Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound 3.5g Tube

Despite building various computers and working on others, this the first time I have reviewed thermal paste.I have always believed that when it comes to certain PC components, there is no point in buying cheap as you will always end up having to replace it sooner; thermal paste is one of them.If you don't know, thermal paste is used to create a thermally fused bridge between a chip such as a CPU with a heat sink; this is done to ensure as much heat can be dissipated from the chip as quickly as possible. Why? Because we don't want anything to overheat and potentially cause permanent damage.Packaging: This came in a clear resealable bag. The tube itself is a spring loaded syringe that feels strong.Ease of use:I recommend sacrificing a small amount to start with as it is nearly always slightly watery compared to the rest of the tube. Firstly, you MUST wipe off any old thermal paste from the heat sink and chip that you wish to apply this too. I recommend using 99% rubbing alcohol and cotton buds to work off any residue.Once clean, apply a small line to the chip and very carefully put the heat sink down evenly so not to smear the paste. Tighten in a cross motion, that is, tighten screws as opposite pairs so that the load is even across the heat sink. Doing this will help spread the line of thermal paste in an even manner. Many people think you need to cover the chip entirely, you do not, don't forget, the heat sink is in contact with the chip anyway and the paste only serves as a very fine bridge between the two.Performance:I have used this on so any PCs and have only ever seen decreases in temperature. Notable examples include repairing an old Xbox 360 using different screws for the heat sink and replacing the paste with this stuff. The Xbox no longer overheats and still works now.This specific order was used for an old Acer Aspire Revo Nettop. In order to upgrade the hard drive I had to remvoe the heat sink. Because th eheat sink was coming off, I needed to replace the thermal paste. Running Kodi before showed idle CPU temps of 70-75 degrees. Since replacing, I haven't seen it go over 71 and idles at around 63. It seems to be often the case that factory used thermal paste just isn't as good quality as the dearer ones such as this.Value: Considering I still have at least 3g left, I'd say that I will get another three big uses out of this tube, and at £5.99 delivered next day, this is great value.Pros:- Spring loaded syringe- Thick compound- Excellent qualityCons:- Paste separates in storage (but all seem to do that)If you are looking for a thermal paste, buy this, you will not be disappointed.

Bought this as my tube of AS3 had dried up and I only had some standard thermal paste lying around and I needed to replace the graphic card on my Rock laptop. The graphic card's chips uses a set of thermal pads but the paste is needed for the CPU when reinstalling the fan and cooling assembly.The new card came before the thermal paste, my fault, so initially I used the standard paste I had lying around. Normal (browsing, checking emails, using Windows Explorer, watching an AVI video with KMPlayer types of thing) usage CPU temperature with the standard paste was 58-62C with idle around 56C.When the AS5 arrived and I used it, initially there was a ~5C difference between AS5 and the standard paste in similar usage (53-57C & 51C idle). But after a few days bedding in, (common with many of the more sophisticated formulations of thermal pastes) I lost another couple of degrees across the board (51-55C & 40 idle). Note, previous to replacing the graphic card, normal CPU temps, even though it had a better than standard paste on the CPU, was closer to the temps seen with the standard paste.Other bonus points, it has made a difference to the maximum temperature seen. Previously, when e.g. encoding video, which would push the CPU to max for long periods, max temperature would get up to around 88-90C. Now doing the exact same task, I never get above 83-84C. This is also reflected in the fact that now, even when doing some heavy lifting with the laptop, it is noticeable that the fan now runs for far shorter periods than it used to, i.e. the temperature drops far quicker. Though I have not changed any of the fan control settings in the BIOS or the on board SW I use.All in all, money well spent and a bargain at a fiver and a very pleasant surprise as it has produced far better results than I expected.

My GPU like it.

Re-seating a cpu heatsink. what can I say? Lost my venerable tube of AS3 and this was a nice speedy replacement. Computer hasn't caught fire and exploded so far so good!

I have systems that still run cool on this nearly 20 years later.For the sake of perhaps 1 degree c, I'm not going to change to something that may need reapping every few years.Silver is the way to go as far as I'm concerned, and as5 does a good job.

It is genuine and functions well. Easy to apply although like all paste it is a bit messy. There is usually enough in the tube to reapply if needed.