liquid-metal product (from CooLaboratory).

Although this 80-way Thermal Paste article will test an extremely large collection of TIM products, the list of thermal paste's is still not a complete and yet it still features the largest assortment of real-world TIM products available. Many of the products listed in our review may be very familiar to the enthusiast cooling market, while others are brand new to the industry. Only a few items are out of production, but we've included them in our tests because of past popularity.

More shocking than the incredible list of TIM's we've collected is one important discovery: thermal paste isn't the most important aspect of good thermal conductance between the processor and heatsink. Sure, it does help, but not to the extent so many marketing campaigns would have you believe. Read on to learn why...

Selling the Largest Selection of Thermal Paste Products at FrozenCPU

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