{
  "category": {
    "slug": "thermal-paste",
    "name": "Thermal Paste",
    "description": "Thermal compounds for CPUs and GPUs, including pastes, liquid metal and phase-change pads; CPU coolers belong to CPU Coolers, and thermal pads for memory are separate."
  },
  "url": "https://stierproducts.com/categories/thermal-paste",
  "markdown": "https://stierproducts.com/categories/thermal-paste.md",
  "updated": "2026-09-23T18:17:59.546Z",
  "productsRanked": 15,
  "citedSources": 68,
  "citedSourceKinds": {
    "editorial": 32,
    "video": 24,
    "community": 12
  },
  "summary": "On the stierproducts thermal paste board, ARCTIC MX-6 ranks #1 in S tier, ahead of ID-Cooling Frost X45 (#2, S tier) and ARCTIC MX-7 (#3, A tier). The board ranks 15 thermal paste from S (best) to F (avoid), last researched 23 Sept 2026, drawing on 68 cited reviews, videos and discussions. Placed in the bottom tiers as ones to avoid: AG eXtreme, Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut, Corsair TM30, and 2 others.",
  "method": {
    "summary": "Each category is researched in four independent runs, one per lens (expert consensus, value, reliability, community pulse). Every run ranks a board of candidates that deliberately includes products buyers cross-shop but should avoid. Placements score on a ranked ladder (LP), and tiers are derived from LP, so no tier is ever assigned by hand.",
    "url": "https://stierproducts.com/methodology"
  },
  "limitations": [
    "We do not test products ourselves. Every placement is consolidated from published reviews, owner reports and community discussion, so a board is only as good as the sources behind it.",
    "LP is points on this category ladder. It is comparable within a category and never across categories.",
    "A board is a snapshot with a research date. Anything released or changed after that date is not in it yet.",
    "Evidence is uneven across this board: products carry between 1 and 18 cited sources. The count for each is in the table above."
  ],
  "dataset": {
    "doi": "10.5281/zenodo.22062813",
    "url": "https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22062813",
    "scope": "every board at once, one dated snapshot per release",
    "excludes": [
      "price",
      "currency",
      "image"
    ]
  },
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
    "terms": "https://stierproducts.com/license",
    "covers": [
      "text",
      "rankings",
      "tiers",
      "lp",
      "verdicts",
      "pros",
      "cons"
    ],
    "excludes": [
      "images"
    ],
    "imageRights": "Product photographs are not covered: they belong to their respective owners and are reproduced to illustrate the product being reviewed. Do not redistribute them under this licence."
  },
  "tierMeanings": {
    "S": "Exceptional. Finishes top run after run; capped at 3 slots per category.",
    "A": "Excellent. Strongly recommended, beaten only by the very best.",
    "B": "Good. A solid choice with real caveats worth knowing.",
    "C": "Fair. Acceptable in the right situation, outclassed at its price.",
    "D": "Weak. Hard to recommend when better options cost similar money.",
    "F": "Avoid. The evidence points you elsewhere."
  },
  "products": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "tier": "S",
      "lp": 925,
      "name": "ARCTIC MX-6",
      "brand": "ARCTIC",
      "slug": "arctic-mx-6",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/arctic-mx-6",
      "verdict": "The best everyday paste in current roundups, engineered against dry-out from a brand with a long durability track record, making it the default answer for a build you do not want to reopen.",
      "pros": [
        "Called the best thermal paste for everyday builds in a current roundup",
        "Good thermal conductivity at an affordable level",
        "Formula specifically tuned against dry-out",
        "Near-flagship temperatures at a budget price",
        "Easy to apply"
      ],
      "cons": [
        "Loses board position to MX-7 which offers slightly better cooling for similar money"
      ],
      "citations": 18,
      "distinctOutlets": 14,
      "thinlySourced": false,
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/arctic-mx-6.webp"
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "tier": "S",
      "lp": 880,
      "name": "ID-Cooling Frost X45",
      "brand": "ID-Cooling",
      "slug": "id-cooling-frost-x45",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/id-cooling-frost-x45",
      "verdict": "Tom's Hardware's hands-down best tested performer and one of the cheapest here, held back under this lens only by a young longevity record compared with the established brands.",
      "pros": [
        "Tom's Hardware's hands-down best-performing paste tested on their air cooling system",
        "One of the cheapest options in the field",
        "Strongest raw performance of the current test cycle",
        "One of the cheapest pastes in Tom's Hardware's 90-paste test",
        "Best-performing paste on an air-cooled system according to a 90-compound test"
      ],
      "cons": [
        "Longevity record is young compared with Arctic's and Noctua's",
        "Multi-year degradation data is thinner than Arctic's or Noctua's"
      ],
      "citations": 2,
      "distinctOutlets": 2,
      "thinlySourced": false,
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/id-cooling-frost-x45.webp"
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "tier": "A",
      "lp": 748,
      "name": "ARCTIC MX-7",
      "brand": "ARCTIC",
      "slug": "arctic-mx-7",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/arctic-mx-7",
      "verdict": "Igor's Lab calls it highly recommended and the pedigree is right, but it ranks below MX-4 and MX-6 here only because its long-term track record is the shortest of Arctic's line.",
      "pros": [
        "Arctic's newest flagship, well received by reviewers",
        "Igor's Lab sums it up as a highly recommended paste for demanding hardware",
        "Same formula pedigree as the rest of Arctic's line",
        "Roughly 3% better cooling than MX-6 and around 6% better than older options",
        "Easy to apply"
      ],
      "cons": [
        "Shortest long-term track record of Arctic's line",
        "Only a small gain over MX-6 for a step up in cost",
        "The newest formula in the class with the least multi-year field history",
        "Higher cost than budget alternatives",
        "Shorter track record than MX-4 and MX-6."
      ],
      "citations": 8,
      "distinctOutlets": 6,
      "thinlySourced": false,
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/arctic-mx-7.webp"
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "tier": "A",
      "lp": 659,
      "name": "Thermal Grizzly Duronaut",
      "brand": "Thermal Grizzly",
      "slug": "thermal-grizzly-duronaut",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/thermal-grizzly-duronaut",
      "verdict": "The brand's durability-focused formula and the correct Thermal Grizzly purchase for sustained loads. The 'overkill' skeptics cite is precisely the point under an ownership lens.",
      "pros": [
        "Durability-focused formula built as the answer to dry-out complaints",
        "Can be run hard for years without the maintenance bill",
        "Regarded as the enthusiast's choice even by skeptics",
        "Top performance tier temperatures",
        "Well above average durability"
      ],
      "cons": [
        "Skeptics call it overkill for ordinary, non-overclocking builds",
        "Costs more than the Arctic options",
        "Overkill unless you are overclocking",
        "Premium price over Arctic options",
        "Premium cost relative to performance gain"
      ],
      "citations": 11,
      "distinctOutlets": 9,
      "thinlySourced": false,
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/thermal-grizzly-duronaut.webp"
    },
    {
      "rank": 5,
      "tier": "B",
      "lp": 586,
      "name": "Noctua NT-H2",
      "brand": "Noctua",
      "slug": "noctua-nt-h2",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/noctua-nt-h2",
      "verdict": "A stable long-life formula backed by the best support and warranty reputation in the category, which is exactly what an ownership lens pays for.",
      "pros": [
        "Engineered for long-term stability without curing quirks",
        "Backed by the strongest warranty and customer support culture in PC hardware",
        "Featured as a first-line recommendation alongside the category leaders",
        "Top-tier performance",
        "Ships with cleaning wipes and a spatula, lowering the hassle cost of a repaste"
      ],
      "cons": [
        "Cost per gram keeps it below the Arctic picks on value",
        "Nothing exciting on a benchmark graph",
        "Brand premium price",
        "No specific longevity advantage over higher-ranked picks.",
        "Premium price for performance matched by cheaper pastes"
      ],
      "citations": 3,
      "distinctOutlets": 3,
      "thinlySourced": false,
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/noctua-nt-h2.webp"
    },
    {
      "rank": 6,
      "tier": "C",
      "lp": 449,
      "name": "Thermal Grizzly Phasesheet",
      "brand": "Thermal Grizzly",
      "slug": "thermal-grizzly-phasesheet",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/thermal-grizzly-phasesheet",
      "verdict": "The phase-change option for buyers who want PTM7950 behavior in a retail-packaged product, recommended as more effective than traditional paste while staying non-conductive. Newer and less tested across outlets than the picks above it.",
      "pros": [
        "Phase-change material more effective than traditional paste",
        "Remains non-conductive",
        "A phase-change pad with excellent long-term ownership characteristics",
        "Same durable material class as the enthusiast-standard phase-change solution",
        "Phase-change pad avoids pump-out and dry-out."
      ],
      "cons": [
        "Carries a steep brand premium over functionally identical phase-change material",
        "Slightly less proven in field use than top pick.",
        "Higher price due to brand premium",
        "Newer product with less long-term field data",
        "Premium price compared to equivalent performance"
      ],
      "citations": 1,
      "distinctOutlets": 1,
      "thinlySourced": true,
      "flaggedToAvoid": {
        "runs": 2,
        "ofRuns": 7
      },
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/thermal-grizzly-phasesheet.webp"
    },
    {
      "rank": 7,
      "tier": "C",
      "lp": 428,
      "name": "ARCTIC MX-4",
      "brand": "ARCTIC",
      "slug": "arctic-mx-4",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/arctic-mx-4",
      "verdict": "The proven, reliable go-to that everything else gets measured against, sitting below MX-6 only because MX-6 is the newer, slightly better formula from the same stable.",
      "pros": [
        "Named a reliable go-to and top recommendation by a system builder",
        "Used as the reference point other pastes get measured against",
        "Bulletproof as a long-term ownership bet",
        "Famously long-lasting",
        "Even cheaper than MX-6"
      ],
      "cons": [
        "Slightly behind MX-6 on raw temperatures",
        "Superseded formula that measures meaningfully worse than Arctic's own MX-6 and MX-7",
        "Superseded on paper by MX-6 and MX-7",
        "Counterfeit tubes are a real risk when buying from disreputable sellers",
        "Counterfeit Arctic pastes circulate, requiring purchase from reputable sellers"
      ],
      "citations": 6,
      "distinctOutlets": 6,
      "thinlySourced": false,
      "flaggedToAvoid": {
        "runs": 2,
        "ofRuns": 12
      },
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/arctic-mx-4.webp"
    },
    {
      "rank": 8,
      "tier": "C",
      "lp": 396,
      "name": "ID-Cooling Frost X55",
      "brand": "ID-Cooling",
      "slug": "id-cooling-frost-x55",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/id-cooling-frost-x55",
      "verdict": "The weakest pick, carried by the Frost line's tested excellence rather than product-specific evidence of its own. A reasonable multi-use purchase, but the X45 is the safer bet.",
      "pros": [
        "The larger-format option in the line Tom's Hardware ranked at the top of its 90-paste test",
        "Aimed at builders repasting multiple systems",
        "Offers excellent performance and substantial value",
        "Engineered to resist drying and pump-out",
        "Smooth application with higher-viscosity body"
      ],
      "cons": [
        "No product-specific long-term data of its own; it rides on the family's tested performance",
        "Newer sibling with shorter field record"
      ],
      "citations": 1,
      "distinctOutlets": 1,
      "thinlySourced": true,
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/id-cooling-frost-x55.webp"
    },
    {
      "rank": 9,
      "tier": "C",
      "lp": 365,
      "name": "Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut",
      "brand": "Thermal Grizzly",
      "slug": "thermal-grizzly-hydronaut",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/thermal-grizzly-hydronaut",
      "verdict": "A heavily cross-shopped value alternative that under this lens offers neither top performance nor a longevity story. ARCTIC MX-6 is the better everyday buy.",
      "pros": [
        "Aimed at value rather than headline numbers",
        "Excellent on larger dies and water-cooling blocks",
        "Better spread and longevity than Kryonaut for less money per gram",
        "Delivers better temps without premium price",
        "Works well on desktop builds."
      ],
      "cons": [
        "Outclassed within Thermal Grizzly's own lineup on both performance and longevity",
        "Costs more than commodity pastes without a compensating strength",
        "Pumps out easily in laptops and GPUs, requiring repasting every 6-7 months.",
        "Not suitable for long-term ownership."
      ],
      "citations": 3,
      "distinctOutlets": 3,
      "thinlySourced": false,
      "flaggedToAvoid": {
        "runs": 2,
        "ofRuns": 5
      },
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/thermal-grizzly-hydronaut.webp"
    },
    {
      "rank": 10,
      "tier": "C",
      "lp": 363,
      "name": "Thermal Grizzly Kryosheet",
      "brand": "Thermal Grizzly",
      "slug": "thermal-grizzly-kryosheet",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/thermal-grizzly-kryosheet",
      "verdict": "A permanent, reusable graphite pad with nothing to degrade, ranked second at a small thermal cost and a careful-installation requirement.",
      "pros": [
        "Graphite pad with nothing to dry out, pump out, or replace, ever",
        "Community testing reports it can run up to roughly 3 degrees better than MX-4",
        "One-time install that acts as a fit-and-forget CPU interface",
        "Set-and-forget convenience of a pad",
        "A graphite sheet that physically cannot dry out, pump out, or cure"
      ],
      "cons": [
        "Electrically conductive graphite must not overhang the die, requiring careful installation",
        "Measures up to 3 degrees worse than MX-4",
        "Costs a premium while losing performance versus cheap paste",
        "Gives up a degree or two of peak performance",
        "Demands careful handling"
      ],
      "citations": 1,
      "distinctOutlets": 1,
      "thinlySourced": true,
      "flaggedToAvoid": {
        "runs": 3,
        "ofRuns": 7
      },
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/thermal-grizzly-kryosheet.webp"
    },
    {
      "rank": 11,
      "tier": "F",
      "lp": 163,
      "name": "AG eXtreme",
      "brand": "AG",
      "slug": "ag-extreme",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/ag-extreme",
      "verdict": "TermoPasty's testing endorses exactly what this lens buys - stability and durability for everyday machines - making it the dark-horse durability pick even though it is not the fastest paste on any bench.",
      "pros": [
        "Named reliable for everyday PCs in long-form testing",
        "High conductivity with tested stability and durability",
        "Ranked among the best thermal pastes outright in direct measured testing",
        "Delivers genuine flagship-level temperatures",
        "Easy to apply"
      ],
      "cons": [
        "Not the fastest paste on any bench",
        "Specialist product with limited availability",
        "Niche availability limits easy purchase",
        "Targets enthusiast audience rather than mainstream",
        "Limited mainstream availability"
      ],
      "citations": 1,
      "distinctOutlets": 1,
      "thinlySourced": true,
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/ag-extreme.webp"
    },
    {
      "rank": 12,
      "tier": "F",
      "lp": 146,
      "name": "Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut",
      "brand": "Thermal Grizzly",
      "slug": "thermal-grizzly-kryonaut",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/thermal-grizzly-kryonaut",
      "verdict": "The textbook case of reviews-outliving-reality: brilliant fresh reviews, notorious drying and pump-out under sustained heat, and a premium price for the privilege. Duronaut or MX-6 are the better buys.",
      "pros": [
        "Strong fresh benchmark results",
        "The most widely reviewed and cross-shopped premium paste in the category",
        "Performs well",
        "The enthusiast default that other pastes are tested against",
        "Third in a 2026 tested comparison"
      ],
      "cons": [
        "Notorious for drying out under sustained heat",
        "Pump-out failure under thermal cycling",
        "Premium cost not justified by measured benefit",
        "Expensive per gram",
        "Known to dry out under sustained heat"
      ],
      "citations": 3,
      "distinctOutlets": 3,
      "thinlySourced": false,
      "flaggedToAvoid": {
        "runs": 8,
        "ofRuns": 12
      },
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/thermal-grizzly-kryonaut.webp"
    },
    {
      "rank": 13,
      "tier": "F",
      "lp": 138,
      "name": "Corsair TM30",
      "brand": "Corsair",
      "slug": "corsair-tm30",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/corsair-tm30",
      "verdict": "Solid mid-tier performance from a major brand, repeatedly listed among the best pastes of 2026. It does nothing wrong and asks very little.",
      "pros": [
        "Performs well above its price class",
        "Widely available and easy to apply",
        "Lands within a degree or two of far more expensive pastes",
        "Appears in a 2026 top-5 thermal paste roundup",
        "Ships alongside Corsair cooling gear, making it easy to cross-shop"
      ],
      "cons": [
        "Never tops a current roundup",
        "Falls in the shadow of the pastes that win the comparison fields it appears in",
        "Does not top benchmark charts",
        "Does not outperform Arctic MX-4 or MX-6 at similar cost",
        "Outclassed by better pastes"
      ],
      "citations": 2,
      "distinctOutlets": 2,
      "thinlySourced": false,
      "flaggedToAvoid": {
        "runs": 4,
        "ofRuns": 11
      },
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/corsair-tm30.webp"
    },
    {
      "rank": 14,
      "tier": "F",
      "lp": 84,
      "name": "Innovation Cooling Graphite Thermal Pad",
      "brand": "Innovation Cooling",
      "slug": "innovation-cooling-graphite-thermal-pad",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/innovation-cooling-graphite-thermal-pad",
      "verdict": "The same permanence and reusability as the Kryosheet with the community's strongest longevity endorsement, ranked just under it because its thermal ceiling is a touch lower.",
      "pros": [
        "Probably the best longevity of any interface material, per community comparison",
        "Easy to clean up and reusable across builds",
        "Permanent pad route with no pump-out or dry-out",
        "Reusable across multiple installations",
        "Zero mess and immune to pump-out"
      ],
      "cons": [
        "Slightly worse peak temperatures than the best alternatives",
        "Gives up a degree or two versus good paste",
        "Higher upfront outlay than paste",
        "Trades a small thermal margin versus top pastes",
        "Costs more than a tube of paste that outperforms it"
      ],
      "citations": 4,
      "distinctOutlets": 4,
      "thinlySourced": false,
      "flaggedToAvoid": {
        "runs": 4,
        "ofRuns": 8
      },
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/innovation-cooling-graphite-thermal-pad.webp"
    },
    {
      "rank": 15,
      "tier": "F",
      "lp": 0,
      "name": "Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut",
      "brand": "Thermal Grizzly",
      "slug": "thermal-grizzly-conductonaut",
      "url": "https://stierproducts.com/products/thermal-grizzly-conductonaut",
      "verdict": "A genuine ownership hazard outside expert direct-die builds. Honeywell PTM7950 delivers the same thermal class without the risk, which is why Conductonaut finishes last on a general board.",
      "pros": [
        "Brilliant thermal performance for a narrow expert niche",
        "Near-liquid-metal thermal behavior",
        "Best raw temperatures in the category where it can safely be used",
        "Delivers the lowest raw temperatures in the category",
        "Linus Tech Tips forum thread cites Conductonaut as the serious solution for direct-die cooling of a 13700K"
      ],
      "cons": [
        "Electrically conductive - a spill or overhang can kill the board",
        "Attacks aluminum coolers",
        "Needs periodic maintenance",
        "Long-term electrical damage risk from leakage currents and heat",
        "Electrically conductive and corrosive to aluminium"
      ],
      "citations": 4,
      "distinctOutlets": 4,
      "thinlySourced": false,
      "flaggedToAvoid": {
        "runs": 10,
        "ofRuns": 12
      },
      "image": "https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/thermal-grizzly-conductonaut.webp"
    }
  ]
}