 So everyone knows that for a CPU to last longer and perform optimally, it needs to stay cool. Which makes it all the more confusing that Intel over the last few generations, at least according to comments from the tech community, has been using seemingly the worst possible thermal compound between the dyes of their processors and the integrated heat spreaders that go on top of them. But the problem is that the only way to evaluate that thermal compound that we have now is to take off the spreader, replace it with something else, and check the results. But we're actually changing a lot of variables when we do that. So we devised a test to find out once and for all just how bad is Intel's thermal paste. Alex here has got an entire bag of Intel CPUs with their junk thermal compound, and we're going to be harvesting all of it and then comparing it with the well-respected NTH1 from Noctua, a premium thermal paste on a d-lidded liquid-metaled extreme edition CPU. So come along for the ride! TunnelBear makes really simple privacy apps so people can enjoy a more open internet. To try it out for free, visit tunnelbear.com slash LTT. To get a baseline, we first needed to apply some NTH1 thermal paste from Noctua and mount the NH-D15 cooler that we'd be using for our tests. It performs as well, if not better, than large AIOs, but is way easier to mount. All of our testing was done in our conference room to keep ambient temperatures locked at 24 degrees, at stock speeds with multi-core enhancement turned off, and the CPU fan at full blast. 30 minutes, starting now. While our control thermal test was running, we had some time to begin what we're calling the Grand Tim Harvest. We aren't totally sure if these processors work, but we don't want to just destroy them. Like so many things, delidding is pretty simple when you have the right tools. Place the CPU in the little vise, tighten until the top moves a bit, and then remove the lid, which normally you would do by hand, but these ones seemed pretty reluctant to let go, and we wanted to get this over with. Once all the CPUs were opened, we scraped off all the thermal interface material we could get at with a guitar pick, and then carefully placed it on an ESD bag. Now, you might be thinking, guys, those are third-gen core series chips that came out six years ago. How can this be a fair comparison? Well, the longevity of Intel's paste is one of the main justifications that we have heard for them using it. Also, it's a heck of a lot easier to get a bag of third-gen chips than eighth-gen chips. Oh, the savagery! Look at this! This is like they came in and wrecked up the place. Well, you don't have to do that to them. Well, that's a fair point. Okay. So, oh, so this is it? Yeah, that's all of it right there. Don't blow on it. I'm not gonna blow on it. So this is our harvested thermal interface material from four CPUs. This looks like it should be more than enough for our 7980XE. After inspection, we found that our first application of thermal paste was excellent. So these results should be perfect for our comparison. Do you think there's like a good way to get this on there? I think we're in uncharted waters here right now. I hadn't really given it a lot of thought to be perfectly honest with you. Several methods of applying the old thermal goop were considered, including just placing it onto the CPU. But without a way to spread it around, we were concerned that we wouldn't get adequate coverage. Mashing it into a ball seemed promising, but it just kind of flaked out and turned into a weird powder. Finally, we turned to what seemed like the soberest idea, soaking it in alcohol. Is that doing anything? I'm not sure yet, Alex. Although this doesn't seem like the best of ideas, it's actually not the worst ever either. The alcohol should allow what is currently thermal dust to turn back into more of a paste for application, and then quickly evaporate away. Our spudger ended up being too fine of a tool, so we swapped it out using the Allen key from the delidding tool as a makeshift pestle for our bottle cap mortar. Making a reconstituted thermal paste here. Oh my goodness, what's going on? I spilled the alcohol. So ridiculous. This alcohol spill might have been a blessing in disguise. This may be one of the dumbest things we've ever done. Yeah, I was trying to think of dumber things, but this is really up there. Should we try to spread it out more? I mean, we got the particle size pretty small-ish. With the tin spread out to the best of our abilities, all we could do was wait for the alcohol to dry. Yeah. I guess we should just go for it now. We have no choice, but we've committed this much time and energy to this now. Initial temperatures at idle had us at just over six degrees over ambient, meaning that our application worked, at least to some degree. Well, it might just be more idly now. It was at like 30 watts before. Now it's at like eight. Okay, so you don't think it's the material heating up and spreading out? Yeah, I think it's just windows as all the way started. But we wouldn't know how well it worked until we hit it with an intense load. I mean, it didn't instantly overheat, but this is probably a fair bit hotter. Oh, 88. Now our earlier test gave us a maximum temperature of 60 degrees, and an average temperature across the cores of 50 degrees, while maintaining a CPU power of about 150 watts. With our reconstituted Intel Tim, we almost immediately blew past that, reaching a maximum of up to 89 degrees, ouch, before settling into an average of 75 degrees. To be clear, this is a totally acceptable number that shouldn't harm the process. It shouldn't harm the processor within its expected lifespan. But 25 degrees more than the enthusiast solution still isn't great. But is the problem the paste or the application? This is the real moment of truth, because we weren't expecting it to perform as well anyway, right? Did it spread? Actually, it did. Yeah, not bad. I think if we describe that as suboptimal but adequate, it doesn't seem to have liquidated up at all. So, with our decent enough application, we feel at this point that it's safe to say that the 25 degree difference was at least largely due to the poor thermal conductivity of the paste that is inside the CPU. And supporting our theory is the fact that this difference is actually pretty close to the temperature difference that you can achieve after delidding a CPU and replacing that stock thermal interface material. So, to answer our original question, there are a number of variables that you end up changing when swapping out thermal paste in your delidded processor, including mounting pressure, the thickness of the application, the silicone seal, the flatness of the heat spreader. But, as everyone expected, it's Intel's choice of a longevity-optimized TIM rather than a performance-optimized one, and their decision to eschew solder that makes up the bulk of the difference. Speaking of difference, maybe you're looking for a way to make a difference to your small business or you do freelance work, while FreshBooks is the online cloud-based accounting solution that's built for how you work. 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