After testing well over 100 thermal pastes, today we have a real upgrade! In today’s presentation of the new database version 3.0, I will explain why the evaluation of thermal pastes based on a simple CPU measurement is often misleading. I will also show why the TIMA5 has been fundamentally improved once again and why the content of the [...]
I’m deliberately starting this test at the beginning, because the question of the actual origin and quality of such phase change pads often determines the subsequent performance more than any manufacturer’s specifications. Thermal Grizzly offers the Phase Sheet PTM for just under 9 euros, a product that clearly falls into the same [...]
I didn’t really want or need to write this article, because after my test of the AMeCh SGT-4 in October 2024 and the cases of damage documented later, which I addressed in the follow-up article, it seemed that everything had been said. However, it is now clear that the issue cannot simply be put to rest with technical facts or scientific [...]
About a month ago, I showed in detail that a supposedly original DOWSIL TC-5888 thermal compound from Chinese sources was in fact a fake. My measurements in the laboratory, the chemical analysis and the deviating thermal behavior left no doubt that this product did not come from a regular production facility. The case seems to have spread, as I [...]
The KoolFaze 918 from ZYP Coating is a good example of how even experienced specialists in their own field can fail if they underestimate the complex interrelationships of a different specialist area. The company is actually considered a proven expert in high-temperature coatings and ceramic protection systems, but the development of a heat [...]
Augrund neuer Erkenntnisse und Umstände möchte ich das offizielle Statement gern voranstellen, welches auch die Hintergründe beleuchtet und Einiges klar stellt: The AMeCh SGT-4 Case – The Story Behind the Story and Corrosive Amino Groups | Statement After my original test of SGT-4 here on my website, almost exactly one year ago to [...]
With the Maxtor CTG12, the manufacturer is launching a new top-of-the-range model on the market after the CTG10. The nomenclature leaves no doubt that it is not just an addition, but the direct successor. I had already tested the CTG10 and classified it in my database as a solid paste with good performance, so expectations of the new CTG12 are [...]
The demand for high-performance thermal pastes has been high for years, but few products have such a legendary reputation as DOWSIL TC-5888. It is regarded as the reference for thin bondline applications and is used both in industry and in the high-end PC sector. Precisely because the paste is difficult to obtain and Dow has still not managed to [...]
I recently reported on RMA problems with Asus using a very specific card that the buyer had sent me, including all documents, emails and the recorded RMA process. This is not an isolated case, as other readers have also contacted me in the meantime to tell me about their experiences with the Asus RMA and where a spring screw on the voltage [...]
Sometimes failure just smells damn good. For example, when a thermal paste comes across like a bottle of niche fragrance from Kyoto – floral, sweet and with a hint of “What the hell is that?”. CWTP EG4GUV-L, as its somewhat unwieldy name suggests, exudes a hint of osmanthus, a flower that is used in Asia for tea, perfume and [...]
Today’s test focuses on the Akasa T6 Pro Grade Max, a thermal compound that is not a bad product in itself, but is a good example of how a solid mid-range product can be artificially turned into a premium product through targeted pricing. The price of around 25 euros on Amazon initially suggests that you are dealing with a real high [...]
I am often asked whether it is permissible or even sensible to stack thermal pads if the exact thickness is not available and you don’t want to use thermal putty. This is exactly what I would like to answer today, because this issue is far less critical than it is often made out to be. In fact, the targeted stacking of pads can even be a [...]
Just under a year after the start of the structured test series, the independent thermal compound database now comprises 100 fully analyzed products, making it the most comprehensive collection of directly comparable measurement data in the world. The focus is not only on quantity, but also on technically sound comparability under reproducible [...]
Huamei is a new sub-brand of the Chinese coolant manufacturer Halznziye, which has been operating more in the background to date and has been set up specifically for the international market. While at first glance the name sounds like a typo by Huawei, Huamei is not a technology company with smartphone ambitions, but a specialized product line for [...]
I took a closer look at the Arctic MX-6 in the revision 4 because when I unpacked it, I immediately noticed the red label, which reminded me a little of supermarket goods. It says “New Formula” on it, and that’s exactly what made me wonder. When a pack of food is suddenly labelled with such information, the result is often not [...]
Actually, I just wanted to find out how the pre-applied thermal pastes of an older and a current boxed cooler from AMD (Wraith Stealth) and Intel (original from the Core 5 Ultra 225F) perform in practice. Not a big project, rather a small technical comparison of two standard solutions that are otherwise hardly noticed. But what I found was not [...]
When I tested the Halnziye HY-P17 for the first time, my jaw almost dropped. The performance delivered by this thermal compound is simply brutal and anything but what you would have expected from this manufacturer. Halnziye was previously known for solid but inconspicuous mass-produced goods that rarely rose above mediocrity. But it is precisely [...]
With the Deepcool DM9, I’m presented with a thermal compound today that could almost be prematurely labeled as outdated due to its high zinc oxide content. At first glance, the technical data seems rather unspectacular, the packaging is plain, and the price of around 5 euros for 4 grams indicates entry-level rather than ambitious high-end [...]
The following photo documents the condition of the already familiar Gigabyte dispenser putties after a total of six weeks of storage on plain copy paper, laid out flat and in a completely horizontal position. My first test already clearly showed that the material marketed as “Server-Grade Thermal Conductive Gel” tends to migrate binder [...]
There are many thermal conductive pastes – good ones, bad ones and then there are those from GD. Today in the test: two products that could hardly be more different at first glance, but ultimately share a sad and common fate – they perform underground. We are talking about the GD900 and the GD-2, two pastes from “GD High [...]
