ARCTIC MX-4 (4 g) - Premium Performance Thermal Paste for all processors (CPU, GPU - PC, PS4, XBOX), very high thermal conductivity, long durability, safe application, non-conductive, non-capacitive

Product Information

But there are a lot of pastes on the market and not much to differentiate between them, at least on the surface. This only gets more confusing when you take into account the different types of thermal pastes: ceramic-based, carbon-based, metal-based, and liquid metal thermal paste. Corsair Commander Pro, 100%/50% PWM Speed profiles (liquid cooling pump always @100%, if applicable) According to the brand, the Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste is a high-density paste, and it’s easy to see this is true when you squeeze it from the tube. Also, the thermal paste comes composed of 99.9 percent pure micronized silver and is non-electrically conductive. With its design and quality, it allows for highly effective and lasting cooling.

If you’re wondering this does have a very tangible effect. While it might not keep your CPU 7 times cooler, it does lower the temperature by as much as 10 degrees Celsius more than the rest of the pastes on the list. If that doesn’t make it the best GPU thermal paste, then I don’t know what would. That being said, as long as you are buying from a trusted brand, it should be enough for at least a one-time use. So, unless you’re going to use it for more than one unit, it shouldn’t be a pressing issue. The Silver 5 is also one of the best thermal pastes and fits a wide range of systems, no matter the coverage area. That is because it has a more extensive fan base than some other thermal options. – Materials: Effective and Safe to UseAbsolutely, high-quality thermal paste can ensure effective heat dissipation from a processor towards your CPU cooler. Yes, you can use any paste you like but they’re not all created equal. Ultimately, ensuring effective cooling will help ensure longevity at the heart of your PC. And so paying a bit more for recommended, proven and the best thermal paste makes sense. Is it OK to put a lot of thermal paste? What’s more, it’s designed to last for eight years. Your CPU will probably need changing before it wears out. It’s not as capable for multiple CPUs, but it will complete two processors and still have leftovers. Along with its better performance, it’s relatively inexpensive and reliable. Thermal Paste: Mini Buying Guide Computer components heat up when in use. With the processor and the graphics card, this is so bad that they usually have their own dedicated cooling setups. And on those setups, you need thermal paste to help the heat transfer and diffuse; otherwise, you’ll be rebuilding parts of your rig. What’s more, it doesn’t contain any metallic particles to impede electrical conductivity. It’s a bit new to the world of thermal pastes, but it’s attracting a lot of attention. That’s why we are comparing it to the Silver 5 above. – Materials: Infused With Quality According to the manufacturer, the coverage area of the syringe will cover at least 15 to 25 small CPU cores or six to 10 large CPU cores. That also equates to two to five heat plates.

When it comes to PC Cooling, enough attention is paid to the coolers, which is obvious. But thermal pastes and thermal pads play a critical role as well. After all, it is the thermal paste that will be conducting a thermal transfer from source to the cooler. Thermal paste is of paramount consideration when it comes to the effective cooling of the main components like CPU, GPU, PCH, and any other chipset. There are multiple factors contributing towards the optimal performance of the given thermal paste over the period of time like its thermal conductance, viscosity, operating temperature range, make-up, electrically conductive, cure time, etc. The performance value chart shows most of the liquid metal compounds with a poor value-per-gram rating, but once again, Phobya LM proves to be the outlier for that sub-category with its budget price tag. However, there is a catch to it. These wipes have very strong and unpleasant smell that doesn’t go away instantly. ARCTIC is not adding or mixing any artificial flavor for the fragrance to alter this smell. Each wipe is 115x115mm.The Arctic Silver 5 thermal conductivity is one of the key reasons why it’s in demand. It’s a good choice for users who want to paste it to multiple devices. The Arctic MX-4 thermal compound paste has enough quality to keep you going for about eight years. As such, it presents a standard. That’s why any thermal paste shouldn’t be installed regularly. Are you looking for the best thermal paste to use on your CPU or GPU, but aren’t sure which one to go for? If that’s why you’re here, you’re in for a treat because we’ve personally tested over 20 of the most popular pastes used by both enthusiasts and builders to come up with our top 5 best thermal pastes.

Liquid metal compounds make their way to the top of the temperature chart with slightly cooler values than the traditional pastes. Interestingly, the difference between the top and bottom of this chart is less than 4C. The main difference between Arctic Silver 5 and MX4 is, MX4 is safe and straightforward to apply and install with a better performance while Arctic Silver 5 features thermal conductivity. Performance and Quality Unlike its Silver 5 counterpart, it doesn’t need curing for long hours for optimal performance. The Silver 5 requires up to 200 hours, thus it can represent a higher commitment than you might like.

Heat Conducting Materials for CPU and GPU

We must also state that there are many thermal pastes on the market, which have the job of lowering the temperature of your computer by more than a few degrees. Degrees here sound small, but even if you’re not an ardent gamer and enthusiast, you might know that a minor change in temperature can make a world of difference. We tested each thermal paste with a low-tension air cooler mount, high-tension air cooler mount, and a high-tension AIO liquid cooler mount. Each application was given a 1-hour burn-in using Prime95 with ten load and cooling cycles over the course of the hour; six minutes each with a ten-second cool-down between. Each testing load session was then executed for a one-hour load period, again using Prime95. If you apply Arctic Silver 5, you’ll notice that it has a high-density filling of micronized silver and enhanced thermally conductive ceramic particles. As such, it provides a new level of performance and stability for your CPU.

Thermal pastes are important in this day and age, and the battle of these two popular options makes for good reading. The Arctic Silver 5 and MX4 have seen many debates from users and reviewers operating on computers and other devices. Our experts took on the challenge, ready for the quest of finding the one that works best! Here is a statement from ARCTIC about MX-6. “With its improved composition, the ARCTIC MX-6 has a measurably lower thermal resistance than the MX-4. The basis for calculation is the temperature difference between the cooler base and the heat source (in C) in relation to the applied heat load (in W), which also results in the unit C/W. The higher the thermal resistance, the worse the heat can be transferred through the TIM layer. Thermal insulators, as an example, therefore always have a particularly high thermal resistance, while thermal interface materials usually have a particularly low one.” use to its final consistency designed for long-term stability. (This should not be confused with conventional It’s no surprise that the liquid metal compounds once again sit atop the thermal comparison. Still, a 6C difference between all 15 thermal compounds tested shows there isn’t a lot of variation, even with a 360 all-in-one cooler with a push+pull fan setup for performance. Liquid metal compounds are almost always electrically conductive, so while these compounds perform better than their paste counterparts, they require more focus and attention during application. They are very hard to remove if you get some in the wrong place, which would fry your system.On top of that, liquid metals can't be used with aluminum heat sinks since the Gallium in them reacts with aluminum. That's not really an issue since most heat sinks (remember, not all) are made of copper which is nonreactive with the liquid metal. That being said, the high risk pays off in meaningful ways the liquid metal provides up to 73 W/(mK) thermal conductivity. It's much higher than the 0.5-12.5 W/(mK) thermal conductivity provided by conventional thermal pastes. A danger to look out for with thermal pastes is electrical conductivity. Apart from that, some pastes are more challenging to apply than others.