A place |
Name |
Feature Rating |
| 1 | Coollaboratory Liquid MetalPad | Liquid metal. Better thermal conductivity |
| 2 | Arctic Cooling Thermal Pad | Best price for 1 cm2 of excellent quality material |
| 3 | THERMAL GRIZZLY Minus Pad 8 TG-MP8-30-30-05-1R | The most environmentally friendly thermal pad |
| 4 | Gelid GP Extreme | High thermal conductivity (12 W / mK) for little money |
| 5 | Akasa AK-TT300 | Easy installation, low cost |
Back in school, we were taught that the object performing the work produces heat. In most cases, heat energy is simply useless, and sometimes, as is the case with computer work, it does harm. From heating, the performance of processors decreases, their service life decreases. For heat dissipation they use all kinds of radiators and fans, but without thermal interfaces they will not work at full capacity. The most common thermal interface is thermal grease - it is familiar to the inhabitants, and she paid the most attention.
But in some situations it is more reasonable to use a thermal pad - a thin elastic sheet that can conduct heat well. More details about the differences between thermal paste and thermal pads can be found in the “useful to know” box. The main thing that needs to be learned is that in most cases you should not replace the paste with a gasket and vice versa. Use the type of thermal interface that was intended by the manufacturer.
Top 5 best thermal pads
5 Akasa AK-TT300
Easy installation, low cost
A country: China
Average price: 320 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.5
Let's open the rating of one of the most affordable thermal pads on the market. The brand is extremely difficult to call known, but the reviews and availability for purchase do not cause any complaints - everything is decent. But the cost is minimal: for a piece of gasket with dimensions 30x30mm you will have to pay only about 300-350 rubles.
The silicone elastomer is part of the AK-TT300. The manufacturer declared thermal conductivity at 1.2 W / mK - a low figure. Because of this, we recommend not to use this model for cooling video cards or processors. Akasa is perfect for radiators are not very hot items in the laptop. The temperature range is lower than that of competitors (minus 40–160 ° C), but this is quite enough.
The thickness of the gasket can vary from 1 to 5 mm - you can choose the right size for your needs. The plates are quite dense, the adhesive surfaces are covered with a protective film. Even inexperienced users should not have any problems with installation of gaskets; one has only to get a sharp knife.
4 Gelid GP Extreme
High thermal conductivity (12 W / mK) for little money
A country: China
Average price: 520 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.6
Already from the fourth place we are moving to products of famous manufacturers. Gelid is known for its quality thermal grease. Do not let them down and laying. Let's start with the cost: a piece of 80x40 mm will cost the buyer an average of 520 rubles - an excellent indicator. Thickness from 0.5 to 3 mm. Density 2.8 g / cm3. It is easy to apply the gasket.
Pleases declared thermal conductivity of 12 W / mK - this is the highest figure in the class, comparable to sturdy thermal grease. However, independent tests indicate that this figure is somewhat overestimated. Temperatures are indeed lower than those of competitors, but literally 1-2 degrees.
According to the manufacturer, thermal padding is optimally suitable for printed circuit boards of video cards, high-speed hard drives, RAM chips and other electronic devices with dense surface mounting.
3 THERMAL GRIZZLY Minus Pad 8 TG-MP8-30-30-05-1R
The most environmentally friendly thermal pad
A country: Germany
Average price: 500 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.7
Thermal Grizzly is familiar to enthusiasts as a manufacturer of very high-quality and effective thermal grease. Successful and thermal strip came out Minus Pad. The composition of a soft copper-colored plate includes ceramic silicon and nanoaluminum oxide. The names, of course, trade, and do not give a clear understanding of the composition.However, the stated thermal conductivity of 8 W / mK gasket confirms. Available in models of various thicknesses and sizes. The cost is slightly above average: for example, for a piece of 30x30x0.5 mm in size they ask for about 500 rubles.
The gasket is very soft, it is applied easily and completely fills all voids and irregularities between the cooling systems. Independent tests and user reviews indicate high efficiency, comparable to the main competitors. Also note that the manufacturer is focusing on the environmentally friendly gaskets - this will certainly please the fighters for cleanliness.
2 Arctic Cooling Thermal Pad
Best price for 1 cm2 of excellent quality material
A country: Switzerland
Average price: 510 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.9
Arctic Cooling is another company specializing in cooling systems, but with a wider range of products, including coolers and radiators. The company is best known for its excellent thermal paste series MX. Gaskets Thermal Pad did not lower the bar.
First of all, the model pleases with low cost. For a 50x50x0.5 mm plate, you will have to pay a little more than 500 rubles. For mass use, the manufacturer offers gaskets with dimensions up to 145x145 mm. The thickness, of course, varies from 0.5 to 1.5 mm, which allows the use of thermal padding in the desktop computer and in the laptop. Information about the composition is extremely vague - the manufacturer claims the use of silicone with special additives. The consistency and convenience of applying Thermal Pad is comparable with the previous participant.
Test results show good results. Despite the low declared thermal conductivity - only 6 W / mK - the temperatures of the processor and video card are comparable to those of more expensive competitors.
As promised, we briefly tell about the similarities and differences between thermal paste and thermal pads.
- Scope of application depends on the distance between the chip and the radiator. If it is about 0.2-0.3 mm - use the paste. At a distance of more than 1 mm, the paste is ineffective - a gasket is more suitable here.
- Efficiency. In most cases, the gasket has a lower thermal conductivity than the paste. Because of this, it is not recommended to use it with top hot processors. The only exceptions are gaskets made of thin metal, which melts and fills with all the roughness when heated, providing phenomenal cooling.
- Ease of use. Calling the application of one or another thermal interface procedure, feasible, only the pros can not - after studying short video instructions even the child will cope. But other things being equal, it is easier to install a thermal pad: it was tried on, cut off, pasted on - it is difficult to make a mistake.
- Cost of. The indicator is highly dependent on the level of pasta or pads. In both categories, there are ultrabudget and top models. The price is almost identical.
- Prevalence. On sale you will find dozens of thermal grease from famous manufacturers. But there are no more than ten worth of gaskets on sale, and even less from proven companies.
- Life time. The paste is subject to drying to a greater extent, respectively, and properties will lose faster.
1 Coollaboratory Liquid MetalPad
Liquid metal. Better thermal conductivity
A country: Germany
Average price: 1280 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.9
The leading position in the ranking is an extremely specific model from the Coollaboratory. This mixture of metals is a cross between thermopastes and gaskets. From the first MetalPad got extremely high efficiency. User feedback suggests that with this thermal padding, the temperature of the components is about 10 degrees lower than with premium thermal grease. From the second - a firm consistency. The thinnest plates of a mixture of indium, bismuth and copper remain solid at room temperature and become liquid at about 60 degrees Celsius, filling the smallest irregularities and cavities between the chip and the cooling radiator.
Unlike the thermal pads discussed above, use Liquid MetalPad instead of thermal paste. The plates are very thin, thinner than foil. But it also imposes certain difficulties in application - it is very difficult to cut the material and carefully lay it on the desired surface.There may also be problems with the replacement of the plates after the service life - the metal may stick to the radiator or the processor lid, which means that before replacing you will have to work a lot with emery paper.
