With new paste applied and the old liquid metal, we measured performance as just under 65 degrees over ambient. For results, we measured the original application at 62.9 degrees Celsius delta T over ambient. Most coolers and other parts will come with a thermal compound pre-applied to the pieces, but what is the thermal paste lifespan and what happens if you need to reapply it? When purchasing thermal paste, you need to think about a few different things- including how you store it. In most cases, thermal pastes are not electrically conductive – but they still can be electrically capacitive (the ones with metal ingredients). The motherboard is a Gigabyte X299 Gaming 9. MSI Game Boost & Other Ways To Boost PC Performance For Gaming. You have entered an incorrect email address! If you do, your thermal paste will expire more quickly. Products like Thermal Grizzy's liquid metal Conductonaut compound, for example, have a massive 73 W/mK rating. This shows that there’s more variance in application of liquid metal – a whole lot more – than there is measurable difference in liquid metal aging on our platform (again, based on a case study – please note that this is not 100% conclusive for all LMs on all platforms). It really didn't. First world problems, Steve. When you apply the paste, you need to be careful and do the best job that you can. RGB vs YCbCr444: Which Output Color Format Is Better? Most manufacturers will list a shelf life on their bottles. They will choose a metal, silicon, carbon, or ceramic based thermal paste based on their own preferences. By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. It's anecdotal, but his experience was that he saw no change in a year. One Computer Guy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. The 7960X has been delidded and is using Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut as its liquid metal, with the leftover silicone adhesive still in place on the double substrate. If you start to use your thermal paste and it is too liquid, it has expired and you should move onto something else. Thermal paste helps to smooth out some of the dents and fill in the cracks so that they can all work with the best possible efficiency. When conducting the original test, we did the same thing: We had three applications, and then the third was the best one. One of our test benches has been running thermal endurance cycling tests for the last year now, since September of 2017, just to see if it’s aged at all. Another way to avoid this is to look at the viscosity of your compound. Liquid thermal pastes will move 70 W/mk whereas non-metallic compounds will move about 7 W/mk. Instead, you want to think about the type of thermal paste that you need for what you plan to do with your computer. It moves it away from the unit and works in conjunction with the fan or cooler to keep everything a stable temperature. Applying thermal paste will go a long way in alleviating this problem besides adding some time onto your computer’s lifespan. Thermal pastes are a newly emerging industry that has really grown popular in recent years as more and more people are interested in learning about how to reduce their CPU temperatures. When applying this thermal paste to your motherboard, you need to be extremely careful. Metal thermal pastes are the most effective at conducting heat, but they are also electrically conductive. It could be at the two-year mark, it could be different liquid metals, it could be the testing, but we did not see any meaningful change after one year of performance testing. There is far greater impact from changing the method of application, which will happen every time LM is re-applied. It can sometimes take a few tries to really get a good application of liquid metal, primarily due to surface tension and quantity of liquid metal used. And that you must not use it on aluminum heatsinks because this liquid metal thermal cooler can leave black stains on it. Instead, use only a small amount of the paste. That’s data from one year ago. I also had people who were typing apostrophes into the address bar - sigh. One of the most common types of thermal paste is the liquid metal paste which is a superconductive metal in liquid form which can […] Thermal Paste is a substance or compound that is applied to the heat sink or processor that acts as an interface between them for better transfer of heat from the processor to the heat sink, … Non conductive safe to aluminium thermal pastes like MX-4 will last several years if correctly applied the site says 8 years. Metal thermal pastes tend to last longer on your machine but will expire in the tube much more quickly than other types. While thermal paste does expire, that timeline isn’t something you should really consider when you purchase some. Temperature impacts everything, even if there haven’t been studies into it. The liquid metal isn’t the only thing that aged – there’s also aging of the thermal paste and, although this one is unlikely to impact in any meaningful way, the cooler. FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon. Best Thermal Paste for CPU, GPU, Overclocking and Laptop Coolers. This is why they are popular and you can get them in different sizes, which helps you to get what you need and then not having to worry about them expiring. However, the most common number is about three years if the bottle or package has not been opened. Products. Go for the liquid-metal thermal compounds only if little temperature differences matter to you. Start with an amount about the size of a pea and if that doesn’t look like enough, add a small amount. To get the most out of older thermal paste, squeeze a small amount of the mixture onto a piece of paper. GamersNexus.net is Owned, Operated, & Maintained by GamersNexus, LLC. Most people do not choose their thermal pastes based on which ones last longer. “How frequently should I replace liquid metal?” is one of the most common questions we get. We wanted the most level and stable per-core temperatures, and so took the best of each application. If your thermal paste was sitting around on a shelf for some time, it is likely that the paste has degraded in some way. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The thermal paste needs to expand slightly to fill those imperfections but not so much that it causes even more damage. While liquid metal thermal compounds are amazing, you may need an alternative for your slick aluminum low profile CPU coolers. Remember that it can be somewhat difficult to replace this paste and you need to be extremely careful, so you want to get the best possible thermal paste you can. The thicker it is, the more it will look like a paste and the easier it is to control. CPUs, heatsinks, coolers, and other pieces have dents and cracks that can trap hot air in them and denigrate performance. These pads are easy to use, but they do dry out a bit quicker than some of the other thermal pastes and they aren’t as effective at conducting heat. Thermal Paste Round-up: 85 Products Tested. Liquid Metal vs. Silicon thermal pastes are usually applied to thermal pads when you get them. K minimum. However, you can choose thermal pastes which aren’t electrically conductive and you can use them with ease and not worry about short-circuiting any of your components. And if it works, then I thought maybe I could use liquid metal on my MacBook Pro. We also used GSkill Trident Z Black memory at 3600MHz across 4 channels. And unlike thicker thermal paste, liquid metal is truly fluid; it can easily go anywhere even when carefully squeezed onto the CPU. He reapplied fresh liquid metal to see if the year old stuff deteriorated in any way. Liquid metal reacts with aluminum, which restricts the materials that can be used in heatsinks and on the production line. This, in turn, helps the heatsinks to effectively transfer as much of the heat as possible. Some manufacturers will recommend a specific type of thermal paste that they believe lasts longer. That said, monitor thermals every now and then just to make sure all is well. All rights reserved. It also depends on how the thermal paste was stored. Each paste will come with a specific thermal conductivity rating. Posted October 18, 2017 Over a certain amount of time, the thermal compound will eventually dry up. Thermal paste is extremely important to the functionality of your computer and regulating PC temperature. Last modified on August 31, 2018 at 10:53 am, HW News - AMD CPU Surge in Steam Survey, SAM for Z490, Intel Rocket Lake, HW News - NVIDIA Adds 'Smart Access Memory' Counter, Zen 3 Delid, Intel Add-in GPU, HW News - NVIDIA MSRP Allegedly Not Realistic, Ryzen 5000 Supply, PCIe 6.0 Spec, HW News - Intel Xe GPUs Progressing, Partner RX 6000 Release Timing, More Intel Rocket Lake-S Details, Multiple tests after, but with the thermal paste replaced, Multiple tests after, but with new liquid metal. Metal thermal pastes tend to last longer on your machine but will expire in the tube much more quickly than other types. The change we are observing is within error and test margins, and if not error, it’s more likely resultant of paste aging. We moderate comments on a ~24~48 hour cycle. This can cause damage to many parts of your computer, including to the CPU. This gives us a great baseline and a case study, but we would need more samples to really make hard claims. The composition of a compound determines its thermal and electrical conductivity, its durability, and its viscosity. It’s also worth noting that you need to thoroughly clean the CPU before you apply the paste to ensure the best performance along the way. Editorial, Testing: Steve Burke Video: Andrew Coleman, Steve started GamersNexus back when it was just a cool name, and now it's grown into an expansive website with an overwhelming amount of features. The different kinds of thermal paste all have some of the same ingredients, they are just used in different amounts. From that angle, again, please keep in mind that this is a case study of one test bench, with one brand of liquid metal. Get it as soon as Wed, Dec 9. Let’s break down those different types just a bit: Ceramic thermal pastes do not contain metal, which means that they are not conductive. It is a compound that goes on the area between the heatsink and the device that is meant to cool that heatsink. All products has passed SGS inspections and complied with EU RoHS environmental certification. However, they are not recommended for people who overclock regularly as they will not conduct as much heat and if exposed to extreme heat, they will degrade faster. Ok people really need to separate and learn their liquid metal products. There may be some anecdotal evidence to this, but studies have shown that the year mark is when they all start to degrade. But now I … As you know that thermal paste expires, there is a tendency to use as much as you can to get the most for your money. Asus will adopt liquid metal thermal paste on its Intel 10th Gen laptops, to improve cooling temperatures -- and help handle the heat. Our test platform uses an Intel i9-7960X 16-core CPU, one that we reviewed overall positively last year. Liquid metal is applied between the CPU die and IHS to improve thermal conductivity from the silicon, but there hasn’t been much long-term testing on liquid metal endurance versus age. 4.4 out of 5 stars 516. The higher the number, the better it will be at conducting heat. The main goal of this site has always been to provide accurate, understandable and easy to find information regarding Internet Technology. There are a few different types of thermal paste. We are testing with a sample size of one, so consider it an experiment and case study over an all-encompassing test. This is well within our normal +/-1C error margin for testing and, given that we have a whole lot more variables with a one-year gap between tests, including potential for cooler, paste, motherboard aging, and higher chance of technician error, these numbers are close enough that we cannot state any difference. Instead, they will choose based on the performance and how well they conduct heat. The CPU is clocked to 4.6GHz at 1.22V and has all over-current protections and other power limitations disabled. What is the paste’s consistency? It is difficult to conduct long-term endurance tests with multiple samples, and would require dozens (or more) of identical systems to really build-out a large database. We are also using a different tube of Kryonaut this year versus last year, so that could factor into the results. Don't worry, I'll explain what that means, but just know that's it's impressive. And the difference in temps would only be a factor if you are overclocking to the limits of the chip and your heatsinks, And if you are at those limits the lifespan of the chip has already been compromised. This metal-based thermal paste comes with all the tools needed for installation. Thermal conductivity dictates lifespan: One of the things you need to think about when determining the life of your thermal paste is the thermal conductivity. INTRODUCING THE MSI Optix G27C2 27” MONITOR Extreme cold, in particular, can cause the thermal paste to expire faster. Capacitive is not necessarily a bad thing, it merely means it may store some electrical energy. The thermal paste takes the brunt of the heat and therefore, it starts to dry out. In general, you need to change the thermal paste every year. This means that eventually, you will need thermal paste replacement. Of course, it will depend on the temperatures the paste has been exposed to, the application method, and even how old the paste was before you used it. Density dicates shelf life and usage: Application of the thermal paste will obviously dictate its lifespan. It will eventually dry out and begin to loosen or crack. We had other liquid metal application results that didn’t make it to the charts: The tests above are from our third of three attempts at re-application. They will swear that their particular brand or type of thermal paste lasts longer than another. The motherboard is a Gigabyte X299 Gaming 9. Take the bottle and shake or squeeze it to mix what is in the package, if possible. It loses its effectiveness. Liquid thermal paste is far more difficult to apply than other kinds, so it is hard to get it right to get the most out of it. Home. If you don’t reapply thermal paste, your computer might start to perform in strange ways and, eventually, it will overheat. There was no significant change. Even more importantly, if you are going to overclock your computer and increase temperatures, what does that mean for reapplying thermal paste? Things that will affect lifespan when using liquid metal: the liquid metal goes where it shouldn't and shorts components on … We used Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut for the thermal paste between the IHS and our cooler, a Corsair H115i with two Noctua NF-A14 fans. ... you can make a choice between liquid-metal based or grease-based thermal pastes. Apply the thermal paste in the center and use the weight of the heatsink and the paste together to push the paste into the CPU. Now, each thermal paste type is different, each brand is different, and each application technique can change how they work. Thermalright Liquid Metal Thermal Paste, 79 W/mK High Performance, Silver King Heatsink Paste, CPU for All Coolers, 1 Grams with Cleanser and Spreader. Now, these small imperfections are rarely even and predictable. The upper temperature limit of a liquid metal thermal paste can reach 150°C, although there are some pastes on the market that claim to be able to withstand temperatures of up to 300°C, and even more. The MSI Optix G27C2 curved gaming monitor is not like any other. Most likely, if re-applying liquid metal, simple experience of application will cause more improvement than the change itself. As you probably know, it is important to maintain a stable temperature for performance. 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