All of our computer silencing products come with thermal compound or tape. However, if you are re-using a quiet CPU cooler (and thus re-applying thermal compound), or if you just want the absolute best performance from a thermal interface, you might consider investing in some Arctic Silver Ceramique. Arctic Silver (the manufacturer of Ceramique) says that this compound decreases CPU temperature by 2-10 degrees Celsius when compared to standard thermal compounds. (Arctic Silver estimates Arctic Silver 3 as dropping CPU temperatures by 3-12 degrees Celsius.) Arctic Silver Ceramique has been reviewed widely on the internet and virtually leads the market of high-performance thermal compounds. As a matter of fact Ceramique is said to equal the performance of Arctic Silver 3 and in some cases cool even better than Arctic Silver 3. Arctic Silver Ceramique also has some other advantages over Arctic Silver 3. Ceramique is easier to clean up than Arctic Silver 3, and Ceramique isn't conductive at all (Arctic Silver 3 is mostly non-conductive, but does have some slight conductive potential).
When applying Ceramique, only use a small amount. The only purpose for a thermal compound is to fill in tiny imperfections between the processor or chipset and the heatsink. Just make sure that the processor or chipset doesn't have any bare areas showing through and make sure that there isn't any excess Ceramique. When finished you should have a smooth, thin layer of Ceramique. If using on a motherboard chipset, a GPU, or a large CPU surface (such as Intel Pentium 4), use LESS than half the size of a small pea of the Ceramique compound. If using on a smaller processor (such as an AMD Athlon XP), only use a small dab of Ceramique. For more information about installation of Ceramique, you can visit Arctic Silver's Ceramique Installation Instructions.
Arctic Silver Ceramique is absolutely not conductive nor capacitive. Ceramique was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity. As such, while it is always a good idea to keep any compound away from electrical paths, Ceramique is a safer choice to use around two close-proximity electrical paths.
Ceramique contains no silicone. It is a high-density, ceramic-based thermal compound specifically designed for modern high-power CPUs and high-performance heatsinks or water-cooling solutions. Arctic Silver Ceramique is made with micronized aluminum oxide, boron nitride and zinc oxide. Ceramique uses a high-density layered composite of five unique shapes of thermally conductive aluminum oxide, boron nitride and zinc oxide sub-micron particles to maximize particle-to-particle contact area and thermal transfer. This exclusive combination provides performance exceeding most metal based compounds.
Per Arctic Silver: "The suspension fluid is a proprietary mixture of advanced polysynthetic oils that provide superior performance and long-term stability. During the system's initial use, the heat from the CPU lowers the viscosity of the compound to enhance the filling of the microscopic valleys and ensure a minimum bond line between the heatsink and the CPU core. Then the compound thickens slightly over the next 100 to 300 hours of use to its final consistency designed for long-term stability."
Arctic Silver Incorporated does not recommend using Arctic Silver Ceramique on older Intel Xeon processors with large multiple square inch CPU to heatsink interfaces. The huge contact area and large gaps between the processor and the heatsink require a thermal pad or thick mesh-reinforced paste.
Want a larger tube of Arctic Silver Ceramique for more extensive projects? See: Arctic Silver Ceramique, 22 grams
