Best cpu cooling paste

If you're building a high-end 14th-gen Intel platform computer, you'll want to make sure that your CPU's thermal performance is in check. This is where a high-quality thermal paste comes in handy. Thermal pastes are often overlooked during the PC building process, but they play a crucial role best cpu cooling paste ensuring efficient heat transfer from the CPU's integrated heat spreader IHS to the heat sink of your CPU cooler. With that in mind, we've compiled a list of the best thermal pastes available for your 14th Gen Intel CPU below, best cpu cooling paste.

WePC is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more. Thermal paste is often an overlooked component when configuring a new PC, either due to a lack of experience, or the convenience of coolers that come with pre-applied thermal paste.

Best cpu cooling paste

Choosing the best thermal paste may sound simple, but a dizzying array of options can turn this seemingly easy choice into a time-consuming and confusing task. Thermal paste is designed to minimize microscopic air gaps and irregularities between the surface of the cooler and the CPU's IHS integrated heat spreader , the piece of metal built into the top of the processor, to transfer heat to the CPU cooler. Good thermal paste can have a profound impact on your performance because it will allow your processor to transfer more of its waste heat to your cooler, keeping your processor running cool. Choosing the best thermal paste is also important if you plan on overclocking your rig to its fullest. Performance enthusiasts often swear by a favorite brand of paste, but new recipes crop up fairly frequently. We've extensively tested some of the top thermal pastes on the market. If you're hunting for more exotic pastes off the beaten path, we also have plenty of historical data below covering 90 different pastes and yes, we've even tested toothpaste. Thermal paste can go by many names, such as "thermal compound," "thermal grease," or "TIM" Thermal Interface Material , but they all have the same purpose — to help keep your chip cool by ensuring that heat passes efficiently from the CPU to the cooler. Most pastes are made of ceramic or metallic materials suspended within a proprietary binder, allowing for easy application and spread and simple cleanup. Depending on their specific formula, these thermal pastes can be electrically conductive or non-conductive. Electrically conductive thermal pastes can carry electricity between two points, meaning that if the paste squeezes out onto other components, it can cause damage to motherboards and CPUs when you switch on the power.

For amateurs who often find it difficult to apply a thermal paste, this one should be your to-go option. A great thermal paste from a lesser-known brand. CoolLaboratory Liquid Pro.

Aftermarket thermal paste can also drop your GPU temperatures, making thermal paste a vital part of every PC build. When it comes to thermal paste, thermal compound, thermal grease, or TIM thermal interface material , the cooling performance is the most critical part of the selection process, but it's not the end-all-be-all. Other features, such as ease of application, viscosity, and how easy it is to remove the paste from the CPU IHS integrated heat spreader that covers the CPU diealso play an important role. The best thermal paste doesn't have to achieve the absolute best thermal performance, especially if you're a regular user who doesn't plan to overclock their CPU. A quality budget paste is plenty for most users, even those owning one of the best CPUs on the market. You should consider getting a high-end grease or maybe even a liquid metal thermal compound only if you demand the lowest temperatures possible or are into overclocking. Also, don't forget that while regular thermal pastes aren't electrically conductive liquid metal compounds are.

Changes to the shape, size, and internal component layout of modern CPUs have made applying thermal paste, also known as thermal interface material TIM , more complicated than it used to be. CPUs have incorporated ever more cores. And despite shrinking manufacturing nodes, many processors have just gotten physically bigger. So while you used to be able to apply thermal paste basically the same way across all consumer manufacturers and platforms and expect great results, that's no longer the case. And let's face it: There was never any true consensus across the PC-building world about just what is the "right" or the "best" way of applying TIM. We all just know the wrong way when we see it. So at the risk of… verging into an area of hotly contested debate, we're here to offer some simple instructions on how to properly apply your thermal interface material of choice check our tested list of the best thermal paste between your CPU and cooler, to achieve good thermal transfer and get that pesky heat away from your components and outside your case.

Best cpu cooling paste

Thermal paste is critical in keeping processor temperatures low. It's what ensures the most effective transfer of heat between the chip itself and the metal block attached to the socket. Some of the best CPU coolers will come with thermal paste already applied, but we've compiled a list of our favorite thermal pastes in case you need to reseat the CPU or remove the cooler for some reason. If you want the best overall thermal solution for your CPU, this is it. Arctic is a fairly popular brand when it comes to PC cooling solutions. You may have heard of them while searching for thermal paste, but the brand also makes CPU coolers, and case fans, among many other things.

Enesco carlisle

When we sat down to bring you the best thermal pastes of , we did our research and found out how many options were available as a consumer. A bit further down, you'll find our original round of testing with 85 different pastes, some of which we've revisited in this new performance hierarchy. Is it on this list or something else entirely? Thermal Conductivity: 1. This is the absolute best liquid metal thermal solution you can get, and while it's very expensive, it can dramatically drop your CPU or GPU temperatures compared to even the best regular thermal pastes. I use GD Ease of Use: 4. Overall, each compound was evaluated and stressed over a regimen cycle covering six hours with two different coolers and different mounting tensions, making for no less than 90 hours of compound testing for our initial round of tests. The Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut is an impressive, high-end thermal grease made for extreme overclocking. A screw-on cap syringe maintains compound longevity to prevent drying and is priced as an attractive paste for those on a budget. This could cause a huge problem if you spill or otherwise accidentally apply the liquid metal to an area containing electrical contacts.

Choosing the best thermal paste may sound simple, but a dizzying array of options can turn this seemingly easy choice into a time-consuming and confusing task.

However, Phobya LM bucks this trend as it shows you can get good liquid metal compound performance at bargain pricing. A great thermal paste from a lesser-known brand. If you're looking for an alternative and don't care about the price, the PK-3 from Prolimatech has a higher thermal performance but is also double the price compared to the Kryonaut. This heats up the water, which gets funneled into a radiator. We've also included value charts in the album below as well. When designing the test, we wanted to make sure to cover all of our bases to bring you the best results. Non-conductive Price point Comes with a spreader and templates for easy application. Each testing load session was then executed for a one-hour load period, again using Prime Follow us. To cover all the bases, we've tested every thermal paste with three variables:.