Everyone building a gaming PC needs thermal paste. Now a TikToker has mixed diamond dust into the paste.
Anyone assembling a gaming PC needs thermal paste. It goes between the processor and the CPU cooler and is meant to minimize the imperfections of the processor.
These microscopic imperfections between the two touching metal surfaces are not visible to you at all. The thermal paste fills these in and prevents air from settling in these areas. Thermal paste ensures that the “brain” of your computer stays cool under load.
A TikToker has now mixed diamond dust into his thermal paste and applied it to his processor. Whether that really works, we explain in our article.
Can thermal paste with diamond dust really cool?
Who has tried this? Mryeester, also known as Adam Yee, is a TikToker with around 1 million followers on TikTok. On his channel, he tests various computer hardware and is especially active in the DIY area.
What exactly is he doing? In his nearly 40-second-long video, he mixed regular thermal paste with diamond dust. Then he applied the mixed paste to his processor (via tiktok.com).
In the next step, he tested the temperatures because he wanted to find out which cools better: the regular thermal paste from the electronics store or his mixture with diamond dust. In the video, he briefly presents the results:
- The temperatures with regular thermal paste are at 49 degrees Celsius.
- With diamond paste, the temperatures are at 46 degrees Celsius.
In total, he can save 3 degrees with this method on an open motherboard. He has not tested how the diamond paste affects his processor when he installs the motherboard in a case.
Thermal paste with diamond additive is also offered by manufacturers
Can this really work? The tech blogger “InventGeek” also conducted the experiment with diamond dust a few years ago (via intentgeek.com). In his test, he used diamond powder with 18 carats and applied the mixture to the processor as well. In his experiment, the temperatures dropped even more:
- With a silver mixture, the temperatures are at 42 degrees or 57 degrees under load.
- With his diamond mixture, the temperatures are at 29 degrees or 38 degrees under load.
In his article, however, he also explains that the temperatures can vary greatly depending on how the consistency of the thermal paste is and how he applies it.
Why does this work? Regular thermal paste often consists of a mixture of silver and silicone grease. Silver has a thermal conductivity of 429 W/m K.
However, the conductivity of diamond is much higher than that of silver. Because the thermal conductivity of diamond is between 900 and 2320 W/m K. At best, you then have five times the performance of silver.
Can you buy something like this? By now, some manufacturers also offer a combination of thermal paste and diamond dust. Manufacturers like Innovation Cooling use synthetic diamonds in their mixture. No real diamonds are processed into dust.
However, the prices are steep. While you might pay 4 euros for completely normal thermal paste, the prices for diamond dust paste are at 25 euros or more.
For people who care about every degree Celsius, this is certainly exciting and worth the extra cost. For most other people, the additional cost may not be justifiable.
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