The Package

The Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal compound comes in a very simple package - just the tube, nothing else unless you consider the nicely printed piece of paper that holds limited information.

Yes, no instruction or anything. It’s simple, usage is like toothpaste, just don’t over-do it. Read on and find out why there isn’t a need for any instruction or application manual.

The Compound

Here are the highlights of the Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal compound as found in the official product page.

• High Thermal Conductivity
• Low Thermal Resistance
• Non-Electrical Conductive
• Non-Capacitive
• Non-Curing
• Non-Corrosive
• No Bleeding
• Odorless

So why is there not a need for instruction or application manual? Unlike silver and copper compounds such as the Arctic Silver 5, the Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal compound does not contain any metal particles, therefore there are no problems regarding electrical conductivity and capacitance and it will not result in any damage should it come into contact with parts like electrical traces, pins and leads.

Application & Performance

Application was simple, just as any other thermal compound - just slap a thin layer around the contact area like the processor or GPU chip and that’s it.  Yes, that doesn’t mean you go careless on applying the compound just because of its non-conductive nature.  

Here we pit the Arctic Cooling MX-2 (AC MX-2) against the ever-popular Arctic Silver 5 (AS5) and also some unknown white thermal compound. The test was done on a Galaxy 8600GT OC Edition; the compounds were applied and allowed to set in for about 3 days before temperature reading was taken. Ambient temperatures for these tests were around 25°C.

Alright, not much difference there but do bear in mind that this test was done on a graphic card with a rather small copper cooler, and even with that small copper cooler it already shows 1°C difference in temperature. Should it be done on a processor with a decent heatsink, the temperature variance of the MX-2 vs the AS5 would definitely be greater.

Do note that the MX-2 is also the “safer to use” compound.  

Conclusion

Regardless of whether you’re planning to use Arctic Cooling MX-2 or Arctic Silver 5, they’re both great thermal compounds but it’s clear that the MX-2 being the better one. The main difference is their chemical composition which could spell trouble if not applied properly.

What I liked about this compound compared to the Arctic Silver 5 besides the better performance is that it is less hard, making it easier to smudge around whichever surface you wish to apply it on. Furthermore it comes in a quite a generous quantity compared to the Arctic Silver 5.  

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 8th, 2007 at 6:40 am and is filed under Hardware Reviews, RAM, Casing, Cooling and Accessories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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