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Grease Wars 4: Supercool Goo

Introduction

This is an all Nanothern shootout. Five samples in total were tested, with two of them being of the XTC vintage and one experimental syringe. Experimental products are always great fun because one never knows what to expect. Is this new product the holy grail of thermal solutions, or a flop? In more areas than one, Silver XTC will create quite stir...

Factory Specifications
Nanotherm Ice2 & Blue2
  • Available in two flavors: Ice & Blue
  • Negligible Electrical Conductivity
  • Thick, Viscous, Sticky Consistency
  • Does not Separate, Leech or Dry Out
  • Price: $4.75 & 4.95 shipped (respectively) USD for 1.5ml/2.0gm

ESG Associates

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9/10 Rating
Factory Specifications
Nanotherm Silver XTC
  • 99.98% pure silver particles
  • 80 to 83% silver by weight
  • Compound is non-electrically conductive
  • Designed for operating temperatures in excess of 500ºF
  • Price: $7.95 USD for 4.0gm

ESG Associates

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8/10 Rating

The Products (from the Nanotherm review)

I remember an old TV ad that opened with senior citizens driving down a crowded street. A woman asked the male driver about changing the car's oil and his reply was, "motor oil is motor oil."

When setting up your new P4 or XP screamer, I'm sure most consider very carefully every single part that goes into the case. Except for some odd reason, the thermal grease gets left out. Some argue the benefits when grease is substituted for an inefficient pad, but is there is difference between greases themselves? Can one be significantly better than another? If you recall my aging Arctic Silver review, you'll see that quality of thermal paste varies greatly.

What I've discovered with heatsink compound is that generally speaking, you want a thick viscous compound. This is good for several reasons. First, a viscous grease is less prone to drying out over time (months, years). Second, tiny air pockets are less likely to decrease the tight coupling between heatsink and CPU.

Due to an NDA, I can't reveal many of the Nanotherm experimental particulars, but suffice it to say that it will prove to be quite the "out-of-the-box" product. XTC feels like nothing I've squished between heatsink and fan before. It is an unusually thick, dry and pasty goo.

Testing Notes

For those of you who have P4's, you'll relate to what I'm talking about. Changing CPU's or grease is a significant exercise. To facilitate more consistent results, I completed all tests with the ASUS P4T533-C out of the case. Even with the superior cooling capabilities of the InWin S508 super mid tower P4 case, you should add at least 10º F to the CPU and case temps for more real world results.

 





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