Love how you explained the difference and kept it concise and focused on the facts. A lot of the other tech channels want that 12 minute engagement for views and adsense money, so they just keep blabbling about tech nonsense nobody really cares about.
My issue with those very high viscous thermal pastes is spreading them evenly. I'll say this, the MX4 that I had in my old PC (2011 i7-3930K) was effective and didn't dry out for over a decade. Unless you have serious OCD over ~1°C, I probably would go with the MX4 only because it has a proven long-term track record.
Viscous pastes are good for laptops, videocards or consoles. MX4 lasts a very long time on desktop (lost my count on how many 45 gram tubes i have used) cpu's but a lot less on direct-die situations.
@@phenos .. The only issue with viscous TIM is even spread and if you're worried about 1°-3° Celsius is often all that separates the best from the worst. (Liquid metal excluded)
@@DJaquithFL I manually spread the viscous paste, the trick on that is to use very light pressure on the spreader/spatula slowly working it from one edge to the other side and it doesn't really matter if it looks a bit sloppy. After carefully screwing the heatsink in place giving each screw a single turn until it fits snugly I apply firm pressure (like a good handshake) on it because laptop heatsinks usually have low contact pressure and the sturdy paste layer remains too thick without that. I don't really look for the best temperature drop but I care about longevity. Much less of a concern on desktop cpu's and low viscosity pastes are recommended on them because the coolers on them usually have good contact pressure and sturdy paste cannot form a thin layer quick enough.
@@phenos .. So do I spread it the same, the problem which we'll apparently never agree about is how smooth. It may look smooth to you but take a magnifying glass just to see how nots smooth it is.
I think the temperature the system runs at and how many heat cycles it goes through matters more to the paste's longevity than the specific paste you use. I can't remember which thermal paste I used when I installed an EK waterblock on my GTX 970 in 2015, but I never changed it since and my GPU temps haven't changed at all in the last 8 years. I attribute the paste's longevity to minimal heat cycles (my computer stays on 24/7) and the sub 35 degree GPU temps under full load more than the specific paste.
@@averyalexander2303 I just repasted my 6800 with thermalright tfx and set my gpu fans to always be on at 1200rpm or so, gpu sits under 40 in games so paste should last a while
I just used some MX-6 to repaste a 5 year old Dell laptop. The consistency was perfect and I saw temperature reductions of around 10degF for the GPUs and around 18degF for the CPU. Of course, any top-tier paste should have peformed similarly.
@@wellsbengston4132 thx for the info, i think best method to see pump out effect is keep your procie's temp high for several times, like doing gaming continously,, please keep update your conditions bro, i planning to buy this mx-6 too
was using mx4 since 10 years ago with no issues. i change mine around 5-8 years and even if its a little little dried out the temps are still fine. now i wanted to use mx6 on my new pc cuz i see some reviews claiming around 1-3degree chiller but i`ll probably still go with the mx4 for the track record and easy apply
In a Gamers Nexus video, Der8auer has explained that drier thermal paste is less susceptible to pump-out effect which means it lasts longer than wet thermal paste.
More viscous. More liquidy will pump out of the heatsink gaps and you will have to re-paste sooner. For laptop use more viscous 100% since heatsink mounting force is greater and pump out effect is larger.
I had MX-5 on my 5800x ryzen, and it was a P.I.T.A. to separate it from my Dark Rock Pro 4 cooler. One time it pulled the CPU from the socket and it bent some pins (that I had to carefully straighten). Mx-6 might be 1Cº better than MX-4, but I'm done with sticky pastes, so I'm getting 4 now.
Thanks for testing & posting! I liked the light blueish color of MX-5, too bad they went back to the dull grey from the MX-4. But although Arctic won’t admit it, MX-5 clearly had a defect. It pretty much falls off after a few months of use. It looks like it dries out from the heat cycles. I hope they managed to tackle this with MX-6.
Also, that stuff was so danged sticky it might as well have been called a thermal adhesive. I've pulled Ryzen CPUs straight out of a latched socket so many times now that it's not even scary when it happens anymore, just semi-expected behavior. Only happened once with MX-4, and that was on a loose socket that was further loosened by wiggling and forceful extraction due to a previous application of MX-5. A blow dryer should not be a requirement for removing a heatsink from a CPU.
@@trajectoryunown so im not the only one who experience this, ever since I start using mx-5, the CPU gets pulled out every time I remove the cooler, and then I would have to twist the CPU off the cooler🥲
@@shinefake48 Be careful with twisting. I've seen consistent results with less worry using a sliding motion lately. Keeps the CPU in place, lowers surface area of the connection, and allows for leverage to be more directed the further it's off of the CPU. It's a bit messier along the edges and you may need to clean out the fins on the cooler, but I think it's worth it to avoid risking possible damage to the CPU and motherboard.
I just took off my cooler from GD900 after half a year and it was a breeze. The paste was still super fresh and well mixed. Easy to apply, easy to wipe off. Now I installed MX6... Wonder how it's going to fare, with removal as well. Temperature improvement against a well aged GD900 of 1°C at 80W and 2°C at 110W. So I wonder yet whether that's even a real improvement or not.
Arctic MX-6 had my Ryzen 9 5900x idle at 26c and never ever went over 65c in benchmarks and gaming, of course I used an Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 rev 4 with the offset brackets. Ran a Cinebench r23 30-minute throttle test and scored 23,527mc for memory I’m using the G Skill Trident Z Neo cl14 3600mhz 4x8gb overclocked to cl14 3733mhz 4x8gb at 1.48 volts with direct memory cooling and an Asus Tuf OC Edition RTX 4070 Ti Super on an Asus 1440p 240hz monitor.
I still prefer a center dot of compound and then carefully screwing the heatsink down while holding it to create a single pancake affect. I think I’ll order mx6 for my AM4/AM5 builds.
It should be done a similar test but after a longer time. Some thermal pastes seem great if tested after a fresh application but degrade very fast. So, the winner in near term could be easily outperformed on longer run.
@@maniaque37 In fact, the problem isn't that thermal paste becomes rotten, the problem is that some thermal pastes include compounds less stable than others and can change thermal conductivity properties faster before settle to a certain level, regardless the fact they are still fresh and not dried. The thermal conductivity after application isn't a straight line that remains the same till the end but a curve that has a different evolution according the specific formulation, and some peak after application more than others but settle lower. I have personally seen this many times.
I think the idea with higher viscosity is it takes longer to "dry out." With regard to thermals, there may not even be a statistically difference significance between the best thermal paste possible, and the worst. However, the more viscous ones should, in theory, perform within the burn-in specs for the longest.
I've used thermal grizzly, antec and one very expensive compound with diamonds in it and I always go back to mx4. I find I don't have to re paste as often.
Got genuine MX-6 from Amazon and it's pretty disappointing. After 3 months my temperatures started climbing again on my 3080. Took off the heatsink and it was already dried up and falling apart.
So, MX-4 is better for desktop CPU+CPU cooler applications (anything with a heat spreader basically) and MX-6 would be better for direct die, like laptop CPU/GPU or desktop GPU+GPU cooler applications? But for the latter (direct die), would Kryonaut work better than MX-6?
Kryonaut is very over hyped because it gives great initial temps but has a high tendency to degrade very fast on direct-die applications with slightly deformed coolers or when the temperature hits 80°c. I hope MX-6 has good long-term results on direct-die applications because it is easy to obtain without long shipping times. For basic direct-die I'll stay with the proven industrial Shin-etsu X23-7921-5 viscous paste until mx-6 has proven itself (Thermalright TFX, IC-Diamond works good as well). And for hotheads I'm in the process of switching to Honeywell PTM-7950 pads. In the past i used kryonaut, NT-H1 / H2 and some other consumer pastes as a repair shop but it always craps out after a couple of weeks/months.
@@phenosI repasted my 3070 last year with mx-6 and there wasn't any temp degradation in a span of a year, repasted it again with the new paste from GD (makers of the gd900) called the GD-2, the temps are quite similar with my MX-6 but the GD-2 is a little more viscous.
@@Benri05 Just ordered a 150 Gram jar with GD-2 for that reason. A cost effective good paste for basic office laptops. I fully switched to PTM7950 and Laird PTCM7000 for Gaming laptops and videocards and Thermal putty for thermal pad replacements. Upsiren U6 Pro and Penchem TH930. and sometimes with copper shims as well.
MX-4 has lasted in my rig for 7 years, without needing any reapplication. I don't remember what temps I had upon install, but even at full load it never goes above 70-75, and my air cooler fan never above 65% speed. Soon I'll build a new PC and can't decide if I'll use MX-4, or MX-6.
For Intel processors, way easier to apply the grease/paste while the CPU is out of the socket, holding it by the edges or even placing it onto a thin piece of foam, a towel, and working with it on a table. There are no pins to worry about while holding by the edges and you have much better control. With a razor blade I'm able put a very flat uniform layer of paste, then I take a Q-tip (or other) and just run it around the side edge of the heatspreader "lid". The first couple times were practice but I've done over 100. Just watch for getting it on your fingertips and then transferring some to the underside (which is easy to wipe off on Intel, given no pins). You can install the CPU into the socket holding by the edges as well.
Thank you for that, very helpful. I wonder why the Intel stock heat sink that comes with a CPU has a round plate, when the CPU itself is square ? In that case it would seem placing a dot of paste in the middle of the CPU would be the best method of application.
Thank you for this video. I'm looking at both of these cooling pastes and was wondering what each one actually looked like in I wonder how much board and cpu bending is an issue with the AM4 I have.
Every year at some point I try to see if there's something to compete with MX-4 and there never is. Been using it probably 20 years .. or how ever long it's been out. Feels like 20 :p. I've been in to and fixing/maintaining pc's from the 90's. MX-4 is the GOAT. Sure in laptops I would prefer to use something more conductive but the pricing of those is way to high to justify them. Couple of degrees don't matter, if you think about what shit paste the manufacturers put in there usually and if they pass testing with those. MX4 will do just fine too. And i've never seen MX-4 turn in to god damn concrete over time neither. Can't say the same about some OEM's paste. Just broke a expensive business laptop coolers heatpipes off the cold plate a while back when trying to get it off. Just would not give, but the soldering gave :D
The reason I'm using Arctic MX-4 over any Thermal Grizzly solution is longevity. Sure I can get better performance from Thermal Grizzly, but I would have to replace it every year.
kyonout is not really better than MX4, i tested those two against Noctual NH2, and there was barely any difference at teh beginning, except, kryonout seems to be loosing the performance after just few days. The only advantage kyonout has, is that it's easier to remove it from CPU and the cooling block. Noctua NH2 is the winner for me, bcoz it does not seem to dry out as quickly as MX4 does, and has similar price, it's just not as easy to spread as the others.
The mx-5 apparently glued the CPU to the cooler 😂 I never used it myself, always used MX-4 and don’t see the point in changing something that isn’t broken.
Tried to replace the paste on my 3080 and got the new MX-6...I didn't like how it spread at all, I threw the tube away and used the old mx-4.Mx-4 and Noctua are best IMO.
Easy pastes usually don't last very long on current gen high temperature direct-die applications. Expect climbing hotspot temperatures within a couple of weeks/months.
@@phenos Anyone in here use Arctic Silver 5? Not seeing anyone mention it. I think it's just too hard for people to properly apply it or something. It gets better over time. Lasts for a lonngg time, too. 2-3 years before you even start thinking you might want to replace it to drop a couple of degrees, again. All my rigs run 24/7 and have always had beefy aftermarket coolers with high wattage CPU's. Currently running a Fuma 2 Rev B on an R9 5900x with Arctic Silver 5. I use that on EVERYTHING. I always get better temps than anything I've ever seen anyone use on a YT video. ALWAYS.
BUT... just a dab too much and you'll ruin your temps. Come up a little short with it and you won't get those sweet temps. But once you've been dealing with it for awhile and applied it enough... by god, it can't be beaten.
@@JustAGuy85 I used Arctic Silver 5 since it's introduction and had no trouble spreading it (used the rounded holding part from a metal CD/DVD drive ejection pin for that, difficult to explain but it worked very easy with a perfect layer) but in that time many years ago I didn't know about advantages and disadvantages with viscosity and such. I remember it as a stable paste on Athlon XP's and vga cards.
@@phenos I still don't know exactly all of the advantages/disadvantages of viscosity in a paste. I mean.. a thicker viscosity paste should last longer/dry out slower, but at the same time, also require a thinner layer. However, once you apply that pressure to the heatsink, I guess ALL pastes end up in the same thickness/height of paste lol. There's just always been something about AS5 that gives incredible temps for me. I've tried MX-4 and replaced it back with AS5 a week later. I'll always prefer it. There is a particular way it needs to be applied, though. Sure, you want an even spread, but it's very easy to overdo and underdo. You won't notice it if you don't apply it several times. You may think your temps are great (and they probably are), but you might have 5C more to drop with a lesser amount. Yeah, I've been using it since Athlon64. Started using it on my GPU's, too, and it's just amazing. I'm sure you've got the application figured out after all that time, I'm just saying that's what I noticed over time. Like.. I used it on my last STRIX RX480 8GB and it just blows my mind how much it lowered temps compared to whatever it came with from the factory. 15C drops in temps while gaming with the same 55% fan setting. And like I said, now it's between a Fuma 2 Reb B and a 5900x and the dang thing doesn't even go over 60C on the CPU-z stress test. It's a little cool in my house, though. The individual core temps are even lower. 54-60C across the dozen of them. No PBO, so that's the stock 142 watt PPT being pulled. Just Curve Optimizer with a +100mhz boost (5.05ghz single core) Sorry.. this has always aggravated me about reviewers doing paste reviews. AS5 takes experience to get the most out of it. Anyone can slap a paste on in any way, shape or form. Doesn't mean it's doing the best that it can.
1:24 perfectly true! I built a custom loop pc with the corsair XC7 cooler and an i9 14900k, idle temps were around 60 and even shot up to 80. Swapped out the stock locking mechanism with the same die guard as you and temps went right down to 30 idle..
idle at 30°C? was the room temperature 22°C or higher? And with i7 13700k at 280W i get around 85~90°C if the stress test does not run longer than 3 minutes , and since i9 14900k does like 350W, i would hardly assume you can keep it at just 80°C. Idle temp should be about 8°C less than room temp, altho this will not apply if the room temp is too hot or too cold.
I love thermal grizzly but recently tried the extreme version and went thru 2 tubes of it trying to apply ut and it was actually making me mad. It felt like it was drying up and when I would try and go over it to spread it it would lift off the cpu and stick to the spreader. Legit took me like 15 minutes to put thermal paste on my cpu lol
TG pastes (all of them) are quite good yeah but they tends to dry out faster than its competitors. Definitely not recommended for those who doesn't change their paste often. I still prefer it for my laptops though, and the the issue about how quick it dries out doesn't matter much to me because I have to clean the fans way more often than the usual due to how quick dusts built up in my area. And my laptop doesn't allow me to remove the fans without having to remove the entire cooling system. Because of that, I've been thinking on using carbonaut pads lately since it can be reusable. I'm well aware that it's electrically conductive but it's fine and I'm willing to take the risks as I've already accustomed on handling liquid metals on laptops before.
I just upgraded by Dell Optiplex 7010/9010 Custom with an Intel i7 2600 (95W), with MX-6; I am impressed, my computer Idles in the 30's Degrees Celsius. Previously, I had an Intel I5 3470 with MX-4; and it did phenomenal. If you're going to use a high powered CPU like an i7, I recommend MX-6; now, if you're going to use a low powered CPU like an i5, then I recommend MX-4.
@@snikenfixen The more power a processor has, the more it'll heat. In your case, your processor is 35W; so you would be better of with MX-4. In my case, I have an I7 2600 (95W), MX-6 is suitable because it's a High-Powered Processor. MX-6 is better suited for High-Powered Processors because of its effectiveness at higher temperatures; on the other hand, MX-4 is very effective at lower temperatures (Suitable for Low-Powered Processors).
@@snikenfixen The quality of MX-4 is very good, it's low viscosity; and it remains liquid so it doesn't dry out for a long time. MX-6 has higher viscosity, it's more of a paste; and it's high quality, as it lasts a long time. So it all depends on your Processor, for its heat management properties.
I repasted a Legion 5 laptop(4800H-1660ti) from Hydronaut to MX-6. This paste seems to perform better overall. We'll see in the long run. On a side note, I'm curious if it's going to make a difference on my 12700K compared to Hydronaut.
Update. I've switched to MX-6 from Hydronaut on my 12700K(Arctic 360 AIO with Thermalright bracket), seems to be around 1C lower with the MX-6, within margin of error. Either way, it's good shit.
6 more months later (10 in total), is it still good on the laptop? I want a thermal paste that I don't have to worry about replacing every 6-12 months lol
i actually have issue with my rog scar 3 i7 970h and rtx2070, when i decided to apply MX5 to both cpu and gpu, the cpu wsa not running the max frequency it used to do with MX4, after i change it back to MX4 on the cpu but MX5 with the gpu, it as running fine, i suspected to be the MX5 viscosity not working properly with the cpu
MX-4 has been separating and drying on me after only a few years use, even inside the tube it's separating. I don't like this stuff as much as I thought I would after all the praise it got a few years back.
Be glad you're not as lazy as I am when it comes to using a spatula.. :) I just re-cased my system and had to lift my AiO's waterblock... only to find that about 25% of my CPU's heatspreader wasn't covered with paste. I *think* I used the "pea-sized drop in the center of the heatspreader and let the cooler do the work of spreading the paste"-method. Which I won't be using again after seeing that result. And it was a pretty low viscosity paste I used (Cooler Master Master Gel Maker). The paste was four years old at the time (never opened though), but it looked totally fine and I did use it again a couple of weeks ago when I re-built the system inside the new case. Still looked and felt like new. Using the X-method yielded much better results in the spread, BTW... I did it twice, just to check what the spread was like this time. When I saw that everything was covered, I didn't bother with the spatula. It seems to have lowered temps quite a bit ... but I can't be sure how much of that is down to the paste, since my new case has much better airflow and my AiO can finally breathe through an open mesh front panel.
@Kevin Whitely I ran the Zalman FX70 for over 5 years on a Ryzen 2700 with Arctic Silver 5. It certainly worked well, I never had to just "re-apply paste due to time" like I often see people recommending re-pasting every two years now?
I've used a single 8 gram tube of MX-4 on over a half dozen CPUs, multiple times (up to 3-5) for most of them as well as for application on a handful of GPUs... I still have some left, probably enough for 3-6 more applications to CPUs. If MX-5 was any indication of comparison, and 8g tube of MX-6 will probably stretch to at least 80+% of that. If you're just looking to apply it to your CPU during a build then every so often during maintenance, maybe upgrading thermal performance on your GPU, then that should last you for a good few applications at least.
if possible, please do testing at higher wattages for a better idea how it will be on a gpu. Theres a certain test in prime 95 that makes my 8700k take aorund 180w instead of 120 when at 4.7 all core
Bought an upgrade set used for 350€ 9700k i7 w. aio 16gb and 2070 super, gpu had overheating issues and freaked out with the fans, replaced thermal paste with mx6 and went from 80/85c to 55c
350 euros is a complete steal for this rig. a used 2070 super by itself is around 200 euros. the aio, depending on the make and model could be around 100-150 (already the entire cost of the rig). the 16gb of ddr4 ram is around 30 euros, the i7 by itself is around 200 on e-bay
Man, what an amazing video. So perfectly explained. Thank you so much for this. I hated mx5. Mx4 was always so good to spread. I think the opposite. Around 1c less at high loads is not as important. 99% of computers stay a rest 99%+ of the time, so artic 4 would be better in my opinion.
I like how peoples performance chart in these comments is "i applied xyz paste and have had no issues". To some people 60c idle is "no problems". Yall are circlejerking.
Thermal paste doesn't last for 10 years, but MX-4 is proven to be a very good thermal paste, ever since its release 10 years ago, it's still recommended by most people.
I like the bending-correction frame. I hadn't heard of those until I saw this video. I bought a 13600k and don't plan to use one of these frames for my upcoming build, but it's something I'll keep in mind for the future.
A tip for all when using high viscous paste. Put the tube of paste in your pocket for 30 mins to warm it up and then use it, spreads way better lol.
gigachad commenter, ill keep this in mind even for less viscous pastes, absolutely genius
Does that genuinely make you laugh out loud, or are you just on linguistic autopilot?
@@Spurdospaerde692 It's a tone indicator, smart one.
Between the cheeks also works to soften up the paste
I wish I read this comment _before_ I applied my thermal grizzle paste. I now had to remove it and re-do it.
Love how you explained the difference and kept it concise and focused on the facts. A lot of the other tech channels want that 12 minute engagement for views and adsense money, so they just keep blabbling about tech nonsense nobody really cares about.
I mean, someone has to care about it - otherwise they wouldn't waste their time making it right?
@@moltenbullet that's backwards..re-read my comment and focus on the WHY
The MX-6 may be better but the difference is so small I think I'd rather keep using MX-4 due to it being super easy to apply.
the thing it's how much it lasts on bare die
Exactly
@@MrGlitchDogePE same
The idea is (i hope) to use mx6 for some years... MX4 (usually) should be replaced every 12 months.
@@ORA-01403 LOL where did you came out with that? I had mx4 for over 14 years on a cpu and temps were just a about 3C higher than when new...
My issue with those very high viscous thermal pastes is spreading them evenly. I'll say this, the MX4 that I had in my old PC (2011 i7-3930K) was effective and didn't dry out for over a decade. Unless you have serious OCD over ~1°C, I probably would go with the MX4 only because it has a proven long-term track record.
Viscous pastes are good for laptops, videocards or consoles. MX4 lasts a very long time on desktop (lost my count on how many 45 gram tubes i have used) cpu's but a lot less on direct-die situations.
@@phenos .. The only issue with viscous TIM is even spread and if you're worried about 1°-3° Celsius is often all that separates the best from the worst. (Liquid metal excluded)
@@DJaquithFL I manually spread the viscous paste, the trick on that is to use very light pressure on the spreader/spatula slowly working it from one edge to the other side and it doesn't really matter if it looks a bit sloppy. After carefully screwing the heatsink in place giving each screw a single turn until it fits snugly I apply firm pressure (like a good handshake) on it because laptop heatsinks usually have low contact pressure and the sturdy paste layer remains too thick without that. I don't really look for the best temperature drop but I care about longevity. Much less of a concern on desktop cpu's and low viscosity pastes are recommended on them because the coolers on them usually have good contact pressure and sturdy paste cannot form a thin layer quick enough.
@@phenos .. So do I spread it the same, the problem which we'll apparently never agree about is how smooth. It may look smooth to you but take a magnifying glass just to see how nots smooth it is.
@@TemanRakit .. To be clear I can spread the viscous TIM, but I just I have an extremely high standard.
The viscosity of the thermal paste also varies a lot by product. Thank you for the detailed comparison.
For your information, I like MX_4.😃
Thank you for providing us the information that you like MX-4. It's very helpful. I hope other viewers benefit from this.
For me it’s about good performance over long periods of time, if I have slightly higher temps but the paste lasts years I’d rather have that
@@InnerFury1886 exactly
This makes me sad that MX2 got axed.
@@SianaGearz I’ve only been on pc 3 years so never used that
I think the temperature the system runs at and how many heat cycles it goes through matters more to the paste's longevity than the specific paste you use. I can't remember which thermal paste I used when I installed an EK waterblock on my GTX 970 in 2015, but I never changed it since and my GPU temps haven't changed at all in the last 8 years. I attribute the paste's longevity to minimal heat cycles (my computer stays on 24/7) and the sub 35 degree GPU temps under full load more than the specific paste.
@@averyalexander2303 I just repasted my 6800 with thermalright tfx and set my gpu fans to always be on at 1200rpm or so, gpu sits under 40 in games so paste should last a while
It all seems to be within the margin of error. I just use whatever I have kicking around and it's never been an issue
I was thinking the same thing.
Kryonaut stands above really. But aside from that, I agree. Most are within margins
@@zackburkhart8693 for an item most people never change, in a $1k + system, $10 doesn't really break the bank
Yea me 2 as long it spred enough.
@@OscyJack- until conversion rate kicks in
I just used some MX-6 to repaste a 5 year old Dell laptop. The consistency was perfect and I saw temperature reductions of around 10degF for the GPUs and around 18degF for the CPU. Of course, any top-tier paste should have peformed similarly.
@Bread Pitt I've seen no degradation in performance so far.
Update your condition plz, get pump out effect bro?
Did you test to burning your cpu, just like gaming, to see pump out effect
@@rendyyt2268 I use the laptop to render video from a 360 camera. It runs at maximum power and temperature while doing that. No pump out.
@@wellsbengston4132 thx for the info, i think best method to see pump out effect is keep your procie's temp high for several times, like doing gaming continously,, please keep update your conditions bro, i planning to buy this mx-6 too
considering buying a 45gr mx-4 syringe and this video just proves that it really is the best on price/performance
was using mx4 since 10 years ago with no issues. i change mine around 5-8 years and even if its a little little dried out the temps are still fine. now i wanted to use mx6 on my new pc cuz i see some reviews claiming around 1-3degree chiller but i`ll probably still go with the mx4 for the track record and easy apply
3c could mean another 1/200mhz though
@@iikatinggangsengii2471wdym with that pls let me know
@@snareplug3872lower temps better frequency
Thanks for the video. My question is how often should the MX-6 be replaced compared to the MX-4? Does the MX-6 dry out faster than the MX-4?
8 years for both according to arctic's website
In a Gamers Nexus video, Der8auer has explained that drier thermal paste is less susceptible to pump-out effect which means it lasts longer than wet thermal paste.
So what kind of consistency is best for longevity, more liquid out more viscous?
More viscous. More liquidy will pump out of the heatsink gaps and you will have to re-paste sooner. For laptop use more viscous 100% since heatsink mounting force is greater and pump out effect is larger.
I had MX-5 on my 5800x ryzen, and it was a P.I.T.A. to separate it from my Dark Rock Pro 4 cooler. One time it pulled the CPU from the socket and it bent some pins (that I had to carefully straighten). Mx-6 might be 1Cº better than MX-4, but I'm done with sticky pastes, so I'm getting 4 now.
A tip would be use the pc, turn it off, unplug & hold power button, then when removing wiggle the cooler, heat and wiggle helps but I've been there.
Thanks for testing & posting!
I liked the light blueish color of MX-5, too bad they went back to the dull grey from the MX-4. But although Arctic won’t admit it, MX-5 clearly had a defect. It pretty much falls off after a few months of use. It looks like it dries out from the heat cycles. I hope they managed to tackle this with MX-6.
Also, that stuff was so danged sticky it might as well have been called a thermal adhesive.
I've pulled Ryzen CPUs straight out of a latched socket so many times now that it's not even scary when it happens anymore, just semi-expected behavior.
Only happened once with MX-4, and that was on a loose socket that was further loosened by wiggling and forceful extraction due to a previous application of MX-5.
A blow dryer should not be a requirement for removing a heatsink from a CPU.
@@trajectoryunown so im not the only one who experience this, ever since I start using mx-5, the CPU gets pulled out every time I remove the cooler, and then I would have to twist the CPU off the cooler🥲
@@shinefake48 Be careful with twisting. I've seen consistent results with less worry using a sliding motion lately. Keeps the CPU in place, lowers surface area of the connection, and allows for leverage to be more directed the further it's off of the CPU. It's a bit messier along the edges and you may need to clean out the fins on the cooler, but I think it's worth it to avoid risking possible damage to the CPU and motherboard.
I just took off my cooler from GD900 after half a year and it was a breeze. The paste was still super fresh and well mixed. Easy to apply, easy to wipe off.
Now I installed MX6... Wonder how it's going to fare, with removal as well. Temperature improvement against a well aged GD900 of 1°C at 80W and 2°C at 110W. So I wonder yet whether that's even a real improvement or not.
@@SianaGearz this is MX-6 I presume?
I thought that I got an old MX6, it's so viscous 😂.
Now that I saw your video, I know.
Thank you
Arctic MX-6 had my Ryzen 9 5900x idle at 26c and never ever went over 65c in benchmarks and gaming, of course I used an Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 rev 4 with the offset brackets. Ran a Cinebench r23 30-minute throttle test and scored 23,527mc for memory I’m using the G Skill Trident Z Neo cl14 3600mhz 4x8gb overclocked to cl14 3733mhz 4x8gb at 1.48 volts with direct memory cooling and an Asus Tuf OC Edition RTX 4070 Ti Super on an Asus 1440p 240hz monitor.
Thanks for this. Stock temps ony h100i corsair AIO is starting to.hit over 90c after just 2 years. May have to get some of this and see if it helps
Spreading or not?
This review is very well made. I'm surprised that you haven't compared it to Thermal Grizzly. Do you prefer the Arctic paste?
Grizzly only good when you want to oc. It's drawback is that it doesn't last as long making arctic the better choice for non oc systems.
Thermal Grizzly is same as Arctic mx4 but thicker only. I used both but no difference in temperatures. MX4 easyer to use and cheaper.
@@MrHiglon No.
I went back to mx-4 because mx-5 was so bad. How has mx-6 heald up after almost a year?
I still prefer a center dot of compound and then carefully screwing the heatsink down while holding it to create a single pancake affect. I think I’ll order mx6 for my AM4/AM5 builds.
It should be done a similar test but after a longer time. Some thermal pastes seem great if tested after a fresh application but degrade very fast. So, the winner in near term could be easily outperformed on longer run.
the thermal pasts of arctic silver have 8 years of duration
we not talking about meat or vegetables lol
@@maniaque37 In fact, the problem isn't that thermal paste becomes rotten, the problem is that some thermal pastes include compounds less stable than others and can change thermal conductivity properties faster before settle to a certain level, regardless the fact they are still fresh and not dried. The thermal conductivity after application isn't a straight line that remains the same till the end but a curve that has a different evolution according the specific formulation, and some peak after application more than others but settle lower. I have personally seen this many times.
I think the idea with higher viscosity is it takes longer to "dry out." With regard to thermals, there may not even be a statistically difference significance between the best thermal paste possible, and the worst. However, the more viscous ones should, in theory, perform within the burn-in specs for the longest.
how how about after 6 mths or 1 year?
I've used thermal grizzly, antec and one very expensive compound with diamonds in it and I always go back to mx4. I find I don't have to re paste as often.
Got genuine MX-6 from Amazon and it's pretty disappointing. After 3 months my temperatures started climbing again on my 3080. Took off the heatsink and it was already dried up and falling apart.
So, MX-4 is better for desktop CPU+CPU cooler applications (anything with a heat spreader basically) and MX-6 would be better for direct die, like laptop CPU/GPU or desktop GPU+GPU cooler applications? But for the latter (direct die), would Kryonaut work better than MX-6?
Kryonaut is very over hyped because it gives great initial temps but has a high tendency to degrade very fast on direct-die applications with slightly deformed coolers or when the temperature hits 80°c.
I hope MX-6 has good long-term results on direct-die applications because it is easy to obtain without long shipping times. For basic direct-die I'll stay with the proven industrial Shin-etsu X23-7921-5 viscous paste until mx-6 has proven itself (Thermalright TFX, IC-Diamond works good as well). And for hotheads I'm in the process of switching to Honeywell PTM-7950 pads. In the past i used kryonaut, NT-H1 / H2 and some other consumer pastes as a repair shop but it always craps out after a couple of weeks/months.
@@phenosI repasted my 3070 last year with mx-6 and there wasn't any temp degradation in a span of a year, repasted it again with the new paste from GD (makers of the gd900) called the GD-2, the temps are quite similar with my MX-6 but the GD-2 is a little more viscous.
@@Benri05 Just ordered a 150 Gram jar with GD-2 for that reason. A cost effective good paste for basic office laptops. I fully switched to PTM7950 and Laird PTCM7000 for Gaming laptops and videocards and Thermal putty for thermal pad replacements. Upsiren U6 Pro and Penchem TH930. and sometimes with copper shims as well.
Thank you for the nice review and your consistency.
MX-4 has lasted in my rig for 7 years, without needing any reapplication. I don't remember what temps I had upon install, but even at full load it never goes above 70-75, and my air cooler fan never above 65% speed. Soon I'll build a new PC and can't decide if I'll use MX-4, or MX-6.
Same. I have MX-4 and got MX-6 with new cooler. I think I'll "stick" 😄 with the MX-4.
For Intel processors, way easier to apply the grease/paste while the CPU is out of the socket, holding it by the edges or even placing it onto a thin piece of foam, a towel, and working with it on a table. There are no pins to worry about while holding by the edges and you have much better control. With a razor blade I'm able put a very flat uniform layer of paste, then I take a Q-tip (or other) and just run it around the side edge of the heatspreader "lid". The first couple times were practice but I've done over 100. Just watch for getting it on your fingertips and then transferring some to the underside (which is easy to wipe off on Intel, given no pins). You can install the CPU into the socket holding by the edges as well.
Have you tried applying the way Arctic recommend (one pea, let it spread by itself) and compared thermals?
Thank you for that, very helpful. I wonder why the Intel stock heat sink that comes with a CPU has a round plate, when the CPU itself is square ? In that case it would seem placing a dot of paste in the middle of the CPU would be the best method of application.
I’m not sure it’s worth re-pasting my cpu but I think I’ll use the MX-6 on future applications
Thank you for this video. I'm looking at both of these cooling pastes and was wondering what each one actually looked like in
I wonder how much board and cpu bending is an issue with the AM4 I have.
I mean it did say in the instruction that it's not recommended to spread and instead to do the classic dot
Which one would last longer after applied? Building my new pc here soon and was curious
Every year at some point I try to see if there's something to compete with MX-4 and there never is. Been using it probably 20 years .. or how ever long it's been out. Feels like 20 :p. I've been in to and fixing/maintaining pc's from the 90's. MX-4 is the GOAT. Sure in laptops I would prefer to use something more conductive but the pricing of those is way to high to justify them. Couple of degrees don't matter, if you think about what shit paste the manufacturers put in there usually and if they pass testing with those. MX4 will do just fine too. And i've never seen MX-4 turn in to god damn concrete over time neither. Can't say the same about some OEM's paste. Just broke a expensive business laptop coolers heatpipes off the cold plate a while back when trying to get it off. Just would not give, but the soldering gave :D
Arctic Silver 5 has entered the chat
Compare thermal pastes from Arctic to Honeywell PTM7950 phase-change thermopad.
And in a long term? How is it in one year compared to mx4? Thanks in advance
Room temp at 18c? sееk help wасko :DDDDDD
Just applied the MX4 to my GPU and temps went down by 30-35 oon load with my 7900XT. The max is 79 compared to 101 so Im not mad.
For ps4pro is work? Artic mx-6
Thanks! just the info I needed. Arctic remove the thermal conductivity specs from their website.
for 1c difference between mx 4 and mx 6 its not worth the price if mx 4 is cheaper. a better cooler is the solution if you have some temp issues.
The reason I'm using Arctic MX-4 over any Thermal Grizzly solution is longevity. Sure I can get better performance from Thermal Grizzly, but I would have to replace it every year.
Replace it once a year anyway, it costs a few pounds !!
@@boffyboydj waste of life
kyonout is not really better than MX4, i tested those two against Noctual NH2, and there was barely any difference at teh beginning, except, kryonout seems to be loosing the performance after just few days.
The only advantage kyonout has, is that it's easier to remove it from CPU and the cooling block.
Noctua NH2 is the winner for me, bcoz it does not seem to dry out as quickly as MX4 does, and has similar price, it's just not as easy to spread as the others.
I never had mx4 drying
@@krisg822
@@krisg822 never had mx4 drying
I used the nX-8 and it changes about twice as fast as that dried on rubber that was there. I guess rubber isn't the best at everything.
Compare them again after 12 months, and then 3 years.
The mx-5 apparently glued the CPU to the cooler 😂 I never used it myself, always used MX-4 and don’t see the point in changing something that isn’t broken.
I thought weren't supposed to spread the paste like that cuz it creates micro air bubbles that damper the heat transfer
Whoever told you that didn't know what they were talking about.
Bro have you tested this on an AIO for differences?
this mx-6 paste, looks like the one by phobya "nanogrease extreme" ?
Arctic MX-6 vs MX-4 or mx4 vs mx5 the mx-6??????
man, i still got a huge syringle of mx2 from 2016. is it worth buying mx6 in replacment of mx2? kind regards
Tried to replace the paste on my 3080 and got the new MX-6...I didn't like how it spread at all, I threw the tube away and used the old mx-4.Mx-4 and Noctua are best IMO.
Easy pastes usually don't last very long on current gen high temperature direct-die applications. Expect climbing hotspot temperatures within a couple of weeks/months.
@@phenos Anyone in here use Arctic Silver 5? Not seeing anyone mention it. I think it's just too hard for people to properly apply it or something. It gets better over time. Lasts for a lonngg time, too. 2-3 years before you even start thinking you might want to replace it to drop a couple of degrees, again. All my rigs run 24/7 and have always had beefy aftermarket coolers with high wattage CPU's.
Currently running a Fuma 2 Rev B on an R9 5900x with Arctic Silver 5. I use that on EVERYTHING. I always get better temps than anything I've ever seen anyone use on a YT video. ALWAYS.
BUT... just a dab too much and you'll ruin your temps. Come up a little short with it and you won't get those sweet temps.
But once you've been dealing with it for awhile and applied it enough... by god, it can't be beaten.
@@JustAGuy85 I used Arctic Silver 5 since it's introduction and had no trouble spreading it (used the rounded holding part from a metal CD/DVD drive ejection pin for that, difficult to explain but it worked very easy with a perfect layer) but in that time many years ago I didn't know about advantages and disadvantages with viscosity and such. I remember it as a stable paste on Athlon XP's and vga cards.
@@phenos I still don't know exactly all of the advantages/disadvantages of viscosity in a paste. I mean.. a thicker viscosity paste should last longer/dry out slower, but at the same time, also require a thinner layer.
However, once you apply that pressure to the heatsink, I guess ALL pastes end up in the same thickness/height of paste lol.
There's just always been something about AS5 that gives incredible temps for me. I've tried MX-4 and replaced it back with AS5 a week later. I'll always prefer it.
There is a particular way it needs to be applied, though. Sure, you want an even spread, but it's very easy to overdo and underdo. You won't notice it if you don't apply it several times. You may think your temps are great (and they probably are), but you might have 5C more to drop with a lesser amount.
Yeah, I've been using it since Athlon64. Started using it on my GPU's, too, and it's just amazing. I'm sure you've got the application figured out after all that time, I'm just saying that's what I noticed over time.
Like.. I used it on my last STRIX RX480 8GB and it just blows my mind how much it lowered temps compared to whatever it came with from the factory. 15C drops in temps while gaming with the same 55% fan setting.
And like I said, now it's between a Fuma 2 Reb B and a 5900x and the dang thing doesn't even go over 60C on the CPU-z stress test. It's a little cool in my house, though. The individual core temps are even lower. 54-60C across the dozen of them. No PBO, so that's the stock 142 watt PPT being pulled. Just Curve Optimizer with a +100mhz boost (5.05ghz single core)
Sorry.. this has always aggravated me about reviewers doing paste reviews. AS5 takes experience to get the most out of it. Anyone can slap a paste on in any way, shape or form. Doesn't mean it's doing the best that it can.
What's your build for a good looking, (lights inside) SFF PC that is quiet even when playing a demanding game?
1:24 perfectly true!
I built a custom loop pc with the corsair XC7 cooler and an i9 14900k, idle temps were around 60 and even shot up to 80.
Swapped out the stock locking mechanism with the same die guard as you and temps went right down to 30 idle..
idle at 30°C? was the room temperature 22°C or higher?
And with i7 13700k at 280W i get around 85~90°C if the stress test does not run longer than 3 minutes , and since i9 14900k does like 350W, i would hardly assume you can keep it at just 80°C.
Idle temp should be about 8°C less than room temp, altho this will not apply if the room temp is too hot or too cold.
@@krisg822 room temp 22 celcius yes
@@krisg822 forgot to mention i have custom ihs and liquid metal
@@krisg822 Lmao 13700k to 90 c in 3 min? Your cooler sucks man
Can I use the Arctic MX-6 Ultra on PS 4 PRO?
Yo what is that plastic piece that he using to spread the thermal paste? i want one now lol !
It's a small spatula that optionally comes with the thermal paste.
What would be better for replacing stock Intel TIM on i7-4770k? MX-4 or MX-6?
Great video thank you
Does it get easier to spread if you preheat it like putting in warm water?
I love thermal grizzly but recently tried the extreme version and went thru 2 tubes of it trying to apply ut and it was actually making me mad. It felt like it was drying up and when I would try and go over it to spread it it would lift off the cpu and stick to the spreader. Legit took me like 15 minutes to put thermal paste on my cpu lol
TG pastes (all of them) are quite good yeah but they tends to dry out faster than its competitors. Definitely not recommended for those who doesn't change their paste often.
I still prefer it for my laptops though, and the the issue about how quick it dries out doesn't matter much to me because I have to clean the fans way more often than the usual due to how quick dusts built up in my area. And my laptop doesn't allow me to remove the fans without having to remove the entire cooling system.
Because of that, I've been thinking on using carbonaut pads lately since it can be reusable. I'm well aware that it's electrically conductive but it's fine and I'm willing to take the risks as I've already accustomed on handling liquid metals on laptops before.
Great test! perfect!
your application is straight up demonic... great vid and data!
I just upgraded by Dell Optiplex 7010/9010 Custom with an Intel i7 2600 (95W), with MX-6; I am impressed, my computer Idles in the 30's Degrees Celsius. Previously, I had an Intel I5 3470 with MX-4; and it did phenomenal. If you're going to use a high powered CPU like an i7, I recommend MX-6; now, if you're going to use a low powered CPU like an i5, then I recommend MX-4.
Why is MX 4 better for low power processor?
I have an Dell Optiplex with i5-9500T so for that machine is MX4 better than MX6?
@@snikenfixen The more power a processor has, the more it'll heat. In your case, your processor is 35W; so you would be better of with MX-4. In my case, I have an I7 2600 (95W), MX-6 is suitable because it's a High-Powered Processor. MX-6 is better suited for High-Powered Processors because of its effectiveness at higher temperatures; on the other hand, MX-4 is very effective at lower temperatures (Suitable for Low-Powered Processors).
@@DanielAbreu1984 Okej, I see, but I'm a bit concerned about the durability of the MX 4 compared to MX 6.
Is there any difference?
@@snikenfixen The quality of MX-4 is very good, it's low viscosity; and it remains liquid so it doesn't dry out for a long time. MX-6 has higher viscosity, it's more of a paste; and it's high quality, as it lasts a long time. So it all depends on your Processor, for its heat management properties.
I repasted a Legion 5 laptop(4800H-1660ti) from Hydronaut to MX-6. This paste seems to perform better overall. We'll see in the long run.
On a side note, I'm curious if it's going to make a difference on my 12700K compared to Hydronaut.
Update.
I've switched to MX-6 from Hydronaut on my 12700K(Arctic 360 AIO with Thermalright bracket), seems to be around 1C lower with the MX-6, within margin of error.
Either way, it's good shit.
@@LennethValkyrieify is it great for long term??
@@nirwanmuiz7695 Yea, nothing changed.
6 more months later (10 in total), is it still good on the laptop? I want a thermal paste that I don't have to worry about replacing every 6-12 months lol
@@Weroleytor For laptops it's very good however, if you want something even better look into PTM7950, believe me...you won't regret it.
Just put a pea sized drop in the middle and the mounting pressure of the cooler will spread it
thanks for u analysis!
what Prime95 settings did you use? AVX2 on or off?
AVX2 On, Small FFTs
I just wanna give a shout out to Etienne. Justice for Etienne for spreading the thermal paste around.
which one would you recommend if it's for laptop CPU that often gets toasty quite easily like i7-9750H, or Ryzen 7 5800H?
MX-6
i actually have issue with my rog scar 3 i7 970h and rtx2070, when i decided to apply MX5 to both cpu and gpu, the cpu wsa not running the max frequency it used to do with MX4, after i change it back to MX4 on the cpu but MX5 with the gpu, it as running fine, i suspected to be the MX5 viscosity not working properly with the cpu
ahm, 1 degree could be counted as margin of error. if it was like 3+ degrees i would have been running to get mx 6.
so what if you don't have one of the spatula tools? is it okay to just put some paste on then seat the cpu?
Yes, it's okay. Spreading it just helps you make sure that the entire surface is covered. Arctic sells the thermal paste with or without the spatula.
For laptop, mx4 is not good. In time, because of vibrations, it slips from processor.
Still using a tube of mx-2. The diffrence is minimal.
this is very good data.. my MSI GT72s power jack went out of business
I want you to try BA-GS01
Well explained. Thank you
MX-4 has been separating and drying on me after only a few years use, even inside the tube it's separating. I don't like this stuff as much as I thought I would after all the praise it got a few years back.
i read somewehre mx-6 fixes the pump out effect, heard anything?
Yes, the higher viscosity helps with that, although I'm not sure the pump out effect is generally a concern.
@@fullysilentpcs i hope is not a dud like mx5 the mx4 was good
Be glad you're not as lazy as I am when it comes to using a spatula.. :)
I just re-cased my system and had to lift my AiO's waterblock... only to find that about 25% of my CPU's heatspreader wasn't covered with paste. I *think* I used the "pea-sized drop in the center of the heatspreader and let the cooler do the work of spreading the paste"-method. Which I won't be using again after seeing that result.
And it was a pretty low viscosity paste I used (Cooler Master Master Gel Maker). The paste was four years old at the time (never opened though), but it looked totally fine and I did use it again a couple of weeks ago when I re-built the system inside the new case. Still looked and felt like new.
Using the X-method yielded much better results in the spread, BTW... I did it twice, just to check what the spread was like this time. When I saw that everything was covered, I didn't bother with the spatula. It seems to have lowered temps quite a bit ... but I can't be sure how much of that is down to the paste, since my new case has much better airflow and my AiO can finally breathe through an open mesh front panel.
Awesome, very useful, thanks :-)
good explanation
can i put this on my ps4 fat ? if yes how is the performance ?
Good video, thanks.
It was good for 2 years with mx4 on ps4 pro, but when I switched to mx6 I was amazed..
How do you feel about Arctic Silver 5?
It's fine, but there are newer better options today.
@Kevin Whitely I ran the Zalman FX70 for over 5 years on a Ryzen 2700 with Arctic Silver 5. It certainly worked well, I never had to just "re-apply paste due to time" like I often see people recommending re-pasting every two years now?
Is 2g d Mx-6 enough or will I need more? Thanks,^^
I used my 2g mx4 3 times already and still some left
I've used a single 8 gram tube of MX-4 on over a half dozen CPUs, multiple times (up to 3-5) for most of them as well as for application on a handful of GPUs... I still have some left, probably enough for 3-6 more applications to CPUs.
If MX-5 was any indication of comparison, and 8g tube of MX-6 will probably stretch to at least 80+% of that.
If you're just looking to apply it to your CPU during a build then every so often during maintenance, maybe upgrading thermal performance on your GPU, then that should last you for a good few applications at least.
0,3-0,5g - 1 CPU. 2g - up to 6 CPU.
i will buy at least 6g to be safe
so its good for my hd5770 ?
Love both the content and your soothing voice.
if possible, please do testing at higher wattages for a better idea how it will be on a gpu. Theres a certain test in prime 95 that makes my 8700k take aorund 180w instead of 120 when at 4.7 all core
Bought an upgrade set used for 350€ 9700k i7 w. aio 16gb and 2070 super, gpu had overheating issues and freaked out with the fans, replaced thermal paste with mx6 and went from 80/85c to 55c
350 euros is a complete steal for this rig. a used 2070 super by itself is around 200 euros. the aio, depending on the make and model could be around 100-150 (already the entire cost of the rig). the 16gb of ddr4 ram is around 30 euros, the i7 by itself is around 200 on e-bay
Man, what an amazing video. So perfectly explained.
Thank you so much for this.
I hated mx5. Mx4 was always so good to spread. I think the opposite. Around 1c less at high loads is not as important. 99% of computers stay a rest 99%+ of the time, so artic 4 would be better in my opinion.
Anybody using a Lenovo laptop ? Need help choosing a good paste
Hi. Did you make any decisions on that?
Why should you spread the thermal past if it doesn't ? Put more ! Then the difference should be seen in the single core, not in the average.
I like how peoples performance chart in these comments is "i applied xyz paste and have had no issues". To some people 60c idle is "no problems". Yall are circlejerking.
If i want to use my thermal paste for atleast 10 Years. What would be better over time... MX4 or MX6?
Thermal paste doesn't last for 10 years, but MX-4 is proven to be a very good thermal paste, ever since its release 10 years ago, it's still recommended by most people.
Great test
Still prefer mx-4 because cheaper
MX-6 has updated ingredience /material from MX-4
I like the bending-correction frame. I hadn't heard of those until I saw this video. I bought a 13600k and don't plan to use one of these frames for my upcoming build, but it's something I'll keep in mind for the future.