Thermal Compound comparison (August 3, 2012)

Cooling your CPU with thermal compound. Want to save some bucks for a better performance?

Arctic Silver 5 vs Arctic Cooling MX-2 vs Prolimatech PK-1 
Price, CPU Temperature and Performance comparison

TL;DR, winner: Prolimatech PK-1

Performance:

1. Indigo Xtreme
2. Prolimatech PK-1
3. Artic Cooling MX-2

Source: http://skinneelabs.com/pk-1-asm-cmif/4/


CPU Temp (lower is better)

• Artic Silver 5: Idle 41.5°C, Burn 82.5°C
• Arctic Cooling MX-2: Idle 40.75°C, Burn 81°C
• Prolimatech PK-1: Idle 41.25°C, Burn 80.5°C

Source: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/geek_tested_17_thermal_pastes_face


Price per gram

• Arctic Silver 5 = US$1.96 (most popular buy)
• Arctic Cooling MX-2 = US$1.82
• Prolimatech PK-1 = US$0.45

Source: Amazon

Conclusion: Not everything that's the most popular and shines is better. It's always a good idea to research what you are shopping, so you can get the best deal.