Choosing thermal pad

[Spy Boy]

Hey

I heard that thermal pads are superior than paste. But I am struggling with choosing one for my PC. My CPU is i5 8400. I tried to Google but couldn't find the answer...

[Spy Boy]

Publicado originalmente por Autumn_:

There IS one thermal pad that is good, Thermal grizzly Carbonaut.
It's almost as good as paste (lower end), doesn't have a life expectancy, is reusable, and shouldn't be hard to apply (easy to break if you're not careful.)

But generally, I'd say stick with paste.
Carbonaut is a decent choice though.

Okay yes people talked about it exactly. But how to choose proper grizly for my cpu?

[Spy Boy]

Publicado originalmente por invision2212:

removing thermal paste is rather easy. all you need is ISO alcohol thats better than 80%, a paper towel, and a smalll plastic scraper or tooth pick.

take off the cooler (look on youtube) now wet small sections of the paper towel with the alcohol and rub a bit off the paste off while constantly changing the part of the paper towel you are using so it doesnt smear and just repeat until its removed.

any hard residue spots that the alcohol didnt clean up can be removed with the plastic scraper or tooth pick.

look up on youtube how to apply thermal paste....i prefer the X method.

then you screw back on your CPU cooler.

Thank you. Sounds like pretty solied description.

[Spy Boy]

Publicado originalmente por AiR-Soulreaver:

Like others already said. Thermal paste is super easy to use.

But tbh
you don't even need alcohol to get the old thermal paste off. Yes it is better. But if you don't have alcohol around it's no big deal. Just use paper tissues or toilet paper and clean it.

And the amount of thermal paste you need to apply is also very very forgiving. Big amounts and small amounts are pretty much equal in heat transfer performance. So watch a video to get an indication on how much you should apply and then just do it. If you are unsure do a bit more. It's okay.

80% alcohol is hard to find. At least where I live

[_I_]

walmart or corner drug stores have 91-97% iso
use on a cheap paper towel (long fiber towels do not leave short fibers behind when wiping) do not use tissues

[Autumn_]

Publicado originalmente por NordicSpirit26:

Publicado originalmente por Autumn_:

There IS one thermal pad that is good, Thermal grizzly Carbonaut.
It's almost as good as paste (lower end), doesn't have a life expectancy, is reusable, and shouldn't be hard to apply (easy to break if you're not careful.)

But generally, I'd say stick with paste.
Carbonaut is a decent choice though.

Okay yes people talked about it exactly. But how to choose proper grizly for my cpu?

Thermal grizzly is the brand.
The product you want is called Carbonaut.
It is the only thermal pad meant for CPUs in their lineup.
I did some more research, and apparently there is another thermal pad called IC Graphite Thermal Pad.
Should be similar to the Carbonaut pad.
Since they're pretty much the same thing, I can't see that much performance difference. About the same as a low end paste.

So just pick whichever you like more, or whichever is cheapest.

The performance doesn't matter to much, since it will be as good as a lower end paste, will never dry out, will never pump out, and won't experience any wear afaik. So it's literally a 1 time thing. And it's reusable.

Contrary to what everyone here is saying, thermal pads are perfectly fine for the every day user, and are just as easy to apply (and no clean up.)

So if you want to go that method, it's fine.


Though, I will say, I prefer pastes myself, and still recommend you go that method. It's time tested, pretty fool proof to apply, and you get better performance.
That said, (graphine based) thermal pads are still fine for use on a CPU, PCH or even lower power GPU cores.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Nobody uses thermal pads on CPU or GPU itself, they are used for keeping other various components cool, mostly with graphics cards and motherboards.

[Monk]

Publicado originalmente por Autumn_:

Publicado originalmente por NordicSpirit26:

Okay yes people talked about it exactly. But how to choose proper grizly for my cpu?

Thermal grizzly is the brand.
The product you want is called Carbonaut.
It is the only thermal pad meant for CPUs in their lineup.
I did some more research, and apparently there is another thermal pad called IC Graphite Thermal Pad.
Should be similar to the Carbonaut pad.
Since they're pretty much the same thing, I can't see that much performance difference. About the same as a low end paste.

So just pick whichever you like more, or whichever is cheapest.

The performance doesn't matter to much, since it will be as good as a lower end paste, will never dry out, will never pump out, and won't experience any wear afaik. So it's literally a 1 time thing. And it's reusable.

Contrary to what everyone here is saying, thermal pads are perfectly fine for the every day user, and are just as easy to apply (and no clean up.)

So if you want to go that method, it's fine.


Though, I will say, I prefer pastes myself, and still recommend you go that method. It's time tested, pretty fool proof to apply, and you get better performance.
That said, (graphine based) thermal pads are still fine for use on a CPU, PCH or even lower power GPU cores.

This is the most accurate reply here, but as autumn and everyone else says, it's not worth the cost and a mid tier paste like Arctic mx4 is both cheaper, works better, is easy to use and will last years.

Though, I'll be surprised if you even need to replace the paste on your cooler after only 2 years, especially on an 8400 which doesn't exactly run hot, why are you looking to do any of this?

[retro_Ed]

Publicado originalmente por NordicSpirit26:

Publicado originalmente por Autumn_:

There IS one thermal pad that is good, Thermal grizzly Carbonaut.
It's almost as good as paste (lower end), doesn't have a life expectancy, is reusable, and shouldn't be hard to apply (easy to break if you're not careful.)

But generally, I'd say stick with paste.
Carbonaut is a decent choice though.

Okay yes people talked about it exactly. But how to choose proper grizly for my cpu?

There are many sizes but yours is for Intel 115x series.

It is 32mm x 32mm

thermal-grizzly.com/en/products/299-carbonaut-en

I am using TG Carbonaut in a multiple systems.

For your current CPU there is no real life cooling performance differences.
Both thermal paste & TGC pad works at the same level.

[Supafly]

Like others have said Pads are not as effective as paste.

The only thing I've considered and actually used thermal pads on are my M.2 drives. Not essential as they weren't over heating but location on motherboard and a big ass GPU does allow for good airflow and it was rather warm in the colder weather when I checked. Least when the temps spiked in hotter weather I'm not concerned about them overheating/throttling or cooling them.

[david_365]

Run a little stress test on your cpu before changing the paste to make sure the cpu doesnt come off with your cooler lol

[Autumn_]

Publicado originalmente por david_365:

Run a little stress test on your cpu before changing the paste to make sure the cpu doesnt come off with your cooler lol

That doesn't happen with Intel CPUs.
Because the processor is held down with a bracket.
It only happens with AMDs consumer grade CPUs, since their retention system isn't the best.

Publicado originalmente por Rumpelcrutchskin:

Nobody uses thermal pads on CPU or GPU itself, they are used for keeping other various components cool, mostly with graphics cards and motherboards.

If I'm not mistaken, AMD put thermal pads on the dies of their GPUs for the 5700/XTs, these ran a little hot but were perfectly fine.
There are graphine based thermal pads that work perfectly fine for CPUs and GPUs.

[Spy Boy]

Publicado originalmente por retro_Ed:

Publicado originalmente por NordicSpirit26:

Okay yes people talked about it exactly. But how to choose proper grizly for my cpu?

There are many sizes but yours is for Intel 115x series.

It is 32mm x 32mm

thermal-grizzly.com/en/products/299-carbonaut-en

I am using TG Carbonaut in a multiple systems.

For your current CPU there is no real life cooling performance differences.
Both thermal paste & TGC pad works at the same level.

Publicado originalmente por retro_Ed:

Publicado originalmente por NordicSpirit26:

Okay yes people talked about it exactly. But how to choose proper grizly for my cpu?

There are many sizes but yours is for Intel 115x series.

It is 32mm x 32mm

thermal-grizzly.com/en/products/299-carbonaut-en

I am using TG Carbonaut in a multiple systems.

For your current CPU there is no real life cooling performance differences.
Both thermal paste & TGC pad works at the same level.

Thank you. It is perfectly clear now.
So I need only find the same model in my country or order from Amazon. But I believe it will be here as well.

[Spy Boy]

Publicado originalmente por Monk:

Publicado originalmente por Autumn_:

Thermal grizzly is the brand.
The product you want is called Carbonaut.
It is the only thermal pad meant for CPUs in their lineup.
I did some more research, and apparently there is another thermal pad called IC Graphite Thermal Pad.
Should be similar to the Carbonaut pad.
Since they're pretty much the same thing, I can't see that much performance difference. About the same as a low end paste.

So just pick whichever you like more, or whichever is cheapest.

The performance doesn't matter to much, since it will be as good as a lower end paste, will never dry out, will never pump out, and won't experience any wear afaik. So it's literally a 1 time thing. And it's reusable.

Contrary to what everyone here is saying, thermal pads are perfectly fine for the every day user, and are just as easy to apply (and no clean up.)

So if you want to go that method, it's fine.


Though, I will say, I prefer pastes myself, and still recommend you go that method. It's time tested, pretty fool proof to apply, and you get better performance.
That said, (graphine based) thermal pads are still fine for use on a CPU, PCH or even lower power GPU cores.

This is the most accurate reply here, but as autumn and everyone else says, it's not worth the cost and a mid tier paste like Arctic mx4 is both cheaper, works better, is easy to use and will last years.

Though, I'll be surprised if you even need to replace the paste on your cooler after only 2 years, especially on an 8400 which doesn't exactly run hot, why are you looking to do any of this?

But the difference is couple of €, correct? Not that much. It is not like choosing one motherboard over another and saving 50€ or something

[Spy Boy]

Publicado originalmente por Autumn_:

Publicado originalmente por NordicSpirit26:

Okay yes people talked about it exactly. But how to choose proper grizly for my cpu?

Thermal grizzly is the brand.
The product you want is called Carbonaut.
It is the only thermal pad meant for CPUs in their lineup.
I did some more research, and apparently there is another thermal pad called IC Graphite Thermal Pad.
Should be similar to the Carbonaut pad.
Since they're pretty much the same thing, I can't see that much performance difference. About the same as a low end paste.

So just pick whichever you like more, or whichever is cheapest.

The performance doesn't matter to much, since it will be as good as a lower end paste, will never dry out, will never pump out, and won't experience any wear afaik. So it's literally a 1 time thing. And it's reusable.

Contrary to what everyone here is saying, thermal pads are perfectly fine for the every day user, and are just as easy to apply (and no clean up.)

So if you want to go that method, it's fine.


Though, I will say, I prefer pastes myself, and still recommend you go that method. It's time tested, pretty fool proof to apply, and you get better performance.
That said, (graphine based) thermal pads are still fine for use on a CPU, PCH or even lower power GPU cores.

Thanks. I will take the one I will find here.

[Spy Boy]

Publicado originalmente por Monk:

Publicado originalmente por Autumn_:

Thermal grizzly is the brand.
The product you want is called Carbonaut.
It is the only thermal pad meant for CPUs in their lineup.
I did some more research, and apparently there is another thermal pad called IC Graphite Thermal Pad.
Should be similar to the Carbonaut pad.
Since they're pretty much the same thing, I can't see that much performance difference. About the same as a low end paste.

So just pick whichever you like more, or whichever is cheapest.

The performance doesn't matter to much, since it will be as good as a lower end paste, will never dry out, will never pump out, and won't experience any wear afaik. So it's literally a 1 time thing. And it's reusable.

Contrary to what everyone here is saying, thermal pads are perfectly fine for the every day user, and are just as easy to apply (and no clean up.)

So if you want to go that method, it's fine.


Though, I will say, I prefer pastes myself, and still recommend you go that method. It's time tested, pretty fool proof to apply, and you get better performance.
That said, (graphine based) thermal pads are still fine for use on a CPU, PCH or even lower power GPU cores.

This is the most accurate reply here, but as autumn and everyone else says, it's not worth the cost and a mid tier paste like Arctic mx4 is both cheaper, works better, is easy to use and will last years.

Though, I'll be surprised if you even need to replace the paste on your cooler after only 2 years, especially on an 8400 which doesn't exactly run hot, why are you looking to do any of this?

I heard that one has to change thermal paste every year...
I personally not so good in it. I can only say that I do not use overcloaking and my CPU cooler is Be Quiet! Pure Rock (the normal one, not mini).