Our List of the 5 Best Thermal Pastes in Canada

• ARCTIC MX-4 Thermal Compound Paste
• Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Thermal Grease Paste
• Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
• Noctua NT-H1 3.5g Pro-Grade Thermal Compound Paste
• Corsair TM30 Performance Thermal Paste(Our Top Pick)

Save yourself from the hassle of burning out your CPU or GPU and buy a proper thermal paste. Protecting your PC should be rather high on your list of priorities as it can be a costly endeavour should something go wrong that you could have prevented. For those of us who find ourselves overclocking often and see our computers running hot, it may be time to purchase a dependable thermal paste. Chances are, if your computer is continuing to run hot, the thermal paste you’re using might not be as effective as you need it to be.

Finding the best thermal paste doesn’t have to be a difficult process, though it can be overwhelming with the vast number of options available in Canada. How do you know what makes a dependable and effective thermal paste? What’s the difference between an effective brand and the one you’re leaving? How long should your thermal past last? All of these questions should be running through your head as you shop for your next batch of thermal paste.

To help you find the perfect thermal paste for your build, we’ve compiled a list of our top 5 favourite thermal pastes. Each of these products offers you great thermal conduction as well as a long-lasting shelf life. We’ve also added a buyer’s guide to help point you in the right direction when shopping for your thermal paste. With this article, you’ll no longer have trouble finding the best thermal paste for your PC build.

Top 5 Best Thermal Pastes in Canada Reviewed

Each of the products on our list have been tested and tried up against industry standards and have proven to be some of the best pastes available. If you’re looking for a thermal paste that has amazing thermal conduction, is easy to apply and remove, and will last you for a long time, then this is the perfect list to look at. While we have our favourite, you can’t go wrong with any of the products on this list.

ARCTIC MX-4 Thermal Compound Paste for Coolers

It is composed of carbon micro-particles which offers you one of the highest thermal conductivity found from a product on our list. The ARCTIC MX-4 Thermal Compound Paste will last up to 8 years in use and storage. This thermal paste doesn’t use metal or highly conductive materials, which provides a level of protection against short-circuiting and shock. When compared to the metal or silicon compounds, you’re getting a longer use out of this product.

Our Honest Review

This is widely agreed upon as the best thermal paste product available, and we can see why. It’s easy to use and perfect for beginners while still offering great conductivity because of its carbon base. The easy application process ensures you won’t overload your CPU with paste and damage components. This paste doesn’t require frequent replacement and will last you for years of fantastic performance and thermal conductivity.

ARCTIC provides you with a thin tube which has enough product inside for multiple CPU applications. The paste itself is great for preventing overclocking and supports extreme usage situations. Few pastes can truly compare to this product in terms of performance and ease of application. The only issue we encountered was the amount of product offered. You won’t get too many uses out of this paste as it’s designed for maybe four or five applications per tube.

Pros

• Carbon based paste
• Easy to apply and remove
• Works well for overclocking

Cons

• Not a lot of product per tube

Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Thermal Grease Paste

The Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Thermal Grease Paste is focused on overclocking and protecting more extreme uses. If you’re looking for a thermal paste that can handle heavy use and works well against overclocking, then this is a great product for you. It comes in a convenient 1-gram package that makes application simple and safe via the separate application device. This is a great paste for larger-scale cooling systems and water-cooled systems. It can reduce your computer’s temperature by up to 10 degrees.

Our Honest Review

Though it’s a silicone-based paste, the Kryonaut paste can stand tall when compared to even metal-based pastes in terms of heat reduction. The thing we liked most about this product was how inexpensive it was for the amount of heat retention it offers your CPU. It boasts the greatest heat reduction out of any other product on our list as it can cool your computer by up to 10 degrees. This allows for plenty of overclocking and helps prevent overheating no matter your use.

The application of this product is quite interesting as it’s great for cramped spaces and will offer a surprising amount at a time. You’ll have to be careful with application, however, as you run the risk of over-applying. Luckily, the silicon base won’t fry your computer if it gets everywhere and will help prevent short-circuiting. This is a fantastic product and holds the top spot for temperature reduction on our list. Its life span isn’t as high as the MX-4, but it’s a great paste regardless.

Pros

• Reduces temperature up to 10 degrees
• Silicon base reduces cost
• One of the most effective silicon bases

Cons

• Over applying can occur easily

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

This is a package of two 3.5-gram applicators, which offers you plenty of use on any products that need heat reduction. Anywhere from 20 to 30 small CPUs will be covered with this amount of thermal paste. It’s made from micronized silver, which is a very rare thermal paste choice making this a rather unique but effective product. The silver provides a smooth touch and is better at conducting heat than many other materials used in thermal pastes.

Our Honest Review

Very few other thermal paste products are made with silver as their base ingredient. Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound focuses their design on the use of silver and have made quite a name for themselves in doing so. This 99.9% pure silver is surprisingly conducive and great for heat transfer. This product will do amazing work in preventing overheating in your computer and assisting with overclocking. Application of this product is simple as well as the tube provides the perfect amount of control.

The main difference between this product and the Kryonaut or the MX-4 – besides the silver base – is the need for a set time. Many other products on our list can be applied and are ready to go, but this product requires time to set before you can reassemble the computer. This helps in consistency and performance and is well worth the wait we’ve found. It’s also not electrically conductive, which will help prevent short-circuiting.

Pros

• Pure silver base product
• Setting time helps smooth out paste
• Better performance after setting

Cons

• Setting time required before use

Noctua NT-H1 3.5g Pro-Grade Thermal Compound Paste

This product was designed specifically to help with and decrease overclocking temperatures. The Noctua NT-H1 3.5g Pro-Grade Thermal Compound Paste can decrease your computer’s temperature by up to two degrees. Though this isn’t as much as the Grizzly thermal paste, it’s higher than the average paste. The application of this paste is simple and requires no setting time, unlike many others. As soon as you apply it, it’s ready to go. It can be stored for up to three years and used for up to five.

Our Honest Review

This hybrid based thermal paste is perfect for establishing a secure bond and helping with thermal reduction even in the most strenuous use instances, overclocking and overheating aren’t even a threat with this fantastic paste. It is a drier paste due to the hybrid base, which typically leads to a difficulty in application and removal, but the NT-H1 paste seems to be rather simple to apply to your CPU.

The life span of this product is rather high as well as it holds up for a surprising amount of time, both on the shelf and in use. We greatly appreciated the focus on overclocking and overheating prevention, which Noctua placed great care into. It’s clear that this is one of the strongest hybrid pastes available and will easily cool your computer up to two degrees. It’s just as effective, if not more so, than the Arctic Silver 5 product.

Pros

• Designed for overclocking and overheating
• Easy to apply and remove
• Hybrid base is great for high usage

Cons

• Small tube with little product

Corsair TM30 Performance Thermal Paste

This is an extremely cost-efficient product that remains effective and long-lasting, much like the rest on our list. Corsair TM30 Performance Thermal Paste is made out of zinc oxide and can act as a conductor that supports optimal heat transfer and absorption. Using this product on your CPU and GPU will keep temperatures low and improve the overall heat transfer. It’s an easy process to remove and reapply once the paste begins to die out. No mess remains, and no scratching will occur to your CPU.

Our Honest Review

In terms of effectiveness, this product is a bang for your buck. You’re getting a thermal paste that will keep your CPU cool and help protect against overheating. We noticed that this product was able to reduce the overall heat of the computer up to two degrees, which was a lot more than we were expecting for this price range. The zinc oxide base is a great way to absorb heat and cool down your computer when in use.

This is one of the best we’ve encountered for this low of a price, which is why we featured it on our list. You’re not getting many special features with it, and it might not last as long as the NT-H1 or the MX-4, but it’s a dependable product for an affordable price. It certainly is well worth the price you’re paying for it.

Pros

• Affordable and cost-efficient product
• Zinc oxide base supports heat absorption
• Easy to apply and remove

Cons

• Won’t last as long as other pastes

Factors to Consider When Shopping for Thermal Paste

Below we have listed some of the most important features to keep an eye out for when shopping for a thermal paste. While it might not be pivotal to have the greatest paste in each of these categories, it certainly will improve performance if the paste you choose scores high in each feature. The three following features are what we looked for when compiling our list of pastes. Each item on our list takes these into account and offers you the best combination of each feature. You don’t want a cheap material that comes in a large container and is difficult to remove.

Materials the Paste is Composed of

There are countless variations of thermal pastes available. The main difference between these pastes is the materials used to make them. Each type of material has its advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to know which material your paste consists of. Silicon-based pastes are cheaper and less conductive of electricity than their metal counterparts. This lessens the chance of short-circuiting, but also lessens the amount of thermal conduction.

Carbon-based paste can be a tad expensive, but not as effective as metal-based pastes. It’s more conductive than silicon, but also more expensive. Hybrid thermal pastes will vary based on what materials are used. A hybrid paste can consist of any combination of metal or metal oxide. These are the best pastes for overclocking.

Size

The issue with many thermal pastes is their shelf life. It might be exciting to get the largest option available and to store up on thermal paste for when it runs out and needs to be reapplied. However, this isn’t always the economically smart choice as you could end up with a batch of useless paste that surpassed its shelf life. Many of the best thermal pastes come in small tubes of 5-gram maximums for a reason.

If you’re getting a thermal paste that will last for many years at a time, you won’t want to blow the bank on a large tube of product as chances are you won’t need it. With products like Grizzly thermal paste, you’re looking at a small tube because the paste has a longer use life, so reapplication won’t be necessary all that often.

Ease of Application and Removal

Some pastes can be quite difficult to remove without damaging the CPU. If the paste you’re looking at isn’t easy to remove, then you might want to find a different compound. There’s no point in using the thermal paste if it’s simply going to damage your CPU every time you try to remove it. The best thermal pastes are easy to apply and safe to remove. The application process should consist of four small dots on the corners of your CPU spread out to form a paper-thin layer of paste.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your thermal paste will act as the buffer between components of your computer, so you don’t want to mess up and purchase a paste that won’t hold its own. Protecting your CPU is quite important, and the right paste can do just that. Finding the right paste is all about knowing what questions to ask while shopping. We’ve compiled a list of some of the most important and frequent questions you should be considering while shopping for your perfect paste.

How long will my thermal paste last?

Your thermal paste should last a few years, at least. Many pastes will have a storage time of around two to three years and should be applied before this time runs out. Once applied, a thermal paste should last anywhere from two to five years before it needs to be retouched. Some thermal pastes will have even longer lives lasting up to eight or ten years in storage and application. If the paste has any shorter of a life than two years, you might want to search for a different product.

What is thermal paste made out of?

Thermal pastes can be made out of a number of different materials. The base material that the paste is made out of will affect how it works for your computer. The most common material would be metal-based pastes which have a high conductivity and are quite effective. A cheaper material would be silicon-based pastes which are more affordable, but less conductive. Carbon pastes are the middle child of those two, and hybrid pastes are great at preventing overclocking.

What is the best thermal paste for my computer?

This depends on what your intentions are for your computer. If you’re likely going to experience plenty of overclocking and heavy use, you’ll want a paste that can handle plenty of overtime work. If you’re not going to be as strenuous of a user, a silicon-based paste might be the safer option. Each of the pastes on our list is fantastic options to help keep your CPU cool, no matter how strenuous the use.