AceCombat reporting in.
Today i bring some thermalpaste and do some reviews for u guys here.


Thermalpaste on hand,ready to rock and roll


Arctic Cooling MX-2
MX-2 reference webby


Tuniq TX-2
TX-2 reference webby


Artic Silver 5
AS5 reference webby


Arctic Cooling MX-1
MX-1 reference webby


Cooler Master stock
No reference webby


Thermalright stock
No reference webby


With everything ready,let's move on:
Testbed:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.0GHz 1.18vcore
Asus P5K-Premium 0404 BIOS rev A2
Team Xtreem DDR2 800MHz D9GMH B6-3 2x1GB
Xigmatek S1283 with Lian Li 60CFM fan
Zotac 8800GT fitted with Zalman FC-ZV9 Fatal1ty
Enermax Infiniti 650W
WD Raptor in RAID 0
Cooler Master STC-T01 w/100CFM fan as exhaust and 200CFM fan as intake blow directly to GC area

Ambient temperature is 30c,no air cond no fan,just natural.


Genuine Software:
Window XP Pro SP2
Riva Tuner 2.06
ATi Artifact Scanning tool 0.26
3DMark06 Professional Edition from Asus Maximus Formula
Techpowerup GPU-Z 0.15


Let's move on!!!!

i'll start the review by using my Zotac 8800GT non-AMP version,Processor review coming soon.

Stock clock 660MHz/900Mhz
But i downclocked to 650MHz/900MHz for easier reference.
All thermalpaste is freshly applied and i'll run a 3DMark06 Professional Edition to sink the thermalpaste (short term sinking) then only i run ATi Artifact Scanning Tool.

Procedures:
Run 3Dmark06 once applied with new thermalpaste and break for 10 minutes to record idle temperature of GC core by using Riva Tuner 2.06,
Load ATi Artifact Scanning Tool for 20 minutes (short load) to get the temperature of GC core.

I replaced Zotac's stock hsf to Zalman FC-ZV9 Fatal1ty
FC-ZV9 reference webby

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First thermalpaste to test:
Artic Silver 5

Idle temp with freshly applied AS5


Load temp


Idle:43c
Load:55c

AS5 spreaded on GC core after test


AS5 is very hard to clean as it's too sticky,,since AS5 needs at least 200hours to sink,i believe that it has better performance after 200 hours.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Second thermalpaste to test:
Arctic Cooling MX-2

Idle temp with freshly applied MX-2


Load temp


Idle:44c
Load:53c

MX-2 spreaded on GC core after test


MX2 spreaded evenly on the GC core,but the result is kinda disappointed,but i hope it will perform well in the coming processor test.
It performs very good in load temp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Third thermalpaste to test:
Arctic Cooling MX-1

Idle temp with freshly applied MX-1


Load temp:


Idle:44c
Load:55c

MX-1 spreaded on GC core after test:


Old technology compared to MX-2,this is the first generation of MX series from AC,bad idle temp and bad load temp for this highly rated thermalspate from other reviews.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This post has been edited by AceCombat: Dec 27 2007, 05:26 PM

fourth thermalpaste on the hand:
Tuniq TX-2

idle temperature of freshly applied TX-2


load temp:


idle:43c
load:53c

TX-2 spreaded on GC core after test:


this is the latest thermalpaste introduced by Tuniq,but overall it perform very well,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

fifth thermalpaste is ready:
Cooler Master stock

idle with freshly applied CM stock


load temp:


idle:44c
load:54c

CM stock paste spreaded on GC core after test:


unbelievable result given by a normal stock thermalpaste,even better than MX-1,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sixth (last) thermalpaste to test:
Thermalright stock

idle with it freshly applied


load temp:


idle:44c
load:55c

Thermalright stock paste spreaded on Fatal1ty hsf.


this consider a normal performance for stock thermalpaste
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Conclusion:


TX2 rated:9/10-------RM25
MX2 rated:8/10------RM30
CMS rated:8/10-----RM155 from Gemin II
AS5 rated:7.5/10----RM35
MX1 rated:6.5/10----RM30
TRS rated:6/10------RM299 from Thermalright IFX-14

Tuniq TX-2 is the champ!!!

i hope this review is useful to u guys,but sorry to tell that i have no enough time to make all those thermalpaste sinked perfectly.

more review coming soon.

Thanks & Regards
AceCombat
Republic of Gamers
Formerly known as Leader of Penang's Overclocker Club

This post has been edited by AceCombat: Dec 27 2007, 05:48 PM

feel free to discuss over here,i closed previous topic due to n00b spamming.

Tuniq MX-2?
Wat tat, hybrid or Tuniq TX-2 and AC MX-2?

Typo lar brader, opps, sister KC...

Hmmm.... so for graphic cards, looks like the temperature difference is not much irregardless of what type of thermal paste....

Ace, maybe you can list out the usual price of each, so that you can compare the performance vs price too.

typo

i listed,but i think those price is not accurated,cause long time no buy thermalpaste

Wow..TX2 is indeed impressive huh. More interested in comparison for processor though. Good job there bro. Nice review indeed. If possible, do a sinked in and it shows the true side of all thermal paste..LOL...

Nice review bro ace..Thanks

I think Tuniq TX-2 is the best for buck..can get for Rm25 and then 0.5g more than Artic silver MX-2 if im not mistaken...izzit bro Ace??

where can we get these thermalpaste?

if u're in jb, then u're in luck..
because apex computer shop in landmark it mall sells tx2 for rm20, i got it for rm 15 after haggling
i dunno where they get it from, but it's dirt cheap..
btw i bought my tx2 2 days ago

This post has been edited by ben_panced: Dec 27 2007, 06:24 PM

Well, i remember someone selling them in Bulk/Garage Sales. Look them up. It cost RM25 per tube..

AC MX-2 doesnt need curing time right?

what's the original temp b4 u tried with these thermal paste?
does it really bring improvement?

thinking of slapping in some AC MX-2 on my HD3850

This post has been edited by mmohdnor: Dec 27 2007, 07:09 PM

ace, i think you need a few days time to take accurate temperature reading?

hmm, seems like not much improvement when put at the gc,
wonder how they perform if put at the proc...

i know,but sadly i have no enough time to do it,just short review,tomolo come back with proc.

we'll know tomolo

Ace mui mui, where did you get the AS5 for RM35? kinda expensive la

i read some where that tuniq tx-2 is basically Mx-2 .. just sligtly tweaked chemically...

ace, wat about the Zotac temp when using stock paste?

where's nano fusion...?

just my assumation only

no matter how it tweak,it still better than MX-2


48c idle and 58c load with fatality,if stock hsf,idle 60 load 8xc,now only u remind me to post the stock temp.

i dont have CM nano fusion on hand bro,if u soponsor,i dont mind

nano fusion was one of the worst paste ive ever deal with. Performance wise are just slightly better than those normal white goo. But there is another problem to consider, nano fusion is EXTREMELY easy to dry up and harden, even in the original packing. There was 3 pack in my shop where it was returned by customer because it hardened before even use !!

I got tuniq tx2 today in imbi lolz
nice to hear that tuniq is champ
thanks TS.

i think i need to change my GC and PROC thermal paste now

btw, thx for the review ace

bro oxburg, what was the price you paid for the turig??? Let us know lah if rm20 or 25 !!!

not really,las time when i used Nano Fusion,it's much better than AS5,just u must have a skill to apply the paste.

no problemo

pls pm him.

good job bro, at least we can know which thermalpaste better.

I agree with what alieamin said, at least we know which one better. Do the right decision in purchasing new thermalpaste.

Thanks for your review.

i got it at imbi robycom at RM25 haha.Try find eric chan.He is nice guy.

MX-2 is aite.. better than AS5 in cooling, something i saw about mx-2, it does need some curing time, to settle in.. but well, its aite I will give Tuniq Tx-2 follwing Ace mei mei review And make a proc comparison with my e6750.. which is better, given the free time i have

Ho.....I thought mx2 is only the best...Now you make my eyes wide open!! And best review done!

Let us know soon the result

@acecombat

i dont think there is a clear winner actually... not to cucuk ur review or anything. but that one degree on idle doesnt mean it will be beter..... could have been a slight human error.. or just that extra too much paste.. or too little.. we may never know.. but solid review anyways..

But credits give to you for ur 8800GT with ZV9 pics....Finding around never seen 1 locally then found urs.Seems like no need any sinks for the right side of the chips?

Seems to me that Tuniq Tx-2 is just as good as AC mx-2 from several review over the net including this one. Its cheaper too!. Anyone beg to differ?

i think generally the difference will come after curing and also when you overclock.. alot of thermal pasted designed these days now work well when u want to control the load temps ..

err, theres nothing wrong with a 1 degree difference when its a couple of joules involved, in energy terms. Its a lot of difference. I would think for now that the difference would solely rely on processor cooling. Having too much of paste or too little will not affect anything, maybe burn your board due to contact.. with the leakage.

I still give thumbs up for Acecombats review.

Somebody do a bulk price of 20 or less and I'll jump in ur band wagon.

Some US folks have already started using those new diamond dust compound. If someone is willing to do a bulk on that would be great

diamond dust compounds.. wow man, diamond is on the top of the list for conduction in the table lol.. how much would this cost.. 1gram=rm100? hehe. clawy, you buy and test it first, tell me after that:)

but it will cost a bomb,i heard about it too,last time was liquid metal teh best,now diamond

i dont mind giving it a go.. first i need to try the tuniq and do test on it.. and compare with mx-2

yo bro,u r an overclocker,1c different makes some different,yes i do admit sometime is human error,that's why i took all the pic after the tim spreaded on the core to make sure most of them applied in almost same quantity.
anyway,where is my grill


thanks for ur compliment.


nice say.

Can extract diamond from it haha.

WOOT 30g pack of mx2





source from vr-zone

http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/ARCTIC_COO..._Pack/5470.html

the pakage looks like colgate

This post has been edited by intothefantasy: Dec 28 2007, 01:50 AM

lol an mx-2 a day keeps the naughty heat away

Walao everyday change thermal paste arr haha.....

How much this cost? = =

it was a funny thought la dun la so serious.

It doesn't cost a bomb because people don't take a real diamond and make it to dust for our thermal compound usage They probably collect the diamond dusts which falls during cutting of diamonds. A tube is a few USD more expensive than AS5.

Did you lapped the heatsink and/or VGA chipset?

Could have told me earlier, have some Ceramique left over and yes MX-2 takes some time to cure but Tuniq works immediately, hmm..

This post has been edited by wodenus: Dec 28 2007, 02:53 AM

@acecombat

ur fangrill ill pm u in a bit...


anyway im not saying u did wrong lah... but when review TIM it is alwayas subjective one.. especially when idle temps come into play... coz a slight suden gust of cold wind into ur room cna make it drop 1 degree.... but still as i said solid review

his zalman alredi damm smooth.i dun think lapping will increase much performance = =

If you enjoy modding and wanted to get the best out of everything, you can always give it a shot and try lapping

But do keep in mind, those sandpapers are not free...

I don't think anything is free and everything comes with a price. As I say, if one is interested in modding and an enthusiast, the few ringgit of sandpaper is not a lot compared to the success and satisfaction out of it.

well it does increase the efficiency of heat transfer having it lapped the right way. This sandpapers are dirt cheap( i buy it all the time) compared to the AC cleaners in the market. and also its the best way to have a smooth smooth surface.

I agree with uncle claw

i think there will be errors in any test or experiment, so basically i think the 1c difference couldnt make any difference as errors in measurements can be classified as:
Gross errors
Instrumental Errors
Environmental Errors
Observational Errors
So, @acecombat, i think if really wanted to test out accurately who is the winner, u need to control the ambient temperature, ur measuring sensors and so on... but i think it is impossible to get accurate temp as the onboard sensors also got some measurements errors, depends on its sensitivity, so i think the +-1c difference is acceptable la... but if 2c above then should be identical la, which is the best... best u can do is get 99% accurate measurements, but that will cost u to buy ur own high end temperature sensors. This is just my opinion, haha.... btw, good review there, make us know which thermalpaste to choose in future

iyo u all pity ace mei mei la..she just only 11 years old trying to contribute to hardware information ma lol....btw ace mei mei surely done a great review or might say a rough review which gives us the ideas on choosing which thermal paste in the future

I have to agree on this. AceCombat is just doing a favour and sharing thoughts by comparing several thermal compounds and the results. It definitely wouldn't be a very precise one and if it need be, someone would have to do all these in a proper laboratory. I've seen many reviews with different ambient temp when different results were taken from review sites to Xtreme forum members, etc over the years. I don't think its much of an issue and reviews are something that gives you a brief overview of the product, not a scientific yet accurate conclusion. Plus, not all reviews are true and correct.

For someone like AceCombat that doesn't mind taking the time to swap, clean and test all those thermal compounds, credits should be given and for those that would like to have precise measurements, please go borrow a lab from NASA or whoever and complete a good review for everyone of us here in LY.net

because of this thread... i bought Tunix TX-2 together with my Mini Typhoon... so far so good... X2 6000+ 3.0GHz... OCed to 3.51GHz on max vcore, 1.5++... dont really remember.. while running SuperPI.. temp is around 49C - 51C...

Man...these cracks me up...

This post has been edited by clayclws: Dec 28 2007, 06:18 AM

well, i have a few to say here, this boy here has taken his time and all his effort to give us this results. By the way in experimental terminology there can be two errors, one is relative error and the other instrumental error.

In malaysia, there is no need for an ambient temperature reading to the fact that he is running the test on level ground to most of us, and in Malaysia. Given the fact that he did not use Air condition to run this test, is already a clear assumption that ambient temperature is used. In any experimental instrument, there is always calibration, thus a method to reduce relative and instrumental errors, in this sense he is not using meters, he is using on board sensors, that are in a way, calibrated.

The point is, in computers, a 1 degree decrease does make a difference, and also remember that there wasnt any curing done, So i can expect a bigger variance between the two or more thermal paste. If you are rich enough, or anyone here is rich enough to sponsor this boy to run test, then it would do good, but since no one is even helping, this review is roughly taken as a benchmark test la.

must get discount liao,so long time liao.
anyway,i did this review with totally in very hot condition,no fan,balcony closed,door all closed,so that's mean i just use the isolated air in my living hall to make the ambient temeparature even for every test,even i also sweating over there due to quite hot


argee with u,but sadly the fatal1ty come with mirror finished....

i always make sure all the temp are correct,if u want me to prove,i can prove to u what is the environment looks like and how it has been done.i use onboard sensor for EVERY test,so the result will difinitely be accurated compared to others,anyway,no one sponsor me high end stuff,i fork out my daily pocket money to buy all those things that make th review

thanks for ur support bro,anyway,it took me a long time just to make this short review,cause i used a 3dmark06 run to make the core hot and try to sink the paste for a test,(around 15 minutes) then have to wait to take idle temp and so on,not easy,but as long as i can share with u guys,it's good to hear that u guys make up ur mind to get what thermalpaste that u like
anyway,i wish i do have a lab

suicide run

hope u dont mind i just a 11 years old little girl.

thanks bro!!!!
thanks for support me!!!
more review coming soon if u have enough budget.

i kinda agree this. And some paste does need some time to settle in to actually get better temp.

Btw, Ace, i wonder how you take the temperature ?
highest temp or??
Like MX-2 53C, but the graph there seems like does went up like 54C or maybe 55C

all results only differ by a bit, i'm wondering AS5 after sinking time, will it outperform the rest cause i'm thinking of getting either AS5 or MX2

BTW i asked alot ppl about lapping story.Beside our successful story in forum, alot ppl suffering from unbalanced surface after lapping.Then the performance is drop drastically.So other then spending money on material, time, we risk our heatsink also = =

This Tuniq TX-2, any idea how many times can be used?

Thumbs up for little combat brader!

btw, what is the Tuniq TX-2 net weight per pack? 4g ah?

This post has been edited by ongbs: Dec 28 2007, 02:41 PM

it is at 3.5g as pic shown below


look at bottom

This post has been edited by ir1z: Dec 28 2007, 03:00 PM

haha, yeah its a good review, i just wanted to mention we cant get 100% accuracy in any test, tht's all... yeah i respect acecombats contribution to the forums by sharing info among us, make me put the tx-2 at the top of the list if i gonna purchase thermalpaste in the future...

yayaya....my fault my fault sorry then,btw dun luan luan call ppl noob

This post has been edited by herojack41: Dec 28 2007, 03:22 PM

Even got 1 celcius devation also not bad.The price alredi killed the MX-2.

Well, it's just a suggestion. Plus, I can't conclusive say lapping would always give better temps too
The bottom line is, if you're unsure and not confident on what you're doing, don't do it.

Ditto!

u have 3 stars here still dont know what is reserved post,anyway,sorry for everything.

Thermal paste showed no much difference, if demand lower temp., change a better will makes more difference.

@AceGirly
aiks using P5K Premium d? Wut think bout the board?

This post has been edited by zeustronic: Dec 28 2007, 08:37 PM

brother....i just joined this forum 1 months only ,i duno this forum got booking 1

This post has been edited by herojack41: Dec 28 2007, 10:49 PM

a very perfect mobo i must say,serve me quite well.

1 month got almost 500 posts,

omg can't believe tx2 own mx2
i juz bought mx2 rm35.....
thx for the review

Umm Ace where is Imbi Plaza ar haha......

I am using the Zalman STG1 Thermal Paste, easy to apply. Not too sure about performance. I think it's either similar to Artic Silver 5 or slightly better.

I used to have Artic Silver 3 and Artic Silver 5. I heard that this Artic Cooling MX 2 is pretty good. Might try that next time.

Ace, I am still waiting your TIM test on the Proc

Wooh, we using a same TIM

lol u better then me la..just brought another tube of mx2 last 2 days ago at rm40

proc one coming very soon bro

Can conclude that TX-2 perform better or MX-2 or it still varies?

Anyway, TX-2 is selling at RM25 which is cheaper than MX-2 at RM35

i saw few reviews. I can conclude that tx-2 is better a bit slightly or even same performance with mx-2.But when come to price with the performance.tx-2 is clear winner lol

Lowyat got sell this tx2 thingy ar?

Then we have urself the winner ladies and gentlemen....TX2.!!