ID-Cooling
ID-Cooling Frost X45
S
Ranked #2 in Thermal Paste
880 LP on the
category ladder
what's LP?
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.
Consolidated from 2 independent outlets
See the sourcesPros & cons
- ✓ 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
- ✗ Longevity record is young compared with Arctic's and Noctua's
- ✗ Multi-year degradation data is thinner than Arctic's or Noctua's
The sources behind this ranking
We searched the web and YouTube for what has been published about this product, then read the articles, video transcripts and comments we found.
2 positive sources
B BargnSeek Alfi · reviewer · Sept 2026 
Beebom Arjun Sha · reviewer · Oct 2019
As I squeezed a tiny dot of ID-COOLING Frost X45 onto my CPU, I immediately noticed how smooth and creamy it felt in my fingers. Spreading it was almost effortless—no mess, no fuss—thanks to its ideal viscosity. I was surprised at how evenly it spread with just a gentle press, creating a perfect, thin layer that covered every corner of the processor’s surface.Read B
Beebom Arjun Sha · reviewer · Oct 2019 The ID-Cooling Frost X45 is new to the PC building space, but its thermal conductivity of 15.2 W/mk has earned its reputation. While being a conventional thermal paste, it matches and even beats non-metallic pastes in the market. If you are building a PC with air coolers, the ID-Cooling Frost X45 is the best choice out there since it has lower viscosity .Read
Frequently asked questions
It ranks #2 of 15 on our thermal paste tier list, in S tier. That placement draws on 2 independent outlets.
Longevity record is young compared with Arctic's and Noctua's. Multi-year degradation data is thinner than Arctic's or Noctua's.
Ranked nearby in Thermal Paste
S tier #1 ARCTIC MX-6
A tier #3 ARCTIC MX-7
A tier #4 Thermal Grizzly Duronaut
B tier #5 Noctua NT-H2
C tier #6 2 of 7 research runs entered this as a product to avoid rather than a pick. Thermal Grizzly Phasesheet
C tier #7 2 of 12 research runs entered this as a product to avoid rather than a pick. ARCTIC MX-4
F tier #12 8 of 12 research runs entered this as a product to avoid rather than a pick. Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
F tier #13 4 of 11 research runs entered this as a product to avoid rather than a pick. Corsair TM30
F tier #14 4 of 8 research runs entered this as a product to avoid rather than a pick. Innovation Cooling Graphite Thermal Pad
F tier #15 10 of 12 research runs entered this as a product to avoid rather than a pick.