Compare Thermal Paste

15 ranked products · Two to 4 at a time · Updated 23 Sept 2026

Pick any two to four of the 15 ranked thermal paste and read them side by side. This page opens on the board's top 3, ARCTIC MX-6, ID-Cooling Frost X45 and ARCTIC MX-7.

Choose what to compare

3 of 4 chosen

Thermal Paste compared side by side. Each column is one product, each row is one measure taken from the same research that built the board.
Measure	ARCTIC ARCTIC MX-6	ID-Cooling ID-Cooling Frost X45	ARCTIC ARCTIC MX-7	Thermal Grizzly Thermal Grizzly Duronaut	Noctua Noctua NT-H2	Thermal Grizzly Thermal Grizzly Phasesheet	ARCTIC ARCTIC MX-4	ID-Cooling ID-Cooling Frost X55	Thermal Grizzly Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut	Thermal Grizzly Thermal Grizzly Kryosheet	AG AG eXtreme	Thermal Grizzly Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut	Corsair Corsair TM30	Innovation Cooling Innovation Cooling Graphite Thermal Pad	Thermal Grizzly Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut
Tier	S	S	A	A	B	C	C	C	C	C	F	F	F	F	F
Rank on this board	1 of 15	2 of 15	3 of 15	4 of 15	5 of 15	6 of 15	7 of 15	8 of 15	9 of 15	10 of 15	11 of 15	12 of 15	13 of 15	14 of 15	15 of 15
Ladder points	925 LP	880 LP	748 LP	659 LP	586 LP	449 LP	428 LP	396 LP	365 LP	363 LP	163 LP	146 LP	138 LP	84 LP	0 LP
Our 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.	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.	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.	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.	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.	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.	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.	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.	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.	A permanent, reusable graphite pad with nothing to degrade, ranked second at a small thermal cost and a careful-installation requirement.	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.	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.	Solid mid-tier performance from a major brand, repeatedly listed among the best pastes of 2026. It does nothing wrong and asks very little.	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.	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.
What reviewers rate	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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
Where it falls short	Loses board position to MX-7 which offers slightly better cooling for similar money	Longevity record is young compared with Arctic's and Noctua's Multi-year degradation data is thinner than Arctic's or Noctua's	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	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	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.	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	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	No product-specific long-term data of its own; it rides on the family's tested performance Newer sibling with shorter field record	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.	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	Not the fastest paste on any bench Specialist product with limited availability Niche availability limits easy purchase Targets enthusiast audience rather than mainstream	Notorious for drying out under sustained heat Pump-out failure under thermal cycling Premium cost not justified by measured benefit Expensive per gram	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	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	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
Evidence behind it	18 sources across 14 outlets	2 sources across 2 outlets	8 sources across 6 outlets	11 sources across 9 outlets	3 sources across 3 outlets	1 source across 1 outlet Thin sourcing, read it as provisional	6 sources across 6 outlets	1 source across 1 outlet Thin sourcing, read it as provisional	3 sources across 3 outlets	1 source across 1 outlet Thin sourcing, read it as provisional	1 source across 1 outlet Thin sourcing, read it as provisional	3 sources across 3 outlets	2 sources across 2 outlets	4 sources across 4 outlets	4 sources across 4 outlets
Flagged as one to avoid	Not flagged	Not flagged	Not flagged	Not flagged	Not flagged	2 of 7 research runs	2 of 12 research runs	Not flagged	2 of 5 research runs	3 of 7 research runs	Not flagged	8 of 12 research runs	4 of 11 research runs	4 of 8 research runs	10 of 12 research runs
Announced	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Jan 2019	Not recorded	Not recorded
Where to buy	Check it	Check it	Check it	Check it	Check it	Check it	Check it	Check it	Check it	Check it	Check it	Check it	Check it	Check it	Check it

Every column is the same research that built the board. Nothing here is a specification sheet copied from a maker. Read how we rank for what a tier and a ladder point mean.