alienware should also have the option for the thermal compound to use in building your laptop since all of the overheating issues in some of the laptops. . .and not all of the owner would like to tear down their new system just to repaste the cpu and gpu. . .

...

Not a bad idea to be honest...but you would still have to trust that you were getting the paste you requested and trust that it was applied right. Either way I agree they should offer options on this...

But just to make another point...with laptops being more prone to overheating shouldn't they just automatically use the best paste possible anyway? I know that which is best is always up for debate but you get the idea.

Yeah, there should be at least an option. But to be honest, i'm with Diesel on this one. AW should use the best thermal compound by default in all laptops and desktops. Considering the price we pay and the fact that many AW owners want to overclock, i think dell should consider this

krishnooof said: AW should use the best thermal compound by default in all laptops and desktops.

End of discussion here folks...

As you can see in the following chart I borrowed***, Mayonnaise is at least as good as 50% of the tested compounds



checking newegg prices, Prolimitech and Arctic Silver 5 are pretty close to same retail price with 1* C temp difference, granted they cost 3x what the cheapest (Rosewill) does, but they also offer 10* C cooler temps.




***all credit goes to http://www.hardwaresecrets.com, as all I did was rehosted the image of their research data.

That is a great chart. Anyone know what brand Alienware uses by default?
Also, is it because of price that everyone hails IC Diamond as one of the best? Seems the top eight would be the way to go...

SkiRascal said: That is a great chart. Anyone know what brand Alienware uses by default?
Also, is it because of price that everyone hails IC Diamond as one of the best? Seems the top eight would be the way to go...

I know which one they use by default, it's:



Either that or Krusty krab's secret formula ;]

http://www.xoticpc.com/alienware-m18x-p-4614.html?wconfigure=yes

$60 and they'll use IC Diamond Thermal paste for cpu and gpu. Fully customizable and you can keep the Dell warranty. I wish this was an option when I was getting my M18xR1!

Isendar said: http://www.xoticpc.com/alienware-m18x-p-4614.html?wconfigure=yes

$60 and they'll use IC Diamond Thermal paste for cpu and gpu. Fully customizable and you can keep the Dell warranty. I wish this was an option when I was getting my M18xR1!

Wish I would of known too. I could of use what I paid in sales tax for some more upgrades.

dryst_1025 said: alienware should also have the option for the thermal compound to use in building your laptop since all of the overheating issues in some of the laptops. . .and not all of the owner would like to tear down their new system just to repaste the cpu and gpu. . .

Better thermal paste wouldnt help it. If you need to repaste new computer then most likely thermal paste quality isnt the issue its how its applied.

Yep and the graph that tc posted proves exactly what kermanius just said. Obviously Mayo is of crap quality as far as thermal compounds are concerned yet performs just as well as some of the most expensive ones. Not about quality of the compound but rather quality assurance with respect to how it is applied during assembly.

Wonder if it is done by a machine or by people...

SkiRascal said: That is a great chart. Anyone know what brand Alienware uses by default?
Also, is it because of price that everyone hails IC Diamond as one of the best? Seems the top eight would be the way to go...

You will find generally different test results on different hardware sites. But I don't use IC Diamond. I have tested quite a few different brands myself and I like Arctic Silver Ceramique the best. That is what I am currently using.

DieselSS said:

SkiRascal said: That is a great chart. Anyone know what brand Alienware uses by default?
Also, is it because of price that everyone hails IC Diamond as one of the best? Seems the top eight would be the way to go...

You will find generally different test results on different hardware sites. But I don't use IC Diamond. I have tested quite a few different brands myself and I like Arctic Silver Ceramique the best. That is what I am currently using.

Smart choice it seems, sir. That is right there with the top three. I take it that it is pricier, but you get what you pay for , I imagine.

It was actually cheaper. I got a 25g tube for less than $10 on Newegg.

$60 for pasting with IC Diamond??!! The actual paste they use costs under $1. That gives 59 for doing the work. Not bad:P