Category - Basics

Measure thermal pastes and pads: ASTM D5470-17 and the Nanotest TIMA5 – Correctly determine bulk and effective thermal conductivity

I will use today’s article as a reference for the devices and methodology used in the upcoming databases for thermal interface materials (TIM) and explain the entire measurement process in transparent detail based on questions from readers and objections from the forum. Of course, there will be no getting around certain mathematical [...]


Test equipment for material tests on thermally conductive pastes: microscopy and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)

I have already written in detail about the determination of thermal resistance and thermal conductivity, but of course I also have to explain the second part of the measurements transparently, because I am not doing these measurements for their own sake, but for a good reason. The microscopy, material testing and measurement of the pastes and pads [...]


A lie or a gray area? How to construct high thermal conductivity and why the information provided by sellers is almost never correct

We have discussed this many times before: The thermal conductivity figures for thermal pastes on packaging and data sheets are almost always far too high. Of course, this is also due to the fact that either unsuitable measurement methods are used or the conditions are changed in such a way that the values determined are far too high. This is [...]


Roundup: Cooler Master CryoFuze 7, CryoFuze 5 Violet, MasterGel Maker and Pro V2 Review – Thermal compound from gray to colorful

Today we’re doing a Cooler Master special with a total of four pastes, because unfortunately Cooler Master doesn’t offer any other pastes in Germany. Amazon also sells the various pastes as imports from North America and so I will perhaps update this when the pastes are available. Let’s just be surprised at a later date. I still [...]


Secret file thermal paste: Increasing layer thickness at high temperatures, ageing and differences in quality and their influence on benchmarks

What you always wanted to know about thermal paste, but never got a verifiable answer: How does such a paste behave when heated and what happens when it is heated and cooled several times under the usual pressure? Completely different from what most people think! That’s why I want to show you today what pitfalls can lurk when testing paste [...]


Roundup: Thermalright TF4, TF7, TF8, TF9 and TFX Review – Thermal compound from flowing screed to bunker concrete

As I have been asked again and again about the Thermalright T9 and TFX (i.e. quasi TF10), today there is a Thermalright special with a total of five pastes, three of which I would only recommend to a limited extent. Even though all five pastes are good in terms of price/performance ratio, I consider some of them to be highly problematic. I had [...]


Fairytale lesson with nanotubes in thermal pastes: EC360 Ruby, Nuomi SYY-157 and Thermalright TF4 Review – Stupid lies vs. modesty

Today I’m writing about two pastes that I noticed very negatively during the database expansion because of their downright outrageous marketing and, for comparison, I’m comparing them with a cheap paste that doesn’t need such deception but has other weaknesses. But you have to ask yourself how stupid the brands think you are when [...]


Roundup with 5 phase change pads: Honeywell PTM7950, PTM7950SP, OEM PCM5000, PCM8500 and Thermalright Heilos Review

Today we are going to take a close look at five different phase transition pads and add them to the upcoming database. With the two PCM5000 and PCM8500, I am also testing two OEM pads with a thickness of 0.2 mm, which are sometimes cheekily sold as Honeywell (AliExpress, eBay), but are pure OEM products from a third-party supplier and as such are [...]


Thermal Putty Roundup from pink or gray to blue and from Halnziye or Laird or Dow – HY234, HY236 and HY268 vs. Hardwareliebe Extreme64 Review

Today I’m testing four Thermal Putty products for you, whereby these four products are examples of large companies and their products or mixed products. If I manage to organize more products, I will expand the database to include this category, because anyone who knows the circumstances when the pad thicknesses on graphics cards are not [...]


Industrial paste vs. AliExpress and mainstream: DOWSIL TC-5550, Gelid GC-4 and Snowman MTGS in a thermal paste review of large tubes

Today I have the next three pastes from your wish list in the programme (many thanks to the donors from the community!) and was rather satisfied with the result (but not completely). It also lived up to expectations, because you get a lot of content for your money. The DOWSIL TC-5500 is a decent industrial paste from Dow Corning, but unfortunately [...]


Noctua NT-H2, Gelid GC-Extreme and Thermalright TF7 in-depth Review: The cheapest paste is the best and the most expensive one is a real failure

Today I tested three pastes from my readers’ wish list and was downright depressed by the results of the first two pastes. That was until the last paste I tested built me up a bit. I tested established pastes such as the Noctua NT-H2, the Gelid GC-Extreme (in the blue tube) and the Thermalright TF7. Now, it’s not the first impression [...]


Corsair XTM70 Extreme Performance Thermal Grease Review – Just missed the top spot but really good and unfortunately also very expensive

The Corsair XTM70 Extreme Performance is convincing and even if the price is quite hefty even without iCUE, you still get an honest product. That’s a little spoiler in advance, even if the price really hurts me. At almost 17 euros for 3 grams, you have almost reached the gourmet temple and real caviar almost seems like an alternative bargain [...]