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IC diamond carat 7 Vs AS5

This review is going to be about Thermal paste. We all us it and love it, but which is the best?
I have done some real research on this matter, because I refuse to go water. So here are my results.

Their are 2 test rigs, because I felt that would give a better overall basis for my testing. I used core temp64 to check temps in windows, and OCCT for stress tests.

Rig #1 Sempron Le-1250 AM2 ( stock HSF ) with Biostar A770 A2+
Rig #2 Athlon X2 7750 BE ( OCZ core contact Vendetta ) with ASUS m3A78-T

Ok starting with the Sempron.

Knowing that As5 needs 200 hrs to cure, I used it first. Applying a small amount to the center of the HSF ( 5mm wide, 2mm in depth ) I applied the As5 and proceeded to wait out the 200hrs. My god what a long wait.

With AS5
Sempron stock clocks, stock volts 1.35 I measured the temps in BIOS and in windows using coretemp 64bit.
Room temp 68deg F
Idle 27c ( 30c in bios ) measured for 15 mins.
100% load using OCCT for 1hr it reached 46c using core temp.

Sempron @ 3.0ghz Vcore at 1.4, I once again measured temps.
Idle 28c (30c in BIOS ) measured for 15mins.
100% load using OCCT for 1hr it reached 49c using core temp.

Not bad for good ole AS5.

Now with the IC7 diamond thermal paste.

Room temp 69deg F
Sempron stock clock and volts.
Idle 25c ( 27c in BIOS ) measured for 15mins.
100% load using OCCT for 1hr it reached 46c using core temp.

Sempron @ 3.0ghz Vcore at 1.4, I once again measured temps.
Idle 26c (29c in BIOS ) measured for 15mins.
100% load using OCCT for 1hr it reached 48c using core temp.


Wow the IC diamond 7 really did preform better. Only a few degrees, but improvement none the less.

Now for the big clocker.

This next test was done after the 200 hrs of curing AS5 was complete.

Athlon X2 7750 BE stock clock 2.7ghz and stock volts 1.275

Room temp 68deg F
Athlon X2 7750 BE stock clock and volts I applied two 5mm lines on each side of the alum. posts in between the heat pipes. ( Learned that is the best way to get correct coverage )

Stock
Idle 25c ( 26c in BIOS ) measured for 15 mins.
100% load using OCCT for 1hr it reached 47c using core temp 64

Overclocked
Athlon X2 @ 3.4ghz ( 200 x 17 ) @ 1.4 vcore idles at 27c measured for 15 mins.
Athlon X2 @ 3.4ghz ( 200 x 17 ) @ 1.4 vcore testing using OCCT for 1hr @ 100% load 52c.............Ouch!!

AS5 did'nt seem to like 1hr of OCCT @ 3.4ghz.

Now for the IC diamond 7 paste.

Stock
Idle 26c (26c in BIOS) measured for 15mins.
100% load using OCCT for 1hr it reached 45c using core temp 64

Overclocked
Athlon X2 @ 3.4ghz @ 1.4 vcore idles at 25c measured for 15 mins.
Athlon X2 @ 3.4ghz @ 1.4 vcore testing using OCCT for 1hr @ 100% load 47c..........Much better!!!


I was really surprised on how the IC diamond 7 preformed. It is easier to apply and does'nt require a cure time. It also cost the same as AS5 at $9.99 for a standard size tube. Note that this test was done on a stock HSF and a core contact fan to rule out different types of HSF's. I was very happy to see the difference in temps. Lets me know staying air is the right thing to do.

Well I hope you enjoyed my small little review, and I recommend getting some IC7 diamond thermal paste to try yourself, you won't be disappointed.

Damn, wish you had posted this a week ago! I just ordered some new AS5 for the Quad-core...maybe I should have gone with the IC7.

What about the Tuniq TX-2? Ill be running short of AS5 very very soon and I will need more thermal paste.

And BTW, even if you go water you still need thermal paste

Makes me want to try out the Arctic Céramique that came with my watercooling kit and see if it performs better than AS5 on my GTZ.

Great review MS! I will definitely be trying that IC 7 next round!

Delete the post and block the account from the spammero right above me.

Meanwhile, great review, MS. Where's the best place to purchase that product?

Tuniq TX-2 works well for me and that's what I've been using lately. No cure time and it's actually some good stuff, easy to work with too.
I'll have to see about trying out the diamond stuff if I can find it.

I have tried Ceramique before, and overall I liked it a lot. It cools at least as well as AS-5 and is neither electrically conductive nor electrically capacitive. AS-5 is not conductive, but it is capacitive, so the Ceramique is actually a safer option in terms of limiting risk of ESD.

The only thing I must warn you about with Ceramique is that it is very thick and sticky, almost like actual paste for gluing something. It does ensure an excellent, constant contact between your HSF and you CPU, but be extremely careful when you go to remove the HSF. It will very likely pull you processor right out of the socket with it. I was unprepared for that the first time I used it, and it cost me a Sempron 2800 processor, because I had to muscle it off of the HSF and it popped off and hit the floor, trashing several pins beyond repair. So watch out for that.

I also want to add that I hate the integrated heatspreaders that they put on CPUs nowadays, for exactly that reason... they make the processor heavy enough to damage itself from only a short fall to the ground or a tabletop, whereas without the IHS to weight it down and increase the force of the impact, that Sempron would be alive and well to this day.


Anyway, Ceramique is great, and I will probably get some more soon myself since I'm about out of AS-5, but just watch when removing your heatsink.

Would you explain the difference between the meaning of those two terms? Thanks.

Well, I will do my best, although I am not exactly qualified as anything but a layman.

To the best of my understanding, electrically conductive is the lack of resistance to electricity passing through a substance or object.

On the other hand (as I believe I understand it) to be electrically capacitive is the tendency of an object or substance to retain electrical charge in some form.

You can probably Google around and find a description from people who know a lot better than I do what they are talking about, but I am fairly sure that is the long and short of it.

I also want to correct a statement I previously made. I said that Ceramique does not require time to cure for best performance. That is false. It does improve over time, although it is true that it performs great from the moment you apply it.

Also, rather than rely on my vague understanding of the products in question, allow me to cut and paste from the Arctic Silver website:

Arctic Silver-5:
"Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity. While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths."
Ceramique:
"Céramique does not contain any metal or other electrically conductive materials. It is a pure electrical insulator, neither electrically conductive nor capacitive."

So basically, your margin for error is greater with Ceramique than AS-5, while getting performance that is at least as good. You could get it on some pins or other components without worrying about it causing a short or other mayhem. Ceramique has the safety of a silicon compound with the performance of a metal-based compound. Here's the link to Arctic Silver website (where they make both products) for those who would like to research further. I hope this helped!
http://www.arcticsilver.com/index.html#