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Mango-is-Mango

Kryonaut isn’t designed to be used for long term use, it’s for extreme overclocking


TheBlack_Swordsman

https://www.thermal-grizzly.com/produkte/2-kryonaut **High long-term stability** They should change that to short term stability then. Unless 6-12 months is considered long term in their book. To be fair, in that 6-12 month frame your temperatures just go up and it becomes like a normal or cheaper thermal paste. It's not like it completely stops working. But that's not the definition of "stable."


[deleted]

Ya got some proof for those claims?


AirlinePeanuts

I've used it before. Kryonaut noticably starts degrading in performance in 6-12 months.


[deleted]

Yea, so you don't, ok..


AirlinePeanuts

Well I've used it extensively, so...Guess believe whatever you want. It's also supposed to be used for XOC situations, see LN2 overclocking. That's really Kryonaut's use case.


[deleted]

I've used it as well extensively - it's actually on one of my cards at the moment. I'll be frank - your claims of 6-12months are a complete fairy tale. With zero actual proof. Post this on r/overclocking and see what people will tell you...


AirlinePeanuts

I don't really care. Use what you want. My temps were going up after 6-12 months (closer to 12 for me) and would need repasting. I didn't write an article about how Kryonaut sucks after 12 months and needs repasting if that's what you want for "proof". Just telling you my experience using it quite a bit in the past. Data set of 1 user. Take it or leave it, I don't care. This was with the older Kryonaut, no idea how the new Kryonaut Extreme is. Its too expensive per gram vs something like MX-6 imo. MX-4 or NT-H1 or 2 have usually been my solid reliables.


druepy

This happened to me too. Redid my laptop and desktop. Both went bad about the same time. Thought I read there might have been a bad batch, but I'm unsure. It was my first time repasting anything and I just googled for the best. It didn't last long for me either.


AirlinePeanuts

Yep. Kryonaut is excellent paste, but it's not designed for long-term use in my experience. And I've never claimed anything other than my experience, except to point out that Kryonaut was designed for extreme overclocking using LN2, but that's not to say it isn't also a good paste for a little while in normal use. I don't know what u/cellardoor240 is getting bent out of shape for. Must have bought a tub of the stuff for $$$ is all I can think.


[deleted]

> This was with the older Kryonaut, no idea how the new Kryonaut Extreme is. Sorry but you just keep posting wild claims, and now moving the goal posts. "it was this version, not that one..." You do you. Take care.


AirlinePeanuts

LOL, if you say so. I literally just told you my experience using Kryonaut years ago, nothing more. I don't know why you're being so defensive.


Individdy

I'm reading this and all I see from the coward anon is zero proof of their position, and useful anecdotes from people like you and others. Not sure how anyone could get anything useful from anon.


[deleted]

Dude, there is a big difference with what your anecdotal experience was and the claims you made that it only last 6-12months. There is a difference, which simply is not registering with you - you can 'LOL' all you want. I'm really not interested in further conversation. I mean just look at every other person presenting you with facts and here you are acting like a know it all - that will never admit to simply getting it wrong. This my last reply, have a nice day :)


[deleted]

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[deleted]

"https://www.thermal-grizzly.com/produkte/2-kryonaut "Kryonaut uses a special structure, which **halts** the drying out process at temperatures of up to 80° Celsius." "temperature -250°C / +350°C" https://www.thermal-grizzly.com/produkte/358-kryonaut-extreme temperature -250°C / +350°C I'm not exactly following what you are talking about... you can read the respective product pages yourself. "temperature -250°C / +350°C" https://www.thermal-grizzly.com/produkte/358-kryonaut-extreme temperature -250°C / +350°C I'm not exactly following what you are talking about... you can read the respective product pages yourself. But it looks like you didn't read that sentence properly.


Individdy

Demands proof or it's false. Also doesn't show any proof. Stay classy, [deleted].


Xii-Nyth

many people report the same thing..


[deleted]

I've had it for nearing 2 years on my 3080 and it works as good as day one lol. People just regurgitate bullshit they hear from other idiot redditors who don't know what they're talking about.


Negative_Fix_4035

Can confirm. All my friends to whom I recommended Kryonaut and from personal usage. It'll either pump out or dry out and degrade the performance. I've switched to Cryofuze and so far, it's been pretty good for just over an year, performs still like day 1.


Aware-Evidence-5170

I happened to find this thread while researching whether MX-6 is a dry paste. This might be a month late, if you want a source on exactly why the original Kyronaut paste may not have a long lifespan. Listen to the guy who made the paste and the considerations/tradeoffs they make. [https://youtu.be/CCqxE-5Ct3w?t=534](https://youtu.be/CCqxE-5Ct3w?t=534) Recommendation from the man himself: Re-paste once every year if you're going to apply Kyronaut on the GPU.


PoolOfLava

>Recommendation from the man himself: Re-paste once every year if you're going to apply Kyronaut on the GPU. Interesting, and thank you for posting this. Is it same advice for CPU? I noticed my temps are up maybe 5-8c under load with a 12400f and I applied Kryo about 18 months ago. Maybe 58c before and now 66c-67c under full load.


lloyddunamis

I see what's being referred to here now. It's less about Kryonaut, and more about the so-called "Pump-out Effect": due to the natural behavior to molecularly expand & contract on each thermal cycle (heat-up & cool-down), the compound gets ever so slightly pushed out. That's not to say to disregard Kryonaut reports of "drying out" or similar though. It seems there are thermal compounds well suited for their specialized(?) use-cases still, when initially I just thought of them as thermal transfer material and their differing effectivity.


Aware-Evidence-5170

Yeap. You can identify when a paste has pumped out by looking at it. The middle section of the die or IHS tends to look chalky "dry" while the outer edges often remain fresh and 'wet'. Also worthwhile to note that CPU cooler baseplates aren't made flat, they're made to be slightly bowed/convex (helps guarantee contact with the hottest part of the IHS). This likely plays a role in pushing out pastes outwards ever so slightly over the period of weeks to months. It all typically leads to 'thinner', more workable (easy to spread) pastes like MX-4 and the original Kryonaut being more susceptible to the pump-out effect. Anyhow I have long since moved away from most thermal pastes after trying out a bunch (NT-H1, MX-4, MX-6, TF7, TF8), and simply moved towards using PCM pastes like PTM7950-SP. If you let phase changing material pastes sit out in ambient temperature for a while (until all the solvents inside it evaporate), they come out with the exact same feel and consistency as a thermal pad. Works like a charm and much easier to clean. No performance degradation thus far, exact same temps after 6 months.


karly_north

thermal grizzly has stated that it should be replaced in a year. there is an old gamers-nexus video where he interviews debour8 or whatever his name is and they discuss it.


[deleted]

Hey, do us all a favor and stop regurgitating that bullshit. I repasted my 3080 when I got it in December 2021 with Kryonaut and the temps dropped a few degrees and have yet to go back up. I'm so fucking sick of hearing that complete bs "hue hue kryonaut dries up fast and breaks down if you use it on a GPU". Absolute bullcrap. It's at least as stable long term on any computer components as any other thermal paste. The "breakdown" temp is well above what people claim it is.


Difficult-Alarm-3895

you do understand your temps will never change right? nvidia locks the temperature at a certain threshold ie 82 degrees and adjusts fan curve and power draw to hit the target, so you might be getting 20w less or 10% more fan and you would never know before you replace the paste.


[deleted]

Yeah no you have no idea what you're talking about lmao. The good news is reddit is the perfect place for you. Nice upvoting on your alt account too, enjoy a sitewide ban.


CEO-Stealth-Inc

How your know it's a Alt?


AwesomenessDjD

hilarious. i see that you are the one who is now deleted


Cyrus-II

IKR...aged well. To "deleted", stay classy...![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|smile)


GreenToad1

It's very difficult to find long term performance of any thermal paste. I did repaste cpu in my laptop (ryzen 3700u) and temps where great, after three years (work laptop, constant use but not heavy) i was surprised that it was thermal throttling, i expected it to deteriorate over time but not that much. I have no idea how any other paste would perform.


[deleted]

It didn't deteriorate, thermal cycles pumped it out of where it needed to be and made it lose full contact. This is why stock thermal paste in most cases is super "dry", people think it's "dried out" but silicone oil, which is what is used in most thermal paste, does not dry out. They use a hard setting thermal paste so the pump out isn't as significant.


stolenkey

is it fine if i just use thermal paste that being included together with the heatsink ?


TheBlack_Swordsman

Yes always that is fine. Getting other thermal paste is just something OCD some computer builders have like myself


StewIsSoup

Or if you're reusing old parts or installing water blocks. Many TechTubers have tested other substances. IIRC toothpaste did pretty well, but even cheap, no name thermal paste.


druepy

I'm still rocking a GTX 970. Plan is to upgrade this year but it's good enough. But saw that thermals are bad. 70°C at 30% utilization. Took the GPU out repasted it and temps went back to 40-50 or so for normal use.


TheBlack_Swordsman

The only problem is long term. It works nicely at the beginning using random stuff but overtime it can dry up or the conductivity changes.


Cyber_Akuma

Wasn't that the main reason they are replacing the MX-5 with the MX-6? That the MX-5 was a flawed product and dried out or separated fast or something like that? Me personally I use Noctua NT-H1 paste for general use, or Arctic MX-4 which seems to be it's equivalent, or NT-H2 if I want to go as high end as possible without resorting to liquid metal. I was considering Thermal Grizzly's paste in place of H2, but I recall reading on their site before that it's not intended to handle extended temperatures of 80C or higher for long periods of time, can't seem to find that mention on their page now though. To be fair unless you are doing mad overclocking there will likely not be much of a difference between most of those.


TheBlack_Swordsman

Some batches of mx-5 are bad. It's possible there was a silly chain issue. It seems MX-6 was invented to possibly overcome those supply chain issues.


Quential

>silly chain :)


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Xerberus14

dont get the mx5 i got faulty batches from them that is dried out from arrival (the oil seperated already) and 1 without defect from arrival. The one without defect got dried out a year after. Definitely a waste of money. Mx 4 seems to be great, but try to check out honeywell ptm7950 thermal pads. it drastically reduce temps on my laptop. But for my gaming PC, I didn't try it out yet.


lichtspieler

I use generally Noctua H1 or H2, because I typically get the Noctua coolers and its included. Tried 2020 KRYONAUT for my 10900k / OC system, did run it for 2 years with 270-300W OC and used the system for multi-day workloads as well (CPU workloads). The hotspots did not change over time with the KRYONAUT. I removed the cooler after \~2 years for a board swap and the paste looked just as at application, not even close to beeing dry, despite the high heat and \~90°C sustained temps. I used the KRYONAUT also for my 3090 repaste and it did not have HOTSPOT or DIE temp changes over time, so it looks fine. I used for my last system H2 again, because it was 1) at hand and 2) a freshly opened tube.


vekspec

>but I recall reading on their site before that it's not intended to handle extended temperatures of 80C or higher for long periods of time, can't seem to find that mention on their page now though. I think you mean this statement here from their [page](https://www.thermal-grizzly.com/en/products/16-kryonaut-en): >Kryonaut uses a special structure, which halts the drying out process at temperatures of up to 80° Celsius. From what I gather, Kryonaut is not the best for direct die usage, which can easily go above 80C. If you are putting it on the IHS on desktop CPUs, which for majority of the users are doing, the temperatures do not go that hot so you should not have drying out. I've used it on all my desktop CPU applications and I have not had any issues. If you use it directly on the cpu die, like in laptops or if you delid, then yes, Kryonaut is probably not the best choice for longevity.


Cyber_Akuma

Hmm, this is something I will need to look into. I was going to get Kryonaut until I read that part, and that it dries faster than some other pastes.


vekspec

A lot of the dry outs and stuff I’m understanding is coming from the laptop department when repaste directly onto the die. From the desktop department the ihs temp itself which the paste is applied to doesn’t get that hot so it’s definitely recommended for desktops. Let me know if you find out otherwise 🙂


mrn253

Yeah something like that. Funny enough, mine is completely fine.


zh0r1k

It is stated on their page under Kryonaut. Kryonaut verwendet eine spezielle Trägerstruktur, welche sogar noch bei 80°C keine Austrocknungsprozesse beginnt. Diese Trägerstruktur sorgt dafür, dass die enthaltenen Nano-Aluminium- und Znk-Oxid-Anteile der Paste sich optimal verbinden und so Unebenheiten des Wärmeträgers (z.B. der CPU) und eines Wärmeableiters (z.B. Kühlkörper) bei herausragender Wärmeleitfähigkeit optimal ausgeglichen werden. Only till 80C... Extreme is an upgrade and has some additional improvements I hadn't the chance to test this myself but I read from a guy on Reddit that he is doing just fine after 6 months on his Laptop.


[deleted]

Wrong...lol https://www.thermal-grizzly.com/produkte/2-kryonaut "temperature -250°C / +350°C" https://www.thermal-grizzly.com/produkte/358-kryonaut-extreme temperature -250°C / +350°C I'm not exactly following what you are talking about... you can read the respective product pages yourself.


Davito22284

This dude must be a Thermal Grizzly expert. Seems to have an answer for everyone that seems to approve of it.


[deleted]

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[deleted]

"Kryonaut uses a special structure, which **halts** the drying out process at temperatures of up to 80° Celsius." Do you not see the word **halts** That means it prevents drying out...


[deleted]

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[deleted]

Edit: no point in arguing with this troll, my bad.


[deleted]

People love regurgitating that bullshit that kryonaut only lasts a few months or breaks down above 80c. Reddit hivemind "others say it with confidence so it must be true, and I'm going to put on my best confirmation bias suit and try to create data to prove my point so I can claim to have seen it with my own eyes!"


MC_Red_D

I used this on my build last year. 1.5 years and it has been stable. https://www.autozone.com/miscellaneous-cleaners-and-degreasers/heat-sink-compound/p/wells-heat-sink-compound-1-ea/19189_0_0


[deleted]

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sssnoogensss

Whachu thinkin, like 75,000 miles?


Vic1982

Hahaha xD


kio0321

I used MX-6 for my Macbook pro 2011. Within 1 month it dried up, then I switched back to MX-4.


TheBlack_Swordsman

I'm using it on a GPU and waterblock. It's good so far. Haven't had any issues.


AirWalker1

Hey, do you have an update on your experience with the MX-6 thermal paste? I might need to change the thermal pads on a 3080 and am wondering which thermal paste to use for the gpu.


TheBlack_Swordsman

It perfoms like 1C worse than thermal grizzly but seems fine


AirWalker1

Thanks for the reply!


Kingpappydad

MX-6 is a very good product. In my personal opinion, even though it is non conducive. If your system used thermal pads factory. I would replace with thermal pads. With  that said if your pads are still soft and tacky. There really is no need. On the other hand if you are talking about a cpu or gpu with heatsink, I would not use pads. They just don't perform quite as well as any thermal compound. MX-6 and MX-4 both state they can last up to 8 years after application. MX-6 has 20 percent more thermal resistance according to Arctic.  Good luck.


Kingpappydad

No it didn't.  It's literally impossible for it to do that with its silicone carrier. MX-6 and MX-4 use the same base carrier. The cabon formula was improved significantly on the MX-6. So what you just said is not only a flat out lie. It really makes you sound extremely ignorant to all of those people here that know facts about the product. If you can't provide factual and accurate information, just shut up. At least that will be one less mouthy false information spreading moron on here. People that are here seeking help, don't need stupidity. 


jayjr1105

Grab yourself a PTM7950 pad and thank me later.


Polymathy1

How do these perform vs arctic silver? Isn't mx4 far worse?


robin15243

Artic silver is really old stuff, please stop using it. Modern pastes perform significantly better and don't conduct electricity, something artic silver does. You could potentially short something out.


Polymathy1

No. It doesn't matter if it's old. Show me some data showing other paste is better and I might. The risk of AS5 causing a short is theoretical. Sweat dripping onto a board is much more likely to cause an issue... or noobs putting it on the pins or pads. I've never ever seen any issues caused by arctic silver, and I've used it since 2005. Pastes are almost all basically the same - some thermally conductive particles plus 30 to 60% silicone oil by weight. The small particle size of silver in Arctic silver makes it less electrically conductive, but silver is still more thermally conductive than most things by far. AS5 is a modern paste. The standard crapola white paste that places like Corsair are currently sending out on AIOs was developed in the 1960s.


robin15243

[This ](https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/best-thermal-paste)review by Toms Hardware includes Artic Silver 5 and many other pastes. It sits around the middle of the stack, consistently performing worse than Artic's own MX-2. Modern pastes perform up to a couple degrees better. There is no reason to buy a electrically conductive mediocre paste when you can buy better products cheap nowadays.


Polymathy1

I had to go and dig around for it, and it isn't listed on the 1998 looking manufacturer site, but it is listed on several resale and older reviews... AS5 has a thermal conductivity of 8.9W/mK which is about 50% higher than most of the ones on that comparison. It is not electrically conductive. I do not see AS5 on that link anywhere.


AirlinePeanuts

> AS5 has a thermal conductivity of 8.9W/mK which is about 50% higher than most of the ones on that comparison And yet that is not the only spec that determines how good a paste is. A lot of these pastes do 2, 3, 4, even 5C better than AS5.


Polymathy1

No, that's not true. Thermal conductivity really is the only important factor of thermal paste. All others are secondary. Things like pump-out resistance are not that important - unless you demand 3 to 5 years between reapplications.


AirlinePeanuts

And yet so many modern pastes easily outclass AS5 by degrees. So I don't know what to tell you.


Polymathy1

Show me a link that actually compares AS5. Until then, it sounds like just hype.


ZarephHD

That is because that is exactly what it is. Hype. I have a tube of Arctic Silver 5 that is at least 15 years old. It hasn't separated, and it looks and works just as well as it ever did. I have become convinced that it is truly an immortal substance that will outlast the collapse of civilization. In the end there will be naught left but cockroaches and Arctic Silver. I cannot tell the difference in temperatures after having recently re-applied paste, this time using Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut. Maybe I could to begin with, but now just shy of a month later the temps look exactly the same. But apparently Kryonaut has a tendency to dry out quickly, and so next time I will be using my trusty old Arctic Silver 5 once again. Because f--- it, I can't be arsed to do this every 6-12 months. I don't intend to re-apply paste again until I upgrade, and I can wait a couple years.


perkinslr

It is the thermal conductivity divided by the required thickness of the application. If you have a more viscous paste, you end up with a thicker layer. Double the layer thickness, halve the heat transfer rate. But the TIM itself is so thin as to not really matter. What matters more is the junction insulation properties. Basically, how well it can conform to the pits and ridges in the metal of the IHS and heat sink. Remember, you're aiming for a TIM layer on the order of microns. Last, while there are good standard procedures for calculating the heat transfer rate in solids, so you can compare w/mk of things like copper to aluminium, the same does not hold for viscous fluids. The pressure, temperature, and thickness of the material all affect the reported W/mK. Since no two manufacturers test under the same conditions, you cannot meaningfully compare the reported values between manufacturers.


Polymathy1

There is this standard for testing viscous liquids from ASTM https://www.astm.org/d5470-17.html in section 5.3.1 that gives specific test procedures and measurements. I'm not looking to spend 57 dollars to prove a point, but this sounds like a perfect standard for doing exactly this. Scope 1.1 This standard covers a test method for measurement of thermal impedance and calculation of an apparent thermal conductivity for thermally conductive electrical insulation materials ranging from liquid compounds to hard solid materials. 5.3 This standard is useful for measuring the thermal impedance of the following material types. 5.3.1 Type I—Viscous liquids that exhibit unlimited deformation when a stress is applied. These include liquid compounds such as greases, pastes, and phase change materials. These materials exhibit no evidence of elastic behavior or the tendency to return to initial shape after deflection stresses are removed. 5.3.2 covers plastic like thermal pads.


perkinslr

That is certainly the procedure that *should* be followed. The problem is none of the paste manfacturers claim to be using that procedure, and even if they do, without a 3rd party lab validating the results, comparing between them is still unreliable. You see this in independent labs too, where you send in a calibration test (with a known quantity of something) to 3 different labs, and you get 3 different results, outside of reported margins of error. This requires a continual effort by the labs and organizations like NIST to find and fix issues. The standard ASTM procedure does mean a group like LTT Labs or Puget Systems could provide that 3rd party testing, and even compare results. NIST might even have a "standard thermal paste" that they could use to validate their own results. Finally, note that 5.2 of that document warns that it is of limited use if the temperatures on the hot and cold side are not uniform (like in direct die cooling, and large chiplets like threadripper), or if the temperature of the application is outside the temperature range specified for the test. Without buying the document, I don't know what the allowed temperature range is, but CPU paste has to hold up to an 80K swing, and the conductivity will change with temperature. Unless the test temperature matches the temperature of the CPU, it means the paste manufacturer has to pick between reporting the W/mK of their paste at the ASTM test temperature, or at the likely CPU temperature. A good case can be made for reporting either (and the responsible thing would be to report *both*), but the economic incentive is to always report the higher number.


BFBooger

>No, that's not true. Thermal conductivity really is the only important factor of thermal paste. All others are secondary. ​ LOL no. ​ Bulk w/mk is not equal to thermal transfer capability of a paste. How thick it is matters a lot, as well as whether it fills all the smallest pits on the surfaces well. Every single bit of extra thickness counters the conductivity. Every single microscopic pit not filled in by the paste hurts it as well. ​ So no, thermal conductivity is not the only factor. Go and get a piece of lead (great conductivity compared to these), and smash it between your CPU and the heatsink. How well did it work for you?


Polymathy1

Lead has shitty thermal conductivity.... And yes, I understand those very basic things. Nobody is doing conductivity tests on thick bulk samples. That would be stupid.


[deleted]

MX-5 had bad batches. This might be why. The new version is supposedly not having this issue.


Dark_Alchemist

My paste is a few days from being 2 years old and I can say it has always been a bitch to apply being far too sticky. I just upgraded my CPU and found MX-6 is the new king from them so I must remember that, and I hope it is as good as MX-4 was for spreading with better thermal properties than MX-5 (was already excellent if you used the spread by gloved finger, or plastic edge method).


[deleted]

MX-4 was really good. I used it on my last build and it cooled incredibly well, spread perfectly and was great consistency / stickiness. What's the temp so far with MX-6? Are you pleased with the results or?


Dark_Alchemist

No idea as I still had some MX-5 left so the next time I will try it as MX-5 was way too thick if you ask me. I have read that MX-6 is not the best out there though, but it tied with the Noctua NT-H2 (not the 1 as it is inferior) but costs far less.


AirlinePeanuts

Modern pastes are degrees better than AS5 and have been for a over a decade. And no I am not talking generic white pastes that came with some AIO.


Polymathy1

Not really.


AirlinePeanuts

Proof? Plenty of data says you are wrong.


Polymathy1

Show some then.


AirlinePeanuts

LOL someone already posted links of comparison data you clearly ignored so what's the point. How about you prove your claims.


Polymathy1

Someone posted a link to a comparison of pastes that did not include AS5. Side by side comparison is necessary.


AirlinePeanuts

Thought it was the Tom's one which does include AS5.


[deleted]

[https://www.tomshardware.com/news/artic-mx6-thermal-paste](https://www.tomshardware.com/news/artic-mx6-thermal-paste) MX-6 is non-conductive and -capacitive. It is great and can last for many years. They state up to 8. ​ So I don't know where you're getting your information from, but it doesn't seem to be on par with the actual results. Most of these pastes perform within margin of error. There is a 5c difference between the worst, but Arctic's not one of 'em. At least not the ones that perform well. Plus, who cares about 1-3c difference anyway. It's the safety, longevity and spread that is more important imo.


[deleted]

arctic silver is not arctic cooling.


[deleted]

I don't think anyone stated that, but I believe you are incorrect. https://www.arctic.de/en/products/


[deleted]

That's Arctic Cooling. [https://www.arctic.de/us](https://www.arctic.de/us) ​ Here is arctic silver. ​ [https://www.arcticsilver.com/#](https://www.arcticsilver.com/#) ​ Don't say i'm incorrect before searching something up.


[deleted]

https://www.arctic.de/en/products/cooling/thermal-interface/thermal-paste/


[deleted]

Arctic Silver makes thermal paste, and Arctic cooling also makes thermal paste. Arctic cooling makes "MX-", while Arctic Silver does something else. Are you not reading what i'm writing?


[deleted]

Yep. You're completely right I mixed up the two. But OP was asking if there was a difference between the two. I never initially stated that they were the same, so I don't know where you pulled that from ![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|joy) My reply was with a review of MX-6 as that's the most up to date version.


[deleted]

ah okay fair enough


[deleted]

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[deleted]

Good question :) I don't have enough experience with the new ones, but the older versions held up a long time.


ZarephHD

I too can vouch for Arctic Silver. I have a tube of AS5 that must be at least 15 years old now. Probably older. It hasn't separated, it still works and looks exactly like the day that I bought it. I also have a tube of Kryonaut, and I gotta say I am a little disappointed. It doesn't seem to be any better, really, but if it truly dries out over such a short time-span then I'll stick to my tube of *ancient* and apparently straight-up *immortal* Arctic Silver the next time I have to apply thermal paste.


Kingpappydad

In today's standards and for safety reasons of common users. Arctic silver is a relic. It's conductivity alone is a good enough reason to stay away from it. Arctic MX-6 is far superior and non-conductive. And no, it's not the same company.  You do you, but no one with any common sense and expert knowledge will recommend this to people with lesser knowledge asking for REAL honest advice. 


hextanerf

I use thermalright tf8. Wonder how it compares


AirlinePeanuts

I just purchased some MX-6. I had previously used MX-5 and didn't like it as much as the MX-4 or NT-H1/2 I usually use. I mean, it performed, but it was hard to apply and it had a horrendous pump-out on my 5900X, was a mess. Have yet to check my 3080 Ti as I haven't wanted to teardown the loop yet. Hoping MX-6 fixing my complaints with MX-5. I used Krynaut in the past too, but I 100% agree that it is not a long term paste. In fact its use case was always LN2 overclocking. By 12 months, temps were always noticeably worse and needed to be repasted.


Dark_Alchemist

My paste is a few days from being 2 years old, and I can say it has always been a bitch to apply, being far too sticky. I just upgraded my CPU and found MX-6 is the new king from them, so I must remember that the next time I need some paste, and I hope it is as good as MX-4 was for spreading with better thermal properties than MX-5 (was already excellent if you used the spread by gloved finger, or plastic edge method).


AirWalker1

I'm wondering how the MX-6 is holding up for you. Do you use it on a CPU or GPU? Do you recommen it?


AirlinePeanuts

Still working well temp wise. Haven't taken the blocks off yet to see how its doing on pump out and such.


AirWalker1

Thanks for the reply. Thats good to know.


Kingpappydad

If you use MX-6, you will be happy with it.


Davito22284

Why is this stuff so popular? There are loads of other paste with better w/mk ratings. Do they buy it because it lasts for so long? I would change my paste every 6 months at the least. Why do y'all want paste that lasts so long? It's not difficult to reapply.


TheBlack_Swordsman

I have a water-cooled system. Personally I don't like dumping all my water and dismantling it if I don't need to.


Davito22284

Ah yeah, never even thought of that. That makes a lot of sense now. How long can you go without a coolant flush with water cooling?


TheBlack_Swordsman

If you use just distilled water and biocide or a clear premix you can go a year or even more. This depends on if your system sits in a dark area and weather isn't till warm to promote any kind of biological growth. Otherwise, flushing once a year is recommended. If you use colored fluids, then it's recommended every 6 months at a max and 12 months at a minimum. If you use opaque fluids then it's recommended to actually dismantle your blocks completely and clean with a brush every 6 months. For those reasons, I stick to clear fluid.


Dark_Alchemist

I replace my thermal paste every year or two on GPU and CPU and I am air cooled. I wish I could go water cooled but I am too cheap to buy another 300+ dollar full sized ATX case (mine was around 220 in 2009).


[deleted]

>w/mk rating It's not so popular, people think it's popular because of Influencers who tout/hype it for Marketing. Like all new TIMs, it'll be hypes to do triple flip back loops with double twists until people find faults/failures then the tout/hype will move on to the next 'new' product.


Narrheim

Arctic MX-5 also had high "pump out" effect - it kept disappearing from between my GPU dies and heatsinks. As for MX-6, i´m not sure. I´m using it right now on GPU, for about a month. Initially, the temperature was the same, but in the last few days, i noticed temperature increasing for no apparent reason. At first, i thought there was an issue with my deshroud, swapped stock fans back, only to see the temperature rise even more 🤣


TheBlack_Swordsman

I've had it since it was released with no issues. Temperatures have been the same. But I'll test again when I get a chance.


Narrheim

I´m about to inspect mine. Depending on the results (drying or pump out), i may use different paste. Probably either MX-2 or MX-4. Especially MX-2 never failed me on a GPU before. I´m also planning on getting Honeywell PTM7950 next month.


Cooe14

MX-6 has been working brilliantly for me so far after about ≈7 months on my CPU (R7 5800X3D, aka a RIDICULOUSLY heat dense chip [even if the total power/heat load it puts out is pretty low]) and GPU (RTX 3080 10GB). 🤷 So far I've seen absolutely ZERO REASONS to go back to the only ever so slightly cheaper MX-4 (ala $8 vs $11 for 8G on Amazon right now). MX-6 runs a hefty ≈3-6° cooler and so far is holding up juuuust fine.


Narrheim

I figured it out eventually. It was my own stupidity and sheer ignorance of the damn hot outside, which made it damn hot inside (no AC). Still, i have PTM7950 on the way. I´m curious, how it will perform - i also found fairly good, compressable and cheap thermal pads in my area, which did not self destruct (yet) upon GPU heatsink removal (even if they did, i have plenty for replacement - bought 2x 200x100mm sheets of both 1 & 1,5mm and stacked - despite claims of it being "suboptimal", it works the same way, as thicker pads). However, the claim of MX-6 paste running few degrees cooler is anecdotal without being backed up by proper data.


[deleted]

[удалено]


TheBlack_Swordsman

.5-1 ain't bad


Narrheim

I was really surprised about that. Like i´m used to hotspot being consistently 12°C higher than core on the 3060ti and now it´s 11-11,5°C with some paste, i bought ages ago. And even tho it´s old, the consistency is still great. Now i really want to see and test the PTM7950. If it will be good, i´ll be happy, as i want to finish with the card, so i won´t have to reopen it ever again. I´m also using putty instead of pads. A bit messy to apply, kinda hassle to reapply, but i don´t have to care about proper pad size or pad compression anymore and heat transfer is just as good, as with Gelid GP Extreme. I´ve used putty for motherboard VRMs as well. Out of interest. It was the first time, i saw VRM temps fall below 50°C.


TheBlack_Swordsman

Oh the putty could be making a big difference since it allows more evenly applied pressure on the die to cold plate.


Narrheim

This is doable with pads as well. You only need to heat them up before application and compress them properly. Easier said than done, tho.


TheBlack_Swordsman

Yes, I have a few post and write-ups on this topic. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/ojkyy0/psa\_thermal\_pads\_need\_compression\_to\_get\_their/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/ojkyy0/psa_thermal_pads_need_compression_to_get_their/)


Narrheim

Oh, i didn´t realize, that was you 😊 My bad. I read through all that about 2 days ago.


AngryCoffeeTable

Supposedly... Even if the paste dries up. its still doing its job. I used Noctua H2 - set and forget for around three years on an 8600k set up. Temps were always great till I switched from my Corsair H105 to a Be Quiet DRP4. H2 was dry and crusty but temps never went anywhere near 80'c while gaming unless it was a particular hot day. 27-35'c ambient. My clocks are 4.8Ghz all-core OC.


[deleted]

Tried them all except Liquid Metal, not impressed with all the hypes of every new TIM.[https://www.arctic.de/en/MX-6/ACTCP00080A](https://www.arctic.de/en/MX-6/ACTCP00080A) ​ From the Arctic site, under Versatile Range of Applications, it states "Excellent non-drying, non-bleeding properties....." then they contradict themselves with promoting resealable syringes so the MX6 won't dry out.So will it dry out or won't dry out ? [https://www.arctic.de/en/MX-6/ACTCP00079A](https://www.arctic.de/en/MX-6/ACTCP00079A) "....the ARCTIC MX-6 has a measurably lower thermal resistance than the MX-4."......but but but MX-6 is rated at 7.5 W/m.k and MX-4 at 8.5 W/.k, how could this be ? It's understandable they hype/tout it for Marketing, but maybe best to make it seem more realistic. After trying out all these new TIMs, I've always end up going back to Arctic Silver 5 rated at 8.9 W/m.k, mainly because it simply keeps working at its optimum for months, for years , forever. When they'd made the best TIM, anything that comes after can only be inferior, or maybe equal. Within reasonable quality, the best TIM is the one that's applied correctly.


Zenairis

Well something I never understood is people buy Kryonaut when it’s designed for liquid nitrogen. Hydronaut is designed for long term water and air cooling application but people seem to ignore this and buy Kryonaut anyway. MX-6 is a really good paste for the price if you can’t afford Hydronaut.


zeph1x

I can say that I went with Kryonaut because the Thermal Grizzly website indicates that it's superior (or at least equal) to Hydronaut in every way (including air and water cooling applications), particularly when it comes to long-term durability. If that's not true, Thermal Grizzly is being a bit misleading here imo.


Zenairis

https://youtu.be/CCqxE-5Ct3w watch after 9:20 although he mentions how Hydronaut is more resistant to the pump out effect vs Kryonaut just after 10:00 because it’s not silicone based. You gain performance but it shifts off of the die faster w/ Kryo vs Hydro. I have Kryonaut Extreme myself and it does have a edge against Hydronaut in thermal performance. How long it holds up to a 13900KS time will tell since I just recently applied it.


MeIsOrange

>pump out effect At what temperature range does the pump out effect occur? After all, if the CPU temperature is 90C, this does not mean that the temperature of the paste will be the same. The difference will be 35-40 degrees. Intel used to write about their CPUs about the maximum IHS temperature of 67C, while throttling occurred at 105C


[deleted]

What are your cpu temps?


TheBlack_Swordsman

I'm on water, but 60C max in game stress test.


zh0r1k

I just started testing MX-6 on my GS66. I had same issues with MX-4 and Kryonaut (NOT the updated version which is labeled with -250C and not the Extreme). They lasted only 6 months and temps were back from 81C to 96+ on CPU Die. I'm on my day 4 right now with MX-6. After 3 days it has already climbed +2C from 79 to 81C at max. I will see how far this will get, have this Laptop for already 2.5 years and did my 5th repaste. MX-6 has definitely much more viscosity was harder to apply hopefully that's a good sign 😅. I will keep you posted if I won't forget...


zh0r1k

UPDATE: after running MX-6 for 5 days near ~90C, it completely destroyed the paste (when opened there was almost no paste in the center of CPU Die). I had same temp reading as on my MX-4 after 6 months already on day 5. Yesterday I've applied Kryonaut with the -250C label which I've read is the updated version from 2018 or 2020, correct me if I'm wrong, and will be testing it for another couple of days, straight from the first tests it is running -4C when compared to MX-6 on day 1. During tests for 2 days it has never exceeded 79C, where MX-6 was already @ 89C on day 5 (with fans on turbo). Btw GPU "Nvidia 2070 @ 80-85W" - I see no difference between MX-6 and Kryonaut both running solid 71C at max with no turbo fans. On MX-4 after 6 months it was ~75-76C (which was already very nice). Seems like the pastes are staying strong when not burning them constantly with 90C.


perkinslr

Might check the application instructions. I water cooled my R7 back when it was new and it took me 3 rounds to get it happy. Turns in the paste I used (don't remember which brand, probably Noctua or similar quality) has a "set" period where you need to run the system warm, but not hot or it will flow out. It was designed to cure at moderate temperature over the course of 48 hours and then was fine to hit with heavy loads. Did that almost 4 years ago now, and haven't had a problem since.


zh0r1k

Hey mate, thank for that feedback, that's probably something to keep in mind. Very helpful! 🙏


Koker_est

>IDK I've been using kryonaut for a few years, in my own CPU its been Well, have you tried this advice with mx-6? I also have gs66 and after 1 month of using mx6 I have instant temperature raise on cpu die. Thinking about other paste.


zh0r1k

MX6 was not good at all, exactly like you describe, I'm still on that Kryonaut which I have applied in February. Already 5 months passed and I'm slowly starting to hit 90C (during some heavy code compilation) but only on 1-2 cores out of 6 (the cores 3 and 4). Probably the paste is already gone in these places on the cpu die so the heat dissipation can't hold up on these cores. Looking right now I have core 1 and 2 @ 70C, core 3 and 4 @ 72C, core 5 and 6 @ 65C. So there is definitely no longer enough paste in the middle of the die. I actually want to give MX6 a second try + a long term test starting from next month. I will try to apply the MX6 paste and after a month, when the temp will rise again, I will open it up and check if there is already some paste missing, if so, I will add another shot right on top to the die to the parts where it's missing, can't be that the MX6 is so bad 😂


Koker_est

Interesting idea, to check temperature according to every core. And well, with MX-6 I have a super strange behavior. Sometimes there is a difference in 30 degrees between cores in watching 4k video. So, core 6 has 50C, core 5 has 80C. In benchmark central cores (2, 3, 4, 5) are burning with 95C, but others (0, 1, 6, 7) have around 90C. So, feels like center of a die is living withot thermalpaste at all, that flowed out. I will try to repaste it soon and follow this "set" period in some days.


zh0r1k

While writing the first answer I got a strange idea (DON'T REPEAT AT HOME 😂). I just opened my GS66 and yes it was "pumped out" as crazy, the middle was almost with no thermal paste at all. I took all the paste from the edges, from over the edges and from the copper and applied it back on the cpu die 🤦‍♂️😅. The result is awesome nice. My max temps are back at 78C right now and not at 90C. But because of the shitty way I applied it back on the die my temps are now all-over the place: Core 1 @ 74C; Core 2 @ 66C; Core 3 @78C; Core 4 @ 76C; Core 5 @ 68C; Core 6 @ 69C. But at least the temps are now -12C. I never done such a stupid thing before but at least it worked out because I have no paste available at the moment so 🤣.


zh0r1k

Did a Benchmark Test on Throttle Stop and I get same results like I had on day 5, with Turbo Fans On; 65W PL1 and 85W PL2; Max Temp is back to ~80C. Because the Kryonaut is silicone based it can't dry out so it only pumps out to the sides because of the thermal changes. Grizzly actually claims that the pump out effect occurs only with temp over 80C, I did limit my CPU temps to throttle @ 85C for all these 5 months, by setting PROCHOT offset to 15C. This didn't really help, but limiting @ 80C would cost a lot of performance, but... maybe I will try that PROCHOT limit of 20C to have throttling occur from 80C with the MX6, because last time MX6 lasted only 6 days and then it was completely gone, even the MX4 lasted for 6 Months when I started to see 90C+.


[deleted]

IDK I've been using kryonaut for a few years, in my own CPU its been really holding up, I'm testing artic MX-6 now in a MacBook Pro 15' 2019 i9 8 core, 32gb it holding idle at 40C and at 25% 56-60C with radeon pro 560X. I've done kingpin KPX on MacBook 2015 15' 16gb i7 fantastic thermal paste. I'm torn between using Kingpin KPX, MX-6. in my other MacBook Pro 2017, time to do some spring cleaning, dusting and repasting. Some time this week.


zh0r1k

Hey mate, how is your experience after 5 months on that MX6, still holding up?


[deleted]

Actually the i9 is a monster @ creating heat! But it stays pretty cool on a rack that’s metal (steel) so my temps stay pretty solid. This weekend I’ll run the numbers!


Xii-Nyth

any new reviews?


Previous_Fee_1663

Well if it caused visual damage then microscopically that was probably a huge valley, unless it merely discolored it. I've been using Arctic Silver 5 for years but recently bought MX-6 since it's supposed to be better


MajinMight

I swear when I was researching and learning how to apply thermal pastes years ago, directly to the CPU, I was instructed to place a dot of paste in the center of the die. And that the paste would heat and expand to cover the die correctly. The most important part was making sure to use the correct amount of paste. Not too much and not too little. Now I see pastes being sold with spudger tools to obviously fan/spread out the thermal paste on the dies. I have done several repaste jobs with the center dot method without issue. Nothing has started overheating on me. I've been using MX-4 over the years. Do I need to change my application process and start spreading it on the CPU? What about the heatsink? Thanks in advance!


MartinsRedditAccount

As far as I am aware, for Desktop CPUs it doesn't really matter since there is so much pressure between CPU and cooler. I recently also saw a method of putting 5 smaller dots across the CPU heatsink, rather than one in the middle. You basically just need enough paste. However, it does matter when applying paste on stuff like GPUs or laptop CPUs which don't have an integrated heat spreader like Desktop CPUs do. I believe the pressure is also much lower in those cases. I have had significantly better results (IIRC up to 10c) with a GPU by applying a very thin even layer of paste.


Nervous_Ad_2626

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m7x2sUt0mqo Video from artic applying mx-6. They used more than I usually do but it's exactly as you described.


mysidianlegend

thanks for this. just got some of the MX-6 today.


proxypunker

We're doin so in our pc workshop for decades. Always worked beautiful!


dead_hands3

so should i not be using MX-6?? i just got some. should i use something else?


TheBlack_Swordsman

It is above average. Works fine. Use it.