Page 4 - Conclusion
How did the new ARCTIC MX-5 compare against industry-leading products like the Noctua NT-H2? To give you a straight answer, very well. Let me start off with the most obvious reason why: Its thermal conductivity performance. Based on my tests, both the Noctua NT-H2 and ARCTIC MX-5 produced identical temperature results on my overclocked Intel Core i7-6700K processor using the legendary Noctua NH-D15S chromax.black cooler, which is excellent. But thermal conductivity performance alone does not tell the whole story. The ARCTIC MX-5, like the Noctua NT-H2, is also a non-electrically conductive paste, which means if you accidentally get them on other electronic components, you have no risk of short circuiting anything. At this point, you may be wondering, "What is so impressive about this? ARCTIC made pretty much the same thing as Noctua." That is a legitimate question, and the answer would be concerning the price. The Noctua NT-H2 is $13 for 3.5g with three cleaning wipes or $25 for 10g with ten cleaning wipes, while the ARCTIC MX-5 is $12 for 8g without the spatula or $15 with the spatula at the same size at press time. For some reason, I could not find the NT-H2 without cleaning wipes. Even at that, if you compare it against the MX-5 with the spatula, ARCTIC's latest paste is roughly the same price for twice the amount in the 8g size. That is a significant price differential for something that performs the same, and I would prefer a spatula over cleaning wipes. I personally use neither, but a spatula could be useful to prevent you from getting into situations like the one in a certain infamous YouTube video a few years back, haha. The ARCTIC MX-5 is also available in sizes ranging from 2g to 50g depending on your needs. My only complaint is the MX-5 is a bit runnier than what I would have liked, but this is a small issue. The MX-5 is the paste to get if you want maximum performance at a minimal price.
ARCTIC provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH equal.balance Award | APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks, but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 7.9/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The ARCTIC MX-5 is a high-performance non-electrically conductive thermal paste that comes at a seriously awesome price.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look, Usage
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
