How Much Does Thermal Paste Quality Matter?

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Asked By AwesomeSauce99 On

I just ran out of my usual TF7 thermal paste and had to settle for a local brand's thermal paste, which has a conductivity of 3.05 W/m.k compared to TF7's 3.9 W/m.k. The resistance is also higher, at <0.073 versus TF7's 0.01. Should I go ahead and use this paste for my 7800x3D with a Thermalright Phantom cooler, or is it better to wait a couple of days for my usual thermal paste to arrive? Alternatively, could I use this local paste temporarily and switch back once the new one comes in?

4 Answers

Answered By PasteExpert59 On

As long as it’s not some sketchy brand from AliExpress, it should work fine for desktop CPUs. The situation is more critical for GPUs and laptops because of heat management. Since you mentioned it’s an off-brand but not completely unknown, you should be okay!

SkepticalSailor -

I mean it's kinda off-brand but not something that's completely unheard of.

Answered By ChillPill22 On

Honestly, the difference in thermal paste quality isn't a huge deal for CPUs. You might see a couple of degrees difference, but it’s usually not significant enough to stress over. If you’re in a pinch, go ahead and use what you have until your TF7 arrives!

CuriousCat45 -

Thanks y'all, hearing those helped a lot.

Answered By OverthinkerGirl On

You're probably overanalyzing it a bit. I have an AMD R5600X with the stock cooler and it runs fine without issues, even under load. A mid-priced thermal paste does the trick for me!

GratefulGamer99 -

Thank you!

Answered By TechWhiz On

If it's just a CPU, you won't run into major problems. For GPUs, I'd definitely be more cautious because they have higher power demands. So you should be fine using this local paste for your CPU.

SmartMover88 -

Yeah, it's just for CPU. I won't touch the GPU; it’s a 9070 XT.

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