You know I actually petitioned to write this piece. I was like “yeah, gimme them thermal paste deals”. I’m a long-time proponent of thermal paste. In fact, I’ve been lobbying governments around the world to provide it with the same protected status that Mozarella di Bufala Campana enjoys.
After all, where would we be without the plucky stuff? Using toothpaste? Jelly? Gods forbid we’d be welding our CPU blocks on.
Ok, ok, yes, I’m being somewhat facetious here. But still, thermal paste is one of those things that until you run out of it, you don’t really think about. It’s a $10, $15, $20 purchase, that can make or break a build.
Now of course most coolers do come with some either pre-attached or included in a tube by default, but, it’s often low quality, or there’s little of it. If you accidentally reposition your CPU block a few times on the initial install, or have to do some troubleshooting, it’ll easily smudge, smear, and leave you with uneven coverage and a toasty chip as a result.
And then of course, at the other end of the spectrum. If your machine is starting to get a little long in the tooth. Over time, cheap thermal paste can dry out and crack, producing even worse results for you. You’ll see it in your performance first, as clock speeds fall, and then, as the temps climb up (a handy quick install of Hardware Monitor or HWInfo64 will flag if there’s a real issue). Worst case scenario? You do nothing and severely damage your CPU, or even more catastrophic than that, which your GPU die because the paste holding that house-brick sized cooler to it has turned into dust.
So then, we all know its Prime Day/Week at this point, what are the best thermal paste dealios out there? These ones that’s what:
We’re curating all the best Prime Day PC gaming deals here
Thermal Grizzly
Kryonaut – 1 gram
Thermal Grizzly’s Kryonaut is an absolute staple in the thermal paste world, solid, dependable and seriously good in terms of overall performance. Admittedly, you’re not going to see a huge swing from one paste to another, maybe a degree or two, but the consistency here is great, particularly as it’s at its lowest ever price of just $6.74Key specs: Grey | Gloopy | Tastes like sherbet* | 1 gram | $6.74 p/g | Non-conductive
Arctic
MX-4 – 4 grams
The budget king, and a long-time favorite of our own Jacob Ridley, the MX-4 four-gram tube here is down to an impressive $4.99, viscosity is lighter than most, so it is a little runny, but performance is exceptional, and that extra fluid gives it a bit of a longer life span than most. Insanely affordable at $5 for 4 grams.Key specs: Grey | Gloopier | Tastes like fudge* | 4 grams | $1.25 p/g | Non-conductive
Noctua
NT-H1 – 3.5 grams
Unbelievable the audacity of Noctua to not even put up a single Prime Day deal for its thermal paste this year. I’m including it anyway, because it’s top-tier paste, and my literal go-to at a cost. NT-H1 is, in all honesty, legendary. With the consistency of well-bound cement, it’s not cheap, but I’m pretty sure you could use this in zero-G if you wanted.Key specs: Grey | Non-Newtonian Fluid | Tastes like summer mornings* | 3.5 grams | $2.56 p/g | Non-conductive
The full details
Thermal Grizzly’s Kryonaut is an absolute staple in the thermal paste world, solid, dependable and seriously good in terms of overall performance. Admittedly, you’re not going to see a huge swing from one paste to another, maybe a degree or two, but the consistency here is great, particularly as it’s at its lowest ever price of just $6.74
Key specs: Grey | Gloopy | Tastes like sherbet* | 1 gram | $6.74 p/g | Non-conductiveView Deal
The budget king, and a long-time favorite of our own Jacob Ridley, the MX-4 four-gram tube here is down to an impressive $4.99, viscosity is lighter than most, so it is a little runny, but performance is exceptional, and that extra fluid gives it a bit of a longer life span than most. Insanely affordable at $5 for 4 grams.
Key specs: Grey | Gloopier | Tastes like fudge* | 4 grams | $1.25 p/g | Non-conductiveView Deal
Unbelievable the audacity of Noctua to not even put up a single Prime Day deal for its thermal paste this year. I’m including it anyway, because it’s top-tier paste, and my literal go-to at a cost. NT-H1 is, in all honesty, legendary. With the consistency of well-bound cement, it’s not cheap, but I’m pretty sure you could use this in zero-G if you wanted.
Key specs: Grey | Non-Newtonian Fluid | Tastes like summer mornings* | 3.5 grams | $2.56 p/g | Non-conductiveView Deal
The wild card alternative
The ultimate king of kings, Thermal Grizzly’s Conductonaut liquid metal is an absolute specialist TIM (thermal interface material). Now, let me be clear. It’s conductive, and it is a liquid-metal which will react with bare copper blocks. You cannot and should not use this with copper-based CPU blocks, as it’ll eat away the metal. However, thermal conductivity is through the roof, and it’s exceptionally good for use when delidding older chips that use thermal paste between the IHS and the CPU die itself, or for extending the life of your PS5 Pro and other consoles. Do not eat it, don’t get it on your skin, and do not let it touch electrical surfaces, and you’ll be fine.
Key specs: Chrome | Wet | Do not eat this, ever* | 1 gram | $9.74 p/g | Conductive!!!View Deal
*PC Gamer politely reminds you to never eat the thermal paste for goodness’ sake.
carefully add a drop, then spread it with the included specialised cotton buds, and then clean up the mess.Future / Tom’s Hardware
Future / Tom’s Hardware
I’m going to wade in here with a little extra tip. I’ve spent years benchmarking CPUs and building all manner of weird and wonderful machines. Even dabbled in delidding a slew of Intel chips once upon a time in the hunt for ever better cooling. And let me tell you, after doing all of that, and speaking to numerous competitive overclockers, system builders, and more, in terms of your thermal paste application, as long as it’s a non-conductive paste, be generous with how much you put on your chip. Identify where the die is, where the complexes are (some chips benefit from a long line of paste in the middle, some just a blob), and put a big ol’ slathering of the stuff there instead.
If it goes over the side, honestly, and again as long as it’s not conductive, it’s not the end of the world. You can clean it up if you need to later with some isopropyl alcohol spray (this stuff you get 16 fl oz and its 20% off, nice), and a good microfiber cloth.
The more the better, to be blunt, it won’t dry out as fast, and you can guarantee coverage. Put too little on there, and you can end up with thermal hot-spots on your chip due to poor coverage, and ain’t nobody got time for that.
