Are ShinEtsu thermal Pads and Grease Any Good?

[sawyen]

Are ShinEtsu thermal pads and those white gooey ShinEtsu grease any good? I mean, comparing with ones like Arctic Silver 5, ceramique or Akasa Silver?

[OmarSantiago]

It all depends how well you apply them. Most tests show that Arctic Silver 5 and Ceramique are the best of the bunch and other compounds will run a few degrees hotter. That said, it all depends on how smooth the surfaces are and more importantly how thinly you cover the core. Shin Etsu compound is very good stuff and I prefer it or Ceramique to any metallic compounds simply because it's non-conductive and much easier to apply and to clean off. The pads are excellent for simple fast work (though I don't know if they still make them too small for the heatshields on P4's or X64s) when you can't be bothered to spend time preparing a wafer thin layer of compound.

So if you're prepared to take that little bit of time and invest in a premium compound then yeah, Silver or Ceramique will be better than Shin Etsu, but we're really only talking two maybe three degrees difference.

Personally I just use Ceramique; Overclock sell this giant 22g syringe that never shows signs of running out despite being used for some twenty chips and three or four graphics cards since I bought it.

[Wiczy]

Yes shin etsu is excellent stuff and it will last a long time before it needs to be cleaned off and applied again. It is also the only thermal grease/paste that AMD recommend for long term use iirc.

I have never used a shin etsu thermal pad though so i can't comment on those.

[BUFF]

imo Shin-Etsu X23-7783D is the best that you can get, slightly better than AS.
It isn't cheap & it isn't the easiest to use but as stated it is AMD approved.