Best Thermal Paste In 2021 (For Both CPU & GPU) – Top 5 Reviews
The ultimate roundup of the best thermal paste we’ve personally tested
- Last Updated Jun 30, 2021
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Are you looking for the best thermal compound for your CPU or GPU? Perhaps you’re not sure what thermal paste to use? If that’s why you’re here, you’re in for a treat because we’ve personally tested over 20 of the most popular pastes used by both enthusiasts and builders to come up with our top 5 best thermal pastes.
Computer components heat up when in use. With the processor and the graphics card, this is so bad that they usually have their own dedicated cooling setups. And on those setups, you need thermal paste to help the heat transfer and diffuse; otherwise, you’ll be rebuilding parts of your rig.
But there are a lot of pastes on the market and not much to differentiate between them, at least on the surface. This only gets more confusing when you take into account the different types of thermal pastes: ceramic-based, carbon-based, metal-based, and liquid metal thermal paste.
So without further ado, here are our top 5 best thermal paste reviews.
Products at a Glance
Best Thermal Paste In 2021 (For Both CPU & GPU) – Top 5 Reviews
The Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut is the paste for serious overclockers. With a thermal conductivity rate of 73 W/mK, it’s easily the best on the market. Yes, that’s a seven and then a three. This is technically several times better than the rest of the competition.
If you’re wondering this does have a very tangible effect. While it might not keep your CPU 7 times cooler, it does lower the temperature by as much as 10 degrees Celsius more than the rest of the pastes on the list. If that doesn’t make it the best GPU thermal paste, then I don’t know what would.
This metal-based thermal paste comes with all the tools needed for installation. It’s also worth noting that you need to thoroughly clean the CPU before you apply the paste to ensure the best performance along the way. And that you must not use it on aluminum heatsinks because this liquid metal thermal cooler can leave black stains on it.
While it is the most expensive paste on the list, it’s not insanely so, especially considering the extra performance gains it can help you get when overclocking.
Noctua is a trusted name in the cooling industry. This isn’t the best on the market but considering its performance for the price and easy application, this is still a solid pick. Whether you’re a beginner looking for a thermal paste you can rely on or an advanced builder, you know the Noctua NT-H1 has what it takes to give you decent cooling performance.
With a thermal conductivity rating of 8.5 W/mK, this ceramic-based thermal compound can keep your temperatures down for 5 years after application. It’s also worth noting that this has a 3-year shelf life.
If there’s one thing you should keep in mind here, it’s the fact that Noctua has some quality problems with some of their Noctua NT-H1 products– though chances are slim.
This carbon-based Arctic MX-4 thermal paste is one of the least-expensive pastes on the market. It’s also considered as more of a mid-range thermal paste and is not ideal for novices because of its viscous property.
But as long as you do the application right, there shouldn’t be too much of a problem– even if you’re a beginner. And that’s what makes this thermal past one of the best CPU thermal pastes out there.
With a thermal conductivity of 8.5 W/mK and an 8-year lifespan once installed, you can almost entirely forget about it and move on with your gaming life. In fact, there’s a good chance you will need to replace your CPU before you will need to replace this.
With a thermal conductivity rating of 11 W/mK, the Cooler Master MasterGel Maker Nano is a good thermal paste as far as thermal grease cooling capability is concerned. This means it’s a highly recommended paste if you’re looking to overclock your air-cooled CPU.
In fact, this can perform just as good as a few of the premium-grade thermal pastes on the market. Cooler Master is also considerate enough to include a spreader and a pack of alcohol swabs, so you’re all set when changing your CPU thermals.
Just take note that this paste has a burn-in time so you might not get the advertised cooling temperatures upon installation.
Things To Consider
FAQs
Our Verdict
The Noctua NT-H1 paste is a great thermal compound for beginners and it isn’t ‘out-there’ expensive either. If you are planning a hardcore overclock then the Thermal Grizzy might be worth spending the extra on, but the five years or so you will get from this will suffice for most builds.