When
we first had our Thermal
Compound Shootout back in February, we addressed the question
if exotic compounds provide any tangible differences over the
generic goop that comes free with pretty much any heatsink you
now buy. As we saw, in terms of performance, there wasn't all
that much. In fact, the fancy stuff had two things going against
it...
1)
They tend to be harder to clean up, especially Arctic Silver.
2) They cost money.
...
and when you're taliking about a 1C to 2C improvement with something
that costs up to 10$ more than the cheap (or free) stuff, you
have to kind of wonder what's the point. Well actually, there
are benefits to spending a little more...
1)
They are resealable. Most generic stuff comes in blister packs,
that when opened, that's it.
2) They last longer. As hard as it may be to believe, some people
don't upgrade CPUs or heatsinks often, and generic stuff tends
to break down into a powder like substance. This, in case you
haven't figured out, will hurt performance in the long run.
We
looked at Arctic Silver 3 and Arctic Alumina earlier,
as well as a blister pack that came with our earlier Vantec coolers.
Other than some additional "generic stuff", not much
new has come out this past year, with the exception of a new Fall
lineup from ESG
Associates. Today, we're going to spend a little time on the
newer Nanotherm products, and compare it against Arctic Silver
3, Arctic Alumina, and three generic compound packets. Pre-applied
TIMs (Thermal Interface Material), aka Frag tape, are purposely
left out of this roundup simply because the performance is terrible.
Nanotherm
Ice II and Blue II
Nanotherm
is no stranger to us, and their Ice and Blue products were pretty
good performance-wise. They've released a newer version now that
improves on their past performance, and as before you can choose
between Ice and Blue. Like their previous version, both are ceramic
based, and non-electrically conductive.
For
those of you who are unfamiliar with Nanotherm, the Ice and Blue
are both chemically similar, except for the coloured tint in the
"Blue" version. Through testing, I've always found that
the blue is easier to apply, meaning, it was easier to tell when
the right amount was applied. I'm not trying to say the "Ice"
would be tougher, because it isn't. The viscosity is the same,
but the visual aid in the Blue makes it more obvious. Here's part
of an email when asked what other differences, if any, exists
between the two...
There
is a slight difference between the formulation of the Ice II and
Blue II - besides the blue ceramic pigment that we use in the
Blue II. The synthetic suspension fluid used in our Blue II formulation
is different than the one used in the Ice II. Blue II's suspension
fluid gives the compound a slightly higher temperature resistance
characteristic and wider temperature range than the Ice II. Hence,
the slight difference in price of the 2 products. In terms of
the thermally conductive and "nano" particles used in
each compound, both contain the same amount so the thermal performance
of the Ice II and Blue II is about the same.
The
improvements for both compounds is a new multisynthetic ceramic
formulation. Neither contain silicon, which tends to degrade over
time. I found both compounds slightly thicker than before, but
neither were difficult to spread evenly.
Here
are the rest of the specifications from ESG...
Nanotherm
Ice II and Blue II are unique nanocomposite multiceramic thermal
interface compounds that contain a special blend of engineered
materials, including Boron Nitride, Aluminum Oxide, Aluminum Nitride
and other nanopowders, compounded into a proprietary multisynthetic
carrier fluid comprised of USDA authorized "food grade"
lubricants.
Nanotherm
Ice II and Blue II come in 2.0 gram tubes. Each syringe contains
a volume of 1.5 cc/ml of thermal compound, providing a coverage
area of about 30.5 sq. in. at an average layer thickness of .003".
In terms of applications, each tube of Nanotherm contains enough
thermal compound to cover:
32
to 44 small CPU cores
12 to 19 large CPU cores
5 to 10 heat plates
The following are some of the features, characteristics and benefits
of Nanotherm II Thermal Compounds:
Cost-Effective,
High Performance Thermal Interface Material
High Thermal Conductivity
Low Thermal Resistance
Excellent High and Low Temperature Characteristics
Electrically Insulative
Non-Hazardous
Spreads Smoothly & Evenly in Thin Layers
Viscous, Sticky Consistency
Fills Micropores & Grooves on Contact Surfaces
Fast, Easy Cleanup - No Mess
Excellent Barrier Properties to Oxygen and Moisture
Resistant to Separation, Leeching and Drying Out
High Pressure Resistance
Transparent to Microwave Radiation
Unless
I'm totally blind, I couldn't spot any differences between the
new specifications and the old, other than mentioning the new
multiceramic compound. Previously, the Nanotherm products required
a break-in period of about 48 to 72 hours until performance levels
off. We noted the temperatures during testing the first day, and
revisited the temperature readings a week later to see if this
still applies.
Nanotherm
Silver XTC
The
Nanotherm Silver XTC is the newest entry into the Nanotherm product
line. It differs from the Ice II and Blue II, both physically
and chemically. It's due to be released this month (perhaps by
the time you're reading this) so you can expect a proper product
label on the syringe. This was actually the second sample we've
received, and I was told that there were major improvements since
the first sample was sent to us. There isn't any web information
at this time, but I was emailed the official product description...
-
Contains a highly optimized combination of sub-micron to low micron
sized Silver particles
- Silver particles are 99.98% pure and are custom milled to our
specifications
- Compound has a high density of silver particles; 80 to 83% silver
by weight
- Also contains a special blend of Boron Nitride and "Nano"
powders used in our Nanotherm II compounds
- Suspension fluid is a high temperature synthetic designed for
operating temperatures in excess of 500'F
- Compound is non-electrically conductive, based on our preliminary
testing
- Retail product will be packaged in clear, graduated 3 ml syringes
- Net weight of thermal compound will be 4.0 grams per syringe
Although
there are no specific explanations, my guess is that ESG Associates
developed this product to better establish themselves in the enthusiast
market. I'm certain most of you are probably using some sort of
"silver" compound, and no doubt Arctic Silver is the
most popular.
Comparing
Arctic Silver 3 to Nanotherm Silver XTC, it appears that The Silver
XTC has a higher silver content. Whether or not it's better, we'll
have to see. One thing I noticed is it is a breeze to clean off
when compared to Arctic Silver. Usually, when I need to get AS3
off my CPU, I have to resort to both rubbing alcohol, and dish
soap (don't ask, but it works). With the Silver XTC, rubbing alcohol
works just fine. Another thing I noticed is it doesn't really
look that silver to me, but more like a yellow-brown. Oh well,
it's going to be under a heatsink anyways so I couldn't care less
if it was navy blue.
Nanotherm
EXP
We
received a prototype that is still undergoing development, though
I am under the impression it will be out sooner than we think.
I don't have any hard info about the EXP (short for experimental)
other than it won't be classified as Nanotherm Silver II. We'll
be testing it in this roundup, but you'll have to understand that
performance may or may not be the same as the final shipping
product.
Application
was is very smooth, and it was extremely easy to apply. Cleanup
was a breeze as well.
Arctic
Silver 3
Artic
Silver 3 is arguably the most popular retail compound. They've
made quite an impression with overclockers with the original Arctic
Silver, and have released newer versions, improving performance
slightly each time. It's non-silicone based, and requires a set-in
period of about 72 hours for performance to stabalize. Consistency
is like gel, and it spreads very evenly.
Two
criticisms I have about Arctic Silver 3 is ease of extraction,
and cleanup. The compound is very thick (though a breeze to apply),
and it takes a fair amount of force to squeeze out of the syringe.
90% of the time, I have to exert so much force, I always ended
up with more than I needed. There are tricks, like pulling the
syringe back as it comes out, but it's still a hassle. Cleanup
isn't easy either, as the AS3 leaves a residue that doesn't easily
come off with rubbing alcohol.
Arctic
Alumina
Released
about the same time as Arctic Silver 3, the Alumina is a ceramic
based compound. It's cheaper than AS3, and probably fills a gap
in the market for those who aren't interested in silver compounds.
Like AS3, a set-in period is required. Consistency is that of
gel, and application, as well as cleanup is easy.
Arctic
Alumina is sold retail in a syringe. The sample above was included
with our Swiftech MCX4000, but Powerleap is another company I
know that packages these blister packs.
Vantec
Generic (Stars-350)
Lately,
Vantec has been packaging this Stars-350 compound with their newer
heatsinks. It's also a gel-like compound, making for easy application
and cleanups. What is good about this packaged compound is that
it's resealable, so you don't need to throw it out after one application.
I haven't been able to find much information about this product,
but it works well and best of all, it's free.
AOS
Thermal Compound
We
got this with some earlier coolers, and it isn't really anything
that's readily available over the counter. You can find a list
of resellers on their site, but since we had some lying around,
we threw it into testing. The claim to fame of this compound is
that it's not supposed to run (creep) over your components when
in use, which is a problem with cheaper compounds. Consistency
was like toothpaste. I found it very grainy, and difficult to
apply when compared to the Vantec generic, though cleanup was
a snap.
Generic
Silicon
More
free stuff again. This blister pack is actually very similar,
if not the same, as the kind of paste you get in those transparent
blister packs. I have no idea where we got this compound, but
it was lying around so why not test it? Consistency was like liquid
soap. It was a pain to apply, as it was way to watery to control.
Cleaning up wasn't terribly difficult, although I found it left
a residue on the Athlon die.
Testing
Testing
was done over the course of one month with 2 different CPU platforms.
Each compound was monitored over the course of 4 days, then removed
for another candidate. We mentioned the break-in period for the
Nanotherm products (this also applies to the two Arctic Silver
products), so this is the primary reason why we're testing for
this extended period. The test systems are as follows...
#1)
AMD Athlon XP 1700+, MSI KT3 Ultra2, Vantec Aeroflow Socket-A,
512MB PC2700, 120GB Maxtor (RAID configured)
#2)
Pentium 4 2.4B, Shuttle XPC SS51, Vantec Aeroflow Socket-478,
512MB PC2700, 120GB Western Digital
The
Athlon system runs 24/7, and shutdown only for the time to swap
compounds. Since each processor is going to be using one compound
every 4 days, this will total 96 hours (give or take time for
coffee breaks, etc...) of testing. Prime95 will be running fulltime,
stopping only when the PC is needed for other tasks.
The
Pentium 4 is the gaming and LAN rig, and will probably be going
through the most highs and lows, since we shut down the PC whenever
it's in use. This should test the compounds performance in what
will likely be the most common user scenario. Prime 95 will be
run when it's time to take temperature readings.
The
graphs will be presented in two parts. The first graphs will be
all the compounds performances the first day of testing. The second
set of graphs will be at the end of their test cycle. All temperatures
are at full load.
Day
1
AMD
XP
Pentium
4
Immediately,
we can see there is little difference between the compounds, with
the exception of Nanotherm's Silver and EXP products. I was quite
surprised to see such a large difference, but the margin was about
the same for both computing platforms. Arctic Silver 3 was very
close behind, whereas the rest were locked up at about the same
temperature.
Day
4
AMD
XP
Pentium
4
As
with our last roundup, the 72 hours needed for some of the compounds
to set-in actually improved performance. I didn't see a drop of
more than one degree Celcius though, and I think that's about
all the improvement we'll see. I'm actually using Nanotherm Ice
2 (it was the last compound tested) a week after we've recorded
these results, and load temperatures are about the same.
I
will be quite interested to see the final product of the Nanotherm
prototype as it was easily the best performing compound. The Nanotherm
Silver XTC competes well against Arctic Silver 3, and the Nanotherm
Ice II (and Blue II) are fairly unremarkable considering that
performance wise, they were tied with most of the pack.
The
generics, this time around, didn't do too well, with the exception
of the Vantec Stars-350. This paste was really easy to apply,
and not too difficult to clean up, and performed well. Considering
it comes in a syringe, is resealable, and best of all, free, makes
this one a winner.
Final
Words
I've
always found it odd when manufacturers claim a 5C+ improvement
over other thermal compounds. In our last
roundup back in February, we saw that wasn't the case. The
only way I can possibly see that much of an improvement is if
it's compared to the worst possible compound out there. This time
around, although it isn't a 5C difference between the best and
the worst, there is more of a gap.
The
AOS and generic silicon simply would be classified as the "worst"
compounds you can use. Nevermind the performance, but both compounds
were difficult to apply, taking me much longer to get that "right"
amount on than the other compounds.
The
Nanotherm Silver XTC and Nanotherm EXP were two products that
really surprised me. Although AS3 may be a little better than
past Nanotherm products, the difference was never that great.
I generally preferred using Nanotherm, or Alumina because they
were easier to clean up. Not only were the EXP and Silver XTC
easy to clean up, they really dropped the temperatures to a point
where it was noticable.
The
Nanotherm Ice II and Blue II were decent products, matching the
Arctic Alumina in performance. One thing they have going for it
is they tend to cost a little less than Alumina.
The
arguement of retail compounds vs free ones is a bit tricky. The
benefit of retail compounds is that you can do a little research
on them before buying. All the Nanotherm compounds contain no
silicon, which as mentioned earlier, would mean more even performance
over time. I have used generic silicon before (about 3 years ago)
on an old K6 CPU, and recently did a little housekeeping on it.
When I removed the HSF, I was pretty shocked to see the compound
literally evaporated. Now, I don't think most of our readers would
neglect a CPU for that long, but there are people who rarely,
if ever change their heatsinks.
In
terms of performance, other than the XTC and EXP products, performance
between the compounds was relatively equal across the board. Even
the absolute worse was only one degree higher than the Nanotherm
Ice and Blue. The question now is what to buy and do you need
it. Well, my answer is you don't need to buy a retail compound
unless you've run out of whatever you just got with your cooler.
As for which one to buy, for performance Nanotherm Silver XTC
is worth your consideration. In terms of ease of use and cleaning
up, the XTC, Ice II (and Blue II), and Arctic Alumina would be
my choices. Arctic Silver 3 falls between all of them in terms
of performance, but it will cost more, and cleanup isn't as easy.
As
for the Nanotherm EXP, it was very impressive, and we hope to
have a closer look at the final product when it's released. I
can't recommend it at this time since it's not finished yet, but
if the prototype is any indication, it's going to be something
worth picking up.
All
Nanotherm Products are...
If you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.
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