25 replies to this topic

[HeroicTofu]

Well, I finally have the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO and some Noctua NT-H1 thermal compound on the way for my CPU. I look forward to seeing what Piledriver is going to do for AMD. I'll upgrade my CPU then but at least I'll have a decent heatsink.

[cipher]

HeroicTofu, on 30 May 2012 - 07:01 PM, said:

Well, I finally have the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO and some Noctua NT-H1 thermal compound on the way for my CPU. I look forward to seeing what Piledriver is going to do for AMD. I'll upgrade my CPU then but at least I'll have a decent heatsink.

Mayonnaise beat the Noctura NT-H1 in thermal paste tests...

http://www.hardwares...ber-2011/1396/5

Seriously, though, the thermal compound makes very little difference compared to the application and your contact surfaces. Any decent thermal compound would work similarly, despite what all of the reviews say. There are many degrees of difference from one test to the next with the same stuff. So in short, just buy what is cheap and what is easier to work with.

Edited by cipher, 31 May 2012 - 05:38 AM.

[Nasty9]

cipher, on 31 May 2012 - 05:38 AM, said:

Mayonnaise beat the Noctura NT-H1 in thermal paste tests...

http://www.hardwares...ber-2011/1396/5

Seriously, though, the thermal compound makes very little difference compared to the application and your contact surfaces. Any decent thermal compound would work similarly, despite what all of the reviews say. There are many degrees of difference from one test to the next with the same stuff. So in short, just buy what is cheap and what is easier to work with.

I wouldn't want to the be in the same room as that mayo rig after a couple hours of benching o_0

For paste, I've been using MX-2 until I ran out, then got some MX-4. It performs well, is easy to work with, doesn't have to cure, and can be applied to an IHS or directly on a die. Given those, I recommend it.

Edited by Nasty9, 31 May 2012 - 01:39 PM.

[HeroicTofu]

I bought the Noctua only because, well, I was out of any other thermal paste, wanted something non conductive, and it was prime eligible so I could get free 2 day shipping from Amazon. So there! Hah!

In any case, the thermals are amazing. CPU is overclocked further and running about 15C-20C cooler then before in my most CPU intensive games. Amazing. The Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO is truly a thing of beauty...and cheap O.o; And quiet! How does that work?!

[cipher]

Just a note on thermal paste being "non conductive", it's sort of a fallacy. It won't short circuits if it spans them, but most thermal compounds are "capacitive", meaning it acts as a capacitor between two circuits. So you still don't want to get it on open contacts. With that said, it's a good thing motherboards and other PCBs are sealed with a non conductive epoxy sealer.

[HeroicTofu]

Why start a new thread~ In any case, I'll be upgrading my compy again. New motherboard and CPU. Getting the Intel Ivy Bridge 3570K. CPU was my major bottleneck at this point, and well, I don't see CPU performance jumping drastically next generation, especially with Intel and AMD both focusing on new competition in the form of ARM.

In any case, pretty much every benchmark ever shows the 3570K outperforming my current Athlon II X4 635 by 100%. Some apps are more like a 70% increase...some as high as 280% increase. I'll be looking forward to seeing how MWO enjoys the extra power.