best thermal compound for H100i

[creos7]

What is the best thermal compound for H100i, price is not a factor (well, ok I guess under $50 :) ). Thanks!

[Quiz]

I've heard that the stuff that comes pre-applied is excellent. Other than that, I am not sure. Someone else might fill that in.

[creos7]

ya i need to be prepared for when i have to reinstall the unit

 

someone on tom's hardware suggested this

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark

[creos7]

FYI i'll go with Noctua NT-H1 mostly because of its low viscosity and high ease-of-use according to tom's h/w. It even performs marginally better than MX4 for watercooling units so I would be gaining ease-of-use and be no worse off for it.

[Latharion]

I use Indigo Xtreme. At $8.00 US per application, it's a bit pricy, but it's fantastic for coolers like the H100i if the intent is not to swap out coolers often. It has zero curing time, and never breaks down over time so it is optimal for such an application. For users who prefer to swap out coolers often, something like Shin Etsu, MX4, or Noctua all work very well and have a very low curing time. If all else fails, there is always Arctic Silver 5, although it's 200 hour max cure time is really annoying. Any of those are excellent and one really cannot go wrong with any one of those. Stear clear of the cheapo "thermal white grease" products though. FYI, any of the diamond-based products may (and probably will) mar the surface of the CPU lid. Basically, they "polish" the etching right off the lid. Thermally speaking they work great, but just keep that in mind of one chooses to use diamond-based TiM.

[peanutz94]

I use Indigo Xtreme. At $8.00 US per application, it's a bit pricy, but it's fantastic for coolers like the H100i if the intent is not to swap out coolers often.

I use it myself, but the thing is with IX, the reflow process takes some guts to do. A lot of users aren't willing to let their CPU go to TJMax and sit there for a period of time until the TIM flows. Theres a bit more "risk" involved as compared to standard materials. My CPU took over a minute for the tell tale temp drop. Sat there chewing my nails counting every second the first time. I'm glad it did. I ran out of fingers and my thumb was quickly approaching bare bone!:eek::biggrin:

 

Getting the plastic sheet to sit just right under the CPU can be challenging at times too.

But For anyone who is wanting to try it please read all the instructions on IX site so you know exactly whats involved and if this is something your willing to do.

 

A while back a group of us even did some testing with the IX extreme with the Hseries coolers and also with CL systems. The results,although mixed, were pretty good.

 

This thread is what started us testing

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=97551&highlight=indego+extreme

 

And our results.

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=98077&highlight=indego+extreme

 

Stear clear of the cheapo "thermal white grease" products though

Yeah, I agree . Although I have actually had pretty good results with best buys Dynex paste. It was only a couple of deg difference between that and MX4 or AS5. For those of you who are in parts of the world where it's hard to come by, most any of them will work fine. Especially for day to day use and systems that are not heavy stressed on a regular basis.

 

And as Latharion pointed out, stay away from the Diamond and Ceramic pastes for the reasons he posted.