If you’re in the
market for thermal compound you’ve got a ton of choices out there. It’s hard to
make a decision isn’t it? Today for review I’ve got the newest thermal compound
from ARCTIC called MX-4 and I’ve that it’s pretty good stuff. So read on…
Product Name: ARCTIC MX-4 (20g) Thermal Compound for All Coolers
Author: Kristofer Brozio
Sponsor: ARCTIC
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
Thermal Compound for All Coolers
The ARCTIC MX-4 is a new thermal compound that guarantees exceptional
heat dissipation from components and maintains the needed stability to push
your computer system to its maximum. The ARCTIC MX-4 continues to be
overclocker’s ultimate choice when choosing thermal compound.
Exceptional Performance
The ARCTIC MX-4 is composed of carbon micro-particles that lead to an
extremely high thermal conductivity. It guarantees quick and efficient dissipation
of heat from the CPU or GPU.
Safe and Easy Application
The ARCTIC MX-4 is a metal-free and non-electrically conductive compound
that eliminates the risks of short circuit and provides protection to your
computer. Application is very easy as the consistency is just ideal for
application on chips.
Great Value
With the competitive pricing of the ARCTIC MX-4, the performance of the
ARCTIC MX-4 is the best thermal compound on the market.
Specs:
Thermal Conductivity (W/mk): 8.5
Viscosity (poise): 870
Density (g/cm³): 2.5
Dimensions (Packaging): 20g: 182 L x 35 W x 20 H mm
Net Weight: 20g
MSRP: $29.95
Price: $22.95 (from
Amazon at time of review)
A Better Look at Things
:
The tube I got for review is the industrial size, it’s big, it’s 20
grams of MX-4 thermal compound. It should last me for a very long time.
The MX-4 comes in a handy syringe that makes application easier.
The compound is easy to spread; I have to say it’s like the consistency
of a thinned peanut butter. I guess that’s the best way to describe it, but it
is very easy to spread.
Installation, Testing and Comparison
For testing I used it with my Corei5 750 CPU and a SilenX Effizio
EFZ-92HA3 CPU Cooler.
I’ve been using Noctua NT-H1 for quite a while so that’s what I’m using
for the comparison to the ARCTIC MX-4.
Concerning prices for these, that small tube of Noctua is 1.4ml and
sells for about $8.30 on average where the large tube of MX-4 is 20g and sells
for about $23. It’s hard to make a real price comparison as one is measurement
is in volume and one is in weight. To do the conversion process it takes a bit
of work as you need to know the gravity densities of each of them essentially
and factor all of that in.
The gravity of NT-H1 is 2.49 g/cm³ which you would multiply by the
volume of 1.4ml and that should give you the gram weight of 3.49 for one tube
of NT-H1. Then we can figure out the prices per gram which would be about $2.40
per gram for NT-H1 and then it would be about $1.15 per gram for the MX-4. If I’m
doing this correctly, which I think I am, the MX-4 comes out to be less
expensive in the end.
So match class is over, let’s get back to testing.
Ambient room temperature during testing was 23.5C (+ / – .3C).
I used Orthos Stress Prime to get 100% load on all four cores and I used
CoreTemp to log and record the temperatures. I then averaged them out to get
one number that you see in the chart below.
As you can see the MX-4 actually does better than the NT-H1, yes it’s
only one degree but it’s still better right?
Summary and Comments
In the world of thermal matters, one degree can make or break a system.
You’ve got plenty of choices when it comes to thermal compounds these days and
you want the one that’s going to give you best results and I think that’s
ARCTIC MX-4.
Yes it’s only one degree, in the end I don’t think you could go wrong
with either of these thermal compounds really. The ARCTIC MX-4 and the Noctua
NT-H1 are very much evenly matched honestly.
DragonSteelMods gives ARCTIC MX-4 Thermal Compound a 5 out of 5 score
and our Recommended Awards as well.
Pros:
+Works well
+Easy to apply
+Good value for the money
Cons:
-None
review# 726
Disclosure: This product was given to DragonSteelMods for review
by the company for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment
for the review; we do not, never have, and never will, accept payment from
companies to review their products.
To learn more about our review policy, testing methods and ratings
please see this page.