Did you fall into the rabbit hole of trying out lots of thermal pastes? Just buy Hydronaut.

I have tried Phobya one and it loses its effectivity pretty fast, faster than gelid extreme.
I can't find ICD with a decent price, and I would try TFX, but didnt find many opinions about it here

 

The initial temps, as in the temps right after applying, will be a bit higher than with Kryonaut (let's say 2ºC higher or so) BUT it won't degrade nearly as fast. Kryonaut, in my experience, becomes useless after less than a week.

Well yeah, I can only talk from my personal experience, obviously.

 

@Reonu for me, Kryonaut lasts about a year, sometimes more.

 

Which means some other factor is at play. Thermal compound never degrades even decades later. Why do we not use mayonnaise or butter? It can degrade in a year.

 

If it has high thermal transfer, I would use it.

 

False. The filler material, usually silicone, dries out eventually. The longest lasting TIM, when used properly, is actually galinstan liquid metal.

 

Then one read datasheets. Wet or dry - it remains just as thermally conductive.

If thermal compound went bad (as scam advertising hypes), then we use toothpaste or mayonnaise. Just as thermally conductive. And less expensive.

Most all heat transfers in direct contact. Thermal compound is only filling microscopic air gaps. Does not matter if thermal compound goes bad. Always read numbers in datasheets. Thermal compound is ten to 100 times less thermally conductive.

Why are heatsinks tapered? To squeeze out thermal compound where all heat is generated. In a millimeters area in the center. Squeeze out less thermally conductive compound so that most all heat transfers in direct 'semiconductor to heatsink' contact.

Three reasons why thermal compound is hyped. Facts change once we include science and specification numbers.

Where does anyone, who hypes thermal compound, discuss W/K-m numbers? Those educated only by hearsay, fear, myths, and subjective speculation cannot and do not post relevant numbers.

Thermal compound does not degrade even decades later. Most heat transfers in direct contact. Not through ten to 100 times less thermally conductive thermal compound. Compound has low thermal transfer numbers.

 

Then feel free to go commando and forgo TIM altogether.

 

The heat is not generated only on the center of the die, its all over the die, any active zone will generate heat, if all the heat came from just a tiny point you would have W/mm^2 number reaching to infinity, and you would have a laser cavity, not a CPU or GPU.

 

No, I didn't. I just fell into the Kryonaut hole once, then I used the search function on this forum and discovered that most people recommend Phobya Nanogrease Extreme: better thermal conductivity than Kryo and higher viscosity so it doesn't pump out. Applied once and has been working ever since.