Hi everyone. Not sure if this was ever discussed here so I am sorry if I am re-posting... I am going to purchase the S478 Freezer for my pressy. The H/S comes with a syringe of MX-1 thermal compound (http://www.arctic-cooling.com/further_prod2.php?idx=60) I know AC Silver is better and I also have some Ceramiq left. Will this stuff do or is it just a lot of :swear: ? Thanks for looking and commenting.
ahh yes i got that with mine, i didnt use it i bought some AS5 separate because i wasn't sure about how good the stuff is, but knowing arctic cooling its probably pretty good.
Use the Arctic Silver, it's still the best stuff out there. Don't worry that just because the heatsink cam with it that you have to use it. It's fine but you temps should be a couple degrees lower with the AS 5.
yeah i would still use AS5 if you have some/could get some but i think the thermal paste they give with it should be alright if you're not too bothered about that few extra degrees.
notice they test arctic silver 2&3 but not 5, because it kicks ass. Also note the unlabeled values on the graph. arctic silver 5 is the best.
yeah its definitely worth paying the extra in addition to the HSF for. You get what you pay for and that is quality thermal grease, no complaints...ever with this...
While we're on the topic how long will AS5 last if I just leave it in the tube? I used a bunch in late April sealed it up and haven't toughed it since. I take it the stuff will last a long time right?
I use Ceramique, it's really good stuff (from the A.S. people). Lasts a really long time, and it doesn't melt/harden/melt/harden/melt... ad infinitum. When it first heats up, it settles into a really thin layer that doesn't run, then it doesn't change anymore. Cools really well too, and doesn't conduct any electricity at all. Cleans up easily with rubbing alchohol. Additionally, if you mix Ceramique with carbon black (very cheap carbon-based thermal compound), you get a seriously awsome thermal emulsion (see this).
I was checking out this MX-1 i got with my Freezer4, when i squirted some out of the tube onto a surface it was more like putty, not grease, AS5 is a lot runnier than the MX-1 stuff and honestly I dont know how well that MX stuff would perform, if in doubt use AS5! The MX one is more like a silod than the AS5, AS5 seems sticky, MX-1 doesn't... (I placed some of the thermal substances onto a piece of paper and folded and rubbed the paper, the MX-1 stuck to istelf and flattened, not sticking to the paper but peeling off in a single piece whereas the AS5 spread out and stuck to the paper...here's a picture AS5 is also a lot darker in colour, MX-1 is a light grey.
This pictures nearly a megabyte in size, sorry but i used macros on the camera and a large image size to make sure it could be viewd big so the small differences were clearer.
