Tuniq TX-2
Our Sunbeam/Tuniq PR representative spoke very highly of TX-2, assuring us that we’d see significant performance gains over the more popular silver varieties.
Image courtesy of Tuniq
Here are some of the specifications from Tuniq:
- Electrically conductive/capacitive?: No
- Burn-in required?: No
- Appearance: Grey
- Viscosity: 285000 cP
- Thermal Conductivity: 4.5W/mK
- Operating Temperature: -45°C to 200°C
- Specific Gravity: 3.96 @ 25°C
- Tube Volume: 3.5g
The TX-2 is light grey in appearance and is fairly thin, making it very easy to spread and apply. The tube is 3.5g—about the same volume that most retail paste products ship in these days. At the time of writing, TX-2 can be found at for the very low price of $3.79. This is one of the cheapest pastes available.
OCZ Freeze
OCZ’s “Freeze” is another fairly new product that has hit the retail shelves. OCZ has been making other thermal paste products for some time, but this is their latest and greatest. OCZ claims that “Freeze” will outperform their Ultra 5+ silver based product by a large margin—lowering CPU temperatures by as much as 10% in comparison.
Image courtesy of OCZ
Here are some of the specifications from OCZ:
- Electrically conductive/capacitive?: No
- Burn-in required?: No
- Appearance: Bluish white
- Thermal Conductivity: 3.8W/m -oC
- Operating Temperature: -45°C to 200°C
- Specific Gravity: 3.96 @ 25°C
- Tube volume: 3.0g
The actual paste is a very cold looking bluish white. Like the TX-2, it is fairly thin and spreads easily. Freeze only ships in 3 gram tubes, making it slightly smaller than others. It can be found at many retailers for about $6.99—slightly more expensive than the popular Arctic Silver 5.
Coolink Chillaramic
Coolink’s first entry into the thermal paste market is with their new “Chillaramic” compound. As the name suggests, Chillaramic is a ceramic-based thermal compound. It is not electrically conductive and has no required burn-in for maximum performance.
Image courtesy of Coolink
Here are some of the specifications from Coolink:
- Electrically conductive/capacitive?: No
- Burn-in required?: No
- Appearance: White
- Thermal Conductivity: Not specified
- Operating Temperature: -45°C to 105°C
- Specific Gravity: 3.2g/cm³
- Tube volume: 10g
Coolink also advertises Chillaramic as “compressor cooling friendly”. Having owned a vapochill for many years, I can tell you that ceramic based thermal pastes are often the best choice and maintain consistency at very low temperatures. Chillaramic is very thin—much more so than Arctic Ceramique. As such, it is very easy to spread and apply. The best part about the Chillaramic tube is that its a massive 10g. That is triple the size of most thermal paste products. Coolink lists an MSRP of €6,90 for a 10g tube but in my experience, their products sell for much less in North America. Chillaramic is still very new, so I can’t confirm any prices in Canada or the USA.
Noctua NT-H1
Noctua is another new player in the thermal paste market. Many of their new heatsinks that we have been so fond of include NT-H1. It can also be purchased separately. NT-H1 is a hybrid blend of several types of nano-particles. NT-H1 is also non-conductive and requires no burn-in for maximum performance.
Image courtesy of Noctua
Here are some of the specifications from Noctua:
- Electrically conductive/capacitive?: No
- Burn-in required?: No
- Appearance: Grey
- Thermal Conductivity: Not specified
- Operating Temperature: -50°C to 110°C
- Specific Gravity: 2.49g/cm³
- Tube volume: 3.5g
Noctua’s NT-H1 is the thickest of the lot—a bit tougher to spread. Although it is thick, it does not break up and is still nice and ‘gooey’. Noctua also advertises NT-H1 as compressor safe. NT-H1 sells for around $10 for a 3.5G tube, which makes it just a little more expensive than Arctic Silver 5.
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