Sometimes failure just smells damn good. For example, when a thermal paste comes across like a bottle of niche fragrance from Kyoto – floral, sweet and with a hint of “What the hell is that?”. CWTP EG4GUV-L, as its somewhat unwieldy name suggests, exudes a hint of osmanthus, a flower that is used in Asia for tea, perfume and [...]
The colleagues from TechPowerUP report: Thermaltake, known for dazzling RGB staging and powerful DIY solutions, is launching a real eye-catcher with the new MAGFloe 360/420 Ultra ARGB Sync AIO Liquid Cooler series. What sounds like a standard water cooling system turns out to be a technically ambitious all-round package in terms of display [...]
NZXT has added a new flagship to its well-known AIO line with the Kraken Elite series. The Kraken Elite 240 RGB not only features an improved pump and ARGB fan, but also a round 2.36-inch display with a high resolution. Our test shows whether the technology behind the stylish exterior can keep up, for which a surcharge of around 100 euros is [...]
Good news for all Hatsune Miku fans, as ASUS has unveiled a new graphics card inspired by the popular virtual J-Pop idol Hatsune Miku. In addition to this graphics card, other components with the idol’s style have also been announced. The special edition is based on the current RTX 5080 and comes in an eye-catching design with a Hatsune Miku [...]
Today’s test focuses on the Akasa T6 Pro Grade Max, a thermal compound that is not a bad product in itself, but is a good example of how a solid mid-range product can be artificially turned into a premium product through targeted pricing. The price of around 25 euros on Amazon initially suggests that you are dealing with a real high [...]
I am often asked whether it is permissible or even sensible to stack thermal pads if the exact thickness is not available and you don’t want to use thermal putty. This is exactly what I would like to answer today, because this issue is far less critical than it is often made out to be. In fact, the targeted stacking of pads can even be a [...]
Just under a year after the start of the structured test series, the independent thermal compound database now comprises 100 fully analyzed products, making it the most comprehensive collection of directly comparable measurement data in the world. The focus is not only on quantity, but also on technically sound comparability under reproducible [...]
Huamei is a new sub-brand of the Chinese coolant manufacturer Halznziye, which has been operating more in the background to date and has been set up specifically for the international market. While at first glance the name sounds like a typo by Huawei, Huamei is not a technology company with smartphone ambitions, but a specialized product line for [...]
I took a closer look at the Arctic MX-6 in the revision 4 because when I unpacked it, I immediately noticed the red label, which reminded me a little of supermarket goods. It says “New Formula” on it, and that’s exactly what made me wonder. When a pack of food is suddenly labelled with such information, the result is often not [...]
With the Heatkiller RAD 120 from Watercool, I am once again devoting myself to a radiator for water cooling that has already been tested (not quite as extensively) in the past and which has attracted particular attention due to its “Made in Germany” finish and the associated expectations in terms of material quality and manufacturing [...]
Actually, I just wanted to find out how the pre-applied thermal pastes of an older and a current boxed cooler from AMD (Wraith Stealth) and Intel (original from the Core 5 Ultra 225F) perform in practice. Not a big project, rather a small technical comparison of two standard solutions that are otherwise hardly noticed. But what I found was not [...]
When I tested the Halnziye HY-P17 for the first time, my jaw almost dropped. The performance delivered by this thermal compound is simply brutal and anything but what you would have expected from this manufacturer. Halnziye was previously known for solid but inconspicuous mass-produced goods that rarely rose above mediocrity. But it is precisely [...]
TRYX – a name that somehow brings to mind energy drinks or inexpensive gaming mice. But this time it’s about an all-in-one water cooling system with a 360 mm radiator and plenty of ARGB. According to the marketing department, the Panorama 360 ARGB is supposed to combine “design with performance”. Sure – that’s [...]
With the Deepcool DM9, I’m presented with a thermal compound today that could almost be prematurely labeled as outdated due to its high zinc oxide content. At first glance, the technical data seems rather unspectacular, the packaging is plain, and the price of around 5 euros for 4 grams indicates entry-level rather than ambitious high-end [...]
The following photo documents the condition of the already familiar Gigabyte dispenser putties after a total of six weeks of storage on plain copy paper, laid out flat and in a completely horizontal position. My first test already clearly showed that the material marketed as “Server-Grade Thermal Conductive Gel” tends to migrate binder [...]
At Computex 2025, Alphacool presented a variety of new products that offer both technological innovations and aesthetic improvements in the field of water cooling. The new Core 2 Aurora all-in-one CPU cooler replaces the previous Eisbaer series. It features an aluminum chassis, an all-copper radiator and is built from standardized DIY water [...]
There are many thermal conductive pastes – good ones, bad ones and then there are those from GD. Today in the test: two products that could hardly be more different at first glance, but ultimately share a sad and common fate – they perform underground. We are talking about the GD900 and the GD-2, two pastes from “GD High [...]
If you rummage in the gray area between OEM production line and overpriced retail shelf, sooner or later you will come across the name Shin-Etsu. If you expect more from thermal pastes than just a bit of white blob from a questionable syringe with gaming lettering, you will eventually end up with one of the world’s largest specialty chemical [...]
Anyone who has been keeping a close eye on my thermal compound database since today will certainly not have overlooked a small addition. In my comparative characterization of thermal interface materials (TIM), a uniform lower limit of the bond line thickness (BLT) of 25 µm was deliberately chosen (purely graphically). This decision is based on [...]
In recent years, phase-changing thermal interface materials such as Honeywell’s PTM 7950 have increasingly established themselves as a high-performance alternative to classic thermal pastes – especially where permanent, stable thermal coupling under high mechanical loads is required. Despite their basic user-friendliness, however, the [...]
