Find High Performance Thermal Paste for Your Components
Thermal paste, also known as thermal compound paste, thermal grease, heat sink compound, and several other names, is an essential substance for regulating heat in almost any kind of computer. It is a high viscosity paste filled with materials that conduct heat, usually a combination of various metals or mineral compounds. The basic purpose is to act as a thermal interface material, making it easy for the microprocessors in your CPU and GPU to transfer heat to their heatsinks.
Air pockets between the processor and its heatsink make direct heat transfer between the two inefficient. Instead, PC builders dab a little bit of thermal paste onto the processors heat spreader - where the heatsink sits on top of it. The paste fills in the tiny gaps between the two, and the thermal conductive material facilitates fast and efficient heat transfer. Many types of thermal paste now include an easy application tool that makes it simple to apply an even coating of paste to your processor.
Thermal pastes come in a variety of formulas, many of which include metal compounds. These metallic pastes also have high electrical conductivity, so it is important to avoid spilling compound on your motherboard or other computer components. Non conductive paste formulas are also available, and they work just as well for all except extreme high performance, heavily overclocked computers. Finally, note that it is critical to avoid confusing thermal compound with thermal adhesive, which is meant to stick parts together permanently.
What About Thermal Pads?
In pure performance terms, thermal paste is a better option than thermal pads. Thermal paste offers greater thermal conductivity and is much better for handling the extreme heat levels that powerful CPUs and GPUs can generate. If you are putting together a beefy gaming PC or workstation, and especially if you plan to overclock your processor, thermal paste is definitely the way to go.
We offer a full selection of the best thermal paste brands like Thermal Grizzly, Cooler Master, Arctic Cooling, Corsair, and more. Shop our full selection of high-quality thermal paste now, or see all of our cooling solutions for the latest in awesome CPU coolers, both liquid and air based.
