Techangel.co.uk would first like to thank both Sarfaraz Rydhan from Case-mod.com and Nevin House of Arctic Silver for sending the products for review. Be sure to check out both sites as they have the latest information about their products we have reviewed.

Many amateur computer builders have always feared thermal paste. They fear that applying the thermal paste onto their beloved chips may damage the components, and not knowing the paste if it will work or not. They need to first understand what thermal paste is all about, and why it is better to buy name brands such as Arctic Silver. It is because of this, I have decided to write Techangel's comparison of the three most promising thermal pastes available today.

Talking of buying brand name products, at time of going to press, Arctic Silver had a fraud warning up on their site of people being sold an inferior product under the Arctic Silver name. Read it here.

As they square off in an already filled thermal paste market, I will be looking at, reviewing, and testing the Arctic Silver 3, Arctic Alumina, and Cooling Flow's thermal compounds.

Arctic Silver has always been a forefront in thermal paste, providing great cooling solutions for the computer and graphic chips. They are famous for their Silver line of products, which actually consists of real silver in their pastes. Their two definite front runners will be used in this comparison, namely the famous Arctic Silver 3 and Arctic Alumina.

In addition, I got a sample of the Cooling Flow Thermal Compound and I'm very excited to test it out. It's made in Korea, unlike the United States-made Arctic Silver, and it does not conduct electricity, just like Arctic Alumina.

By the way, if anyone is wondering, I did contact ECS for a sample of Nanotherm Ice but never got a reply. I hope they will be more cooperative next time, so we can have more compounds to compare with.

The readings were taken from Motherboard Monitor 5 and were an average of five readings for when the system was idle and under full load running 3dmark2001SE.
As you can see, Cooling Flow does very well against the similar non-conductive Arctic Alumina. However, if you are a computer enthusiast that wants the best thermal cooling possible, Arctic Silver 3 is hands down the best. All of them are excellent performers for all except the most hardcore enthusiasts though, and Cooling Flow is a great economic option for most normal users.

Both Arctic Silver and Cooling Flow are available at Case-mod.com so drop by there and check out the new stuff. Below is my summary of the pros and cons of all three of the thermal compounds in this shootout. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more reviews on Techangel.co.uk! Oh and for a handy guide on applying the compounds, read this.

Gold - Arctic Silver 3
PROS: The Best Performer Easy to Apply Ample Amount in Each Tube
CONS: Conductive and May Cause Problems If Not Careful Cleaning Requires Alcohol

Silver - Cooling Flow
PROS: Excellent Performer Non-Conductive Easy to Apply Ample Amount for Each Tube Great Price at Case-mod.com
CONS: Not the Typical Name Brand (not necessarily a bad thing)

Bronze - Arctic Alumina
PROS: Excellent Performer Non-Conductive Easy to Apply Ample Amount in Each Tube Easy to Clean Off
CONS: Not as Good as Artic Silver 3 in Terms of Performance

Related:
Arctic Silver homepage.
Case-mod.com.
Overclockers.com thermal paste comparison.