[TAG0]
(Photo: Computerbase.de forums)
The best thermal paste is a debate that will likely never be resolved in the PC world. A further problem is that no one will agree on the best application method. Some believe that a drop of Arctic Silver would be ideal. Others argue that you need to apply liquid metal in an X-shaped manner. Others swear by thermal pads. One thing we all can agree on is this:
Something
It is better than nothing. German thermal paste researchers have added a few more materials to their paste repertoire, including toothpaste and potato slices, cheese, and even some ketchup. None of these materials are as good or as good as thermal paste. However, ketchup did exceptionally well.
TechSpot flagged the tests as being run by a Computerbase.de forum member. An enterprising tester tested a range of thermal pastes on a Radeon R7240 GPU. This entry-level, passively cooled GPU is 30W. To prevent throttling, the testers added a fan. Although the GPU operates at 780MHz, it can still produce enough heat to subliminally cool a cooling system.
They used a large sample of paste, including the condiments mentioned above to determine which paste was the best. Each test involved a Furmark run, which is a torture test of GPUs. The GPU undergoes three stages of thermal throttling once it reaches 105C. The third stage reduces the clocks to 300MHz. However, if the temperature reaches its maximum it turns off the system.
A shocking twist of events has shown that a potato slice cannot cool down a GPU. (Image: Computerbase.de)
The standout paste among the non-standard pastes was ketchup. It allowed the GPU to reach 71C but didn't throttle. The slice of potato above was different. It reached 105C at throttle stage three. However, the PC did not shut down so it is theoretically possible to continue using it. A slice of cheese did slightly better than the potato. It reached 105C, but it only reached the first stage. Toothpaste performed similarly, reaching 90C with no throttling. [I cannot believe that I am reading this right now. -Ed. ]
The person also tested standard pastes, pads and other unusual materials. Arctic MX4 paste and Corsair's TM30 were the top performers. The GPU was allowed to reach 49C and 54C respectively. Despite the fact that the Arctic TP3 thermal pad had a maximum temperature of 61C, they declared it the winner. It's much easier than using paste and can be reused repeatedly, so we're guessing it was because it's more user-friendly than paste. You can browse the photos and benchmarks on Google Drive.
Read
- How I spent $700 building a mechanical keyboard for 'Life Aquatic.
- Cooler Master celebrates Nutella with thermal paste
- TikTok Account Tests Novel Thermal Paste Patterns for CPUs
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
By: Josh Norem
Title: Ketchup Performs Surprisingly Well as a Thermal Paste
Sourced From: www.extremetech.com/computing/342601-ketchup-performs-surprisingly-well-as-a-thermal-paste
Published Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2023 20:37:22 +0000
Leave a Reply