Thermal compounds roundup for 2008
Page 3 - Tests
Page 3 - Tests
The compounds we listed so far were compared to their biggest rivals, which happen to be better known to the users. And they are:
- Arctic Silver 5
- Arctic Cooling MX-2
- Tuniq TX-2 ( review of it you can read here )
- Bulgarian white silicone compound
The ambient temperature during testing was 21 degrees centigrade
Tests were concluded with the following rig:
- Motherboard: Gigabyte P35 DS3R
- Processor: Core 2 Duo E2180 @ 1.45V – 3000Mhz
- Video card: XpertVision 8800GT 512MB
- Memory: APACER 2x2GB Gold
- PSU: Fortron Epsilon 700W
The processor was cooled by D-Tek Fuzion V1 water block, the video card by Swiftech MCW-60. In all tests the blocks were both connected, with the processor block being the first in the system.
Here are the results we gathered:
As you can see the winner is our recent acquaintance - Tuniq TX-2.
Time for some more comparing. In the table below we've displayed different compound characteristics – price, weight, number of uses according to the manufacturer, availability in Bulgaria and thickness (which directly indicates how easy it is to apply):
| Compound | Price | Quantity | Uses | Availability | Thickness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arctic Silver 5 | 4.99 EUR | 3.5 gr. | 10 | Yes | High |
| AC MX2 | 3.49 EUR | 4 gr. | 10 | Yes | High |
| Noctua NT-H1 | 6.79 EUR | 1.4 ml. | 15 | Only with coolers | High |
| Gelid GC1 | 4.70 EUR | 5 gr. | 20 | No | Average |
| Coolink Chillaramic | 6.68 EUR | 10 gr. | 30 | No | Average |
| Revoltec Diamond Compound | 3.95 EUR | 6 gr. | 10 | Uncertain | Low |
| Revoltec Thermal Freeze | 4.05 EUR | 6 gr. | 10 | Uncertain | Low |
| Tuniq TX-2 | 2.99 EUR | 3.5 гр. | 10 | No | High |
| BG | 0.50 EUR | 10 гр. | 20 | Yes | Average |
We'll make one last comparison - the price per use. Mind you, that isn't very precise (because the uses declared by the manufacturer aren't very accurate). Prices are sorted in ascending order:
| Compound | Price per use | Number of uses |
|---|---|---|
| BG | 0,025 EUR | 20 |
| Coolink Chillaramic | 0,222667 EUR | 30 |
| Gelid GC1 | 0,235 EUR | 20 |
| Tuniq TX-2 | 0,299 EUR | 10 |
| Arctic Cooling MX2 | 0,349 EUR | 10 |
| Revoltec Diamond Compound | 0,395 EUR | 10 |
| Revoltec Thermal Freeze | 0,405 EUR | 10 |
| Noctua NT-H1 | 0,452667 EUR | 15 |
| Arctic Silver 5 | 0,499 EUR | 10 |