Place |
Name |
Characteristic in the rating |
| 1 | Coollaboratory Liquid MetalPad | Liquid metal. Better thermal conductivity |
| 2 | Arctic Cooling Thermal Pad | The 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, favorable cost |
Back in school, we were taught that an object that performs work generates heat. In most cases, thermal energy is simply useless, and sometimes, as in the case of computers, it is harmful. From heat, the performance of processors decreases, their service life decreases. To remove heat, all kinds of radiators and fans are used, but without thermal interfaces, they will not work at full strength. The most common thermal interface is thermal paste - it is with it that the townsfolk are familiar, and it is given the most attention.
But in some situations, it makes more sense to use a thermal pad - a thin elastic sheet that can conduct heat well. You can read more about the differences between thermal paste and thermal pads in the "good to know" section. The main thing to learn is that in most cases you should not replace the paste with a pad and vice versa. Use the type of thermal interface that was intended by the manufacturer.
Top 5 Best Thermal Pads
5 Akasa AK-TT300
Country: China
Average price: 320 rub.
Rating (2022): 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 famous, 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 measuring 30x30mm, you will have to pay only about 300-350 rubles.
The AK-TT300 contains a silicone elastomer. The manufacturer claims a thermal conductivity of 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 great for heatsinks on not-so-hot parts in a 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 installing the gasket - you just have to get a sharp knife.
4 Gelid GP Extreme
Country: China
Average price: 520 rub.
Rating (2022): 4.6
Already from the fourth place we are moving to the products of famous manufacturers. Gelid is known for the quality of its thermal pastes. Their gasket did not let us down either. 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. Applying the pad is easy.
Pleased with the declared thermal conductivity of 12 W / mK - this is the highest figure in the class, comparable to good thermal pastes. However, independent tests indicate that this figure is somewhat overestimated. Temperatures are indeed lower than those of competitors, but literally by 1-2 degrees.
According to the manufacturer, the thermal pad is ideal 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
Country: Germany
Average price: 500 rub.
Rating (2022): 4.7
Thermal Grizzly is known to enthusiasts as a manufacturer of very high quality and effective thermal pastes. The Minus Pad thermal pad also came out well. The composition of the soft copper-colored plate includes ceramic silicon and nano-aluminum oxide. The names, of course, trade, and do not give a clear understanding of the composition. Nevertheless, the gasket confirms the declared thermal conductivity of 8 W / mK. Models are available in various thicknesses and sizes. The cost is slightly above average: for example, for a piece measuring 30x30x0.5 mm, they ask about 500 rubles.
The gasket is very soft, easy to apply and completely fills all voids and irregularities between cooling systems. Independent tests and user reviews show high performance comparable to major competitors. We also note that the manufacturer focuses, among other things, on the environmental friendliness of gaskets - this will surely please the fighters for cleanliness.
As promised, we briefly talk about the similarities and differences between thermal paste and thermal pads.
- Scope of application depends on the distance between the chip and the heatsink.If it is about 0.2-0.3 mm - use a 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 highly discouraged to use it with top hot processors. The only exceptions are gaskets made of thin metal, which melts when heated and fills all the roughness, providing phenomenal cooling.
- Ease of use. It is impossible to call the application of this or that thermal interface a procedure that only a pro can do - after studying short video instructions, even a child can handle it. But ceteris paribus, it is easier to install a thermal pad: they tried it on, cut it off, glued it - it’s hard to make a mistake.
- Price. The indicator strongly depends on the level of paste or gasket. In both categories, there are ultra-budget and top models. The price is almost identical.
- Prevalence. On sale you will find several dozen thermal pastes from famous manufacturers. But there are no more than a dozen worthwhile gaskets on sale, and even less from trusted companies.
- Life time. The paste is subject to drying to a greater extent, respectively, and the properties will lose faster.
2 Arctic Cooling Thermal Pad
Country: Switzerland
Average price: 510 rub.
Rating (2022): 4.9
Arctic Cooling is another company that specializes in cooling systems, but with a wider range that includes coolers and heatsinks. The company is best known for its excellent MX series thermal pastes. The Thermal Pads have not set the bar low.
First of all, the model pleases with its low cost.For a plate 50x50x0.5 mm, you will have to pay a little more than 500 rubles. For mass use, the manufacturer offers gaskets up to 145x145 mm in size. The thickness, of course, varies from 0.5 to 1.5 mm, which allows you to use the thermal pad in both a desktop computer and a laptop. Information on the composition is extremely vague - the manufacturer claims to use silicone with special additives. In terms of consistency and ease of application, Thermal Pad is comparable to 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.
1 Coollaboratory Liquid MetalPad
Country: Germany
Average price: 1280 rub.
Rating (2022): 4.9
The leading position of the rating is occupied by an extremely specific model from Coollaboratory. This mixture of metals is a cross between thermal pastes and gaskets. From the first MetalPad got extremely high efficiency. User feedback says that with this thermal pad, component temperatures are about 10 degrees cooler than with premium thermal pastes. From the second - a solid 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 bumps and cavities between the chip and the cooling radiator.
Unlike the thermal pads discussed above, Liquid MetalPad should be used instead of thermal paste. The plates are very thin, thinner than foil.But this also imposes certain difficulties in application - the material is very difficult to cut and carefully lay on the desired surface. There may also be problems with replacing the plates at the end of their service life - the metal may stick to the heatsink or processor cover, which means that you will have to work hard with sandpaper before replacing.
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