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    GELID Extreme Thermal Compound or Liquid Ultra on the CPU?

    Discussion in 'Alienware Desktops' started by Spartan@HIDevolution, Jun 4, 2015.

  1. Spartan@HIDevolution

    Spartan@HIDevolution Company Representative

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    So I ordered an Alienware Area 51 desktop from HIDevolution and before they start the build, I have a choice to put Liquid Ultra or GELID Extreme Thermal Compound on the CPU.

    I know Liquid Ultra is a bit better but I have one major concern. This system is supposedt to last me for 3 years and correct my if I'm wrong but I heard that Liquid Ultra needs to be repasted every few months?

    Since this is liquid cooled I am not sure how easy or difficult that would be as I haven't touched a desktop computer in more than 10 years been dealing with laptops since ages.

    With that extra step needed to repasting every once in a while, what would be a wiser choice? Does the GELID Extreme Thermal Compound last longer and doesn't need be reapplied every now and then?

    @Mr. Fox
     
  2. pete962

    pete962 Notebook Evangelist

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    I can't help you with paste, but I can tell you this much: It should be hell lot easier to repaste CPU in a desktop, than laptop. And with water cooling, unless you'll be doing extreme overclocking, the type of paste shouldn't matter that much. So what if your CPU will be running 5c hotter even with cheapest paste, you'll get 50c under full load instead of 45c? Big deal.
     
  3. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist®

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    Nope, Gelid is about the same as IC Diamond in terms of longevity. Both are really good products, but not as good as Liquid Ultra. That is false information about Liquid Ultra, too. All other thermal pastes I have used need to be reapplied frequently due to pump-out or degradation, but not Liquid Ultra. Whoever said that either did not apply it correctly, or their heat sink is not fitting the CPU correctly. @Papusan has had his go over a year with no decrease in effectiveness. I have had mine go almost a year and had to be re-applied only because of disassemble for something totally unrelated. Nothing can touch Liquid Ultra in my opinion.

    If the heat sink does not fit nicely with the CPU, then it is not effective. It requires a good fit to work right, which is not a problem with Alienware laptops. Sadly, I cannot use Liquid Ultra with my Clevo P570WM because my CPU heat sink fits very sloppy against the IHS and I need to use a thick paste like IC Diamond to fill up the gaps.

    I also have an M18xR2 that belongs to someone else. His motherboard died and he sent it back to me. I am working on it now. I had applied Liquid Ultra for him back in November of last year. In late May I disassembled it. The Liquid Ultra was still totally intact and fluid. I used the brush to smooth it out again and put it back together without new paste and the temps are magnificent without any need for new paste.
     
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  4. Spartan@HIDevolution

    Spartan@HIDevolution Company Representative

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    Awesom! Liquid Ultra it is then!
     
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  5. Papusan

    Papusan Jokebook's Sucks! Dont waste your $$$ on Filthy

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    Don't use other paste than liquid ultra. Newer.. I have used the same liquid ultra nearly 15 months now on my Hotwell extreme. 0 change in temperature . I will never ever use other paste on an laptop or desktop processor. Remember applying liquid ultra is much easier and less risky on desktop processors than to apply on an laptop processor die. If I had a desktop pc maybe I tried Indigo paste. Listen to Mr Fox. Always smart... Remember you shall have an extreme processor. If you got lucky in the silicon lottery, low voltage and the best thermal grease then you can have a great experience...
     
    Last edited: Jun 5, 2015
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