thermal pad or thermal paste

[mlr]

hi all i just built new comp my heatsink came with a thermal pad on it, i need to know if its best to use a thermal pad or thermal paste, which one gives best results cheers in advance mlr

 

[Jeffrock]

Def. thermal paste. Arctic silver 5 is great. I would def. not use the pad. The pad is not as effective as the paste, and can be a byatch to scrape off your cpu if you upgrade, etc.

 

[mlr]

i was wondering because with my curent specs im getting around 48 to 55 c is this ok or do you recomend i try the paste

 

[hercules_upw]

I would choose the paste also. Like J-rock said it works better.

 

[Nubius]

When it comes to pad vs paste there is no contest. Pads are only meant for stock heatsinks and the very bare minimum. You use paste when you want the best cooling you can get especially when you get an aftermarket heatsink...you won't see pads on those