I used to think thermal paste was just thermal paste until I saw a 8 degree difference

I was swapping a CPU on a Dell Optiplex 7050 last week and used some random generic white stuff I had sitting around. A buddy suggested I try Arctic MX-4 instead, and my idle temps dropped from 42 to 34 degrees under load testing. Has anyone else noticed that much of a change just from switching brands?

3 comments

3 Comments

jade7385d ago

I had a similar experience with an old Phenom II build I kept running as a home server. I was using that standard gray silicone based paste you get in little tubes and my temps were hovering around 55c under regular file transfer loads. A friend gave me a tube of Noctua NT-H1 and after cleaning the old stuff off and applying it, my temps dropped to 47c under the same workload. That 8 degree difference you saw is a bigger deal than a lot of people think, it can keep a fan from ramping up or help an older system stay stable during the summer months. Some of those cheap pastes also dry out and crack after six months, which makes things even worse over time.

diana_king5d agoTop Commenter

No joke, that dry out and crack thing is real. Had an old rig start overheating out of nowhere and found the paste had basically turned into dust.

terryallen5d ago

It's wild how the difference between "good enough" and "actually good" shows up everywhere, not just in tech. Almost makes me wonder what else I'm just settling for without realizing it.