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After 3 months of using a cheap thermal paste versus the $12 tube of Noctua NT-H1, the difference in my client's overheating gaming rig was night and day.

The cheap stuff dried out and cracked after a few heat cycles, but the Noctua kept temps stable under load, so what's your go-to paste for a reliable long-term fix?
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3 Comments
smith.anna
smith.anna18d ago
My first build I used the paste that came with the cooler, which was basically toothpaste. CPU idled at a toasty 60 degrees. Learned that lesson fast. Now I just buy the big syringe of Arctic Silver 5 and it lasts me years. It's boring but it works every single time, no surprises.
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emma_hayes80
See this all the time with cheap stuff, not just thermal paste. Bought a discount phone charger once that fried my port in a week, while the boring brand name one lasted years. It's that false economy where saving five bucks now costs you fifty later. For paste, I just grab the Arctic MX-4, it's never let me down and doesn't break the bank.
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chen.phoenix
Yeah, @emma_hayes80 gets it, you just can't cheap out on paste.
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