Spent $300 on a high end thermal paste kit and it made zero difference

I grabbed that Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut stuff and a fancy applicator set after seeing all the hype online. Cost me around $300 total for the paste, cleaning solution, and precision tools. My CPU temps dropped maybe 1 degree compared to the cheap tube I had been using for years. Anyone else find that premium thermal paste is mostly a waste of cash?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_mia10d ago

Had a buddy who dropped like $250 on that fancy carbon pad stuff for his gaming rig. He spent an hour cleaning his CPU, cutting the pad to perfection, and all that. His temps went up by 3 degrees compared to the old dried out paste he replaced. He was so mad he just left the new stuff on and dealt with it. A couple months later he pulled the cooler off and the pad hadn't even made full contact with the chip. Total waste of money and time.

barnes.jamie8d ago

15 bucks for a tube of MX-4 has always done me fine. @the_mia's story is exactly why I tell people to skip the fancy pads and just use paste, it's way easier to get full contact that way.