10 Best Thermal Pads 2021-2022

A cheap Chinese alternative to more famous brands with an average heat dissipation level of 6 W / mK, a comfortable 1.5 mm thickness for installation and very large sheet dimensions. At the same time, in customer reviews there are complaints about excessive rigidity, which may partly be due to the marriage of individual batches of thermal pads. In general, we have a good option for repairing cooling systems for office laptops, tablets and various consumer electronics. We also note that there are other thermal interfaces of this company on the market, which can be even cheaper.

A fairly well-known Chinese brand that produces many solutions for cooling systems is also present in the thermal pad market, although not as large as its competitors. One of the company's best offerings is Thermal Pad EK720-L-1.5 with a thickness of 1.5 mm and a thermal conductivity of 6.0 W/mK. It comes in a package with one sheet and dimensions of 100 by 50 mm, which is quite enough to replace the standard thermal interfaces of video cards that require a complete repair of the cooling elements. We do not recommend using it to update the heat sink of processors, after all, much higher thermal conductivity is required for these purposes. Now a little about customer reviews. In general, the model is rated above average, it corresponds to the declared characteristics, but is somewhat harsh and is supplied with uncomfortable protective films that almost firmly stick to the adhesive surface of the thermal pad.

The Minus Pad 8 series of thermal pads from the German brand Thermal Grizzly is an affordable means of repairing cooling systems for processors and video cards in laptops. The brand itself is one of the best on the market, but this version with a thermal conductivity of 8 W / mK and a thickness of 0.5 mm can be safely considered a perfectly balanced option for price / quality. It should be noted that the filler of the thermal pad is made using cermet components, which enhances the heat transfer efficiency and increases wear resistance. On the other hand, when mounted on excessively heated chips, such a composition dries and hardens much faster, which leads to a lower overall score for the gasket in our rating.

High quality thermal pads with the same high price, which buyers separately notice in their reviews. Alas, you always have to pay extra for the best German brands on the market of thermal interfaces. On the other hand, we get an excellent option with a thermal conductivity of 11 W / mK with a thickness of 1.5 mm. This modification is supplied in the form of strips with dimensions of 120x20 mm and two pieces per pack.As for the working functions, in this regard, it is in perfect order: the heat sink is as efficient as possible, and the elasticity and flexibility are at an ideal level, so that all air gaps and surface irregularities of the chips will be carefully filled. If we talk about numbers, then during tests of thermal pads on video cards, RAM and VRM, temperatures decreased by an average of 8-10 degrees compared to before the repair.

A thermal pad from a Chinese brand with very attractive declared thermal conductivity characteristics and a density of 3.1 g/cm3. It will cost less than the top offers on the Russian market, but due to periodic complaints about the discrepancy between heat transfer data and real numbers, the rating is downgraded. As a rule, real heat transfer drawdowns are most often associated with the presence of factory defects in some batches, therefore, given the latter, we do not recommend using this series for cooling systems even for office processors, but for RAM, SSD drives in laptops and repairing old video cards Extreme Odyssey will do just fine.

This modification is presented in the format of long strips with a thickness of 0.5 mm, packed in two pieces in each set. Due to the thinness of the sheets, this silicone-based thermal pad requires extremely careful handling in preparation for installation, and the thermal conductivity of 6 W / mK limits the scope of application only to office laptops, RAM sticks or batteries for game consoles, tablets and smartphones. It is also possible to use weak video cards on graphic chips, but for the GPU we recommend choosing options with higher thermal conductivity.

A brand from Germany offers a variant with a non-standard thermal conductivity of 7 W / mK for the market.The thickness of the Eisschicht Light 12859 modification sheet is 1.5 mm, and its dimensions reach 100x100 mm. Yes, you have to pay pretty extra for German quality, but you shouldn’t save on good cooling, especially when it comes to a gaming laptop, the video card and processor of which are forced to work under the constant threat of overheating. The basis of this thermal pad is made of a special grade of silicone, which ensures the most dense filling of all gaps and irregularities between the surface of the chip and the heatsink, and a high-quality filler prevents the thermal interface from leaking during the declared service life. According to the reviews, the Eisschicht Light series is easy to mount, cut into elements of any shape and size without difficulty, and also performs its function of removing excess heat with high quality.

An expensive pleasure, but it justifies the money invested, because Thermal DriftICE is one of the most successful series of thermal pads on the Russian market, and the quality is confirmed not only by experts, but also by user reviews.On average, it "drops" temperatures by 10-12 degrees, optimally fits into the radiator cooling systems of video card chips, but it shows maximum efficiency on RAM strips. This particular modification has a thickness of 2.0 mm, while maintaining sufficient softness and flexibility for high-quality filling of gaps of any size. As for possible downsides, some people don't like the excessive stickiness of the pad, which makes it much harder to remove than many alternatives.

A good option for non-hot processors and laptop graphics cards. A key feature is the use of ceramics in the filler composition, which speeds up the heat transfer process, so even with the declared thermal conductivity of 6 W / mK, this thermal pad provides a fairly high level of cooling efficiency.Another important detail is the large size of the sheet, but there is also a more affordable analogue with dimensions of 50x50 mm, which will save money if only one component needs to be repaired, and a large sheet is suitable for replacing all laptop thermal interfaces. As for the reviews, in them users note the good flexibility of the gasket, the convenience of cutting, and the full compliance of the declared thermal conductivity figures with real results.

A popular thermal interface with a sheet thickness of 1 mm and a thermal conductivity of 13 W/mK. A very successful combination that allows you to provide high-quality cooling for graphics chips of video cards and RAM sticks. It is easily glued to the work surface, has sufficient softness to penetrate into all microcracks, and also does not crumble when cutting, therefore it has a long service life and high resistance to "leakage". Judging by the reviews, on memory chips and most video cards, this thermal pad is capable of reducing temperatures by 10 degrees or more.On the other hand, the cost of this modification is much higher, especially in comparison with the Chinese counterparts presented on Aliexpress.