the future of thermal paste technology

is this the future of thermal paste technology? maybe! phase changing metal could offer the benefits of liquid metal thermal paste while reducing the dangers it raises on its own! pretty neat! #pc #pctips #pcbuilding #thermalpaste #yeesterpaste #mryeester
need new thermal paste? check out YeesterPaste and all my thermal paste accessories! www.yeesterpaste.com

[@WaldoWheresReal]

Metal thermal paste also tastes better and doesnt stick to to roof of your mouth like the silicon stuff

[@ellingtonf1097]

It pairs great with antifreeze too

[@notilia]

​@@ellingtonf1097add a little bit of uranium for extra flavour and nutritions

[@AwolRemains]

@@notiliatoo much calories, replace with lead instead

[@theruoc147]

@@ellingtonf1097I prefer it with some nice aged lead based paint. Or some kerosene

[@al28314]

​@@theruoc147i prefer with a little bit of nuclear reactor

[@BURNSYCS]

Having nothing but a flimsy piece of plastic preventing my motherboard from being fried would keep me up at night.

[@lukesdewhurst]

Turn your PC off when you got bed then

[@shahxad6533]

Clever maan​@@lukesdewhurst

[@dan_2247]

@@lukesdewhurst and never turn int on after

[@mastermatt1171]

Too many accidents in this world caused by plastic having holes when they shouldn't

[@therealisticbanana]

@@mastermatt1171the kardashians

[@Kholdstare0503]

Some say he’s still trying to get the liquid metal to spread

[@i-love-comountains3850]

It'll wick the moment there's a heat sink on it👍

[@TheBawlz09]

Bro the plastic melted like at 115

[@i-love-comountains3850]

@@TheBawlz09 He had a torch on it lol

[@Shuttterbugg]

Right

[@Kholdstare0503]

@@Shuttterbugg left

[@clemensruis]

My freezer creates phase changing blocks of water.

[@ShantalhaitianPrincess]

lol

[@lyan803]

This is technology!

[@TheIncognitusMe]

People are gonna flip when they realize all the liquid metal you've ever seen probably has gallium in it.

[@AverageShadowheartEnjoyer]

LMAOOO

[@generallaro1269]

Well thats literally the definition, phase changing. From solid to liquid. This isnt the joke you think it is.

[@ycy-technologies]

Back in the pentium golden days we use to take turns pissing on CPUs to cool them off

[@plumbthumbs9584]

eskimo pee is 2 degrees cooler, try using that.

[@turtleidiot3324]

putting the gold in pentium gold

[@plumbthumbs9584]

@@turtleidiot3324 hey-ooo!

[@TheBagOfHolding]

We used the blood of our enemies.

[@NordicDan]

Ahhh yes the Pentium III Golden Shower Edition

[@Angyjxx]

Try using solder as thermal paste

[@ottersmeep25]

Solder is designed to have slight electrical conductivity?

[@ozzi189]

You'll probably de-lid the cpu upon disassembly

[@joebidden8364]

Yes

[@BoltGoesPro]

​@@ottersmeep25not slight...

[@ottersmeep25]

@@BoltGoesPro it's called sarcasm

[@crypticaledits]

Computer running on high heat Him: why does it smell like burnt plastic?

[@erayk96]

PET has a melting point of 250 to 260 degrees Celsius

[@DieselDrinker45.]

​@@erayk96that's about what mine runs on Minecraft 👍

[@santosdr2]

shoot can I bbq at ur pc?@@DieselDrinker45.

[@FabledGentleman]

A Computer cannot get hotter than about 110-120 degrees celcius, unless it short circuits.

[@nickgardner6340]

Blew head gasket

[@mikairu2944]

this bad boy ain't going anywhere. *Slaps it* *Goes everywhere*

[@iglzsick]

Lmao

[@NicoGervacio]

He didn't even secure it with the ratchet straps.

[@Uraqt_1337]

I thought it’s gonna be some incredible solution. It just ended up being: let’s put something above the metal

[@TheDragShot]

Sometimes the simple solutions are all you need.

[@MrAndrewAllen]

The heatsink goes above the metal. The thermal paste fills a very small airgap between the CPU's heat spreader and the heatsink.

[@cyrilvaneijkelenburg3743]

@@MrAndrewAllen I would prefer to hear derBauers opinion . The extra plastic ...could increase the "forgotthename" height....Also ..wouldn't the metal just flow out of it ...because the plastic will always have small openings. There is actually another problem with liquid metal not mentioned in the video which is what it does to aluminium (which is kinda important considering how much cooling apparatuses use alumium in the part that makes contact with the thermal paste ). Also ... I think derBauer has a better solution ....

[@UntrainableWizard]

I'm genuinely curious how this doesn't flow off onto the rest of the components when it's turned upright... Or... Sideways... You know what I mean. 😅 Is the plastic just thick enough to stop it seeping out from the heatsink?

[@yanuehara8017]

Z height ​@@cyrilvaneijkelenburg3743

[@garymartin9777]

"It's not going anywhere." Famous last words.

[@thorodinson3597]

It's time to learn a critical life lesson! Those 4 words, when say changing tires, mean your rims&tires will never fall off. It even works for handcuffs.

[@92kosta]

The same was said for the Titanic and look where it's at.

[@Sgt_Church]

All because he didn't slap it after installing it. Such a rookie move 😂

[@Fatgamerdawg]

Just solder it on

[@YaKillaCJ]

Playstation 5 owners who has consoles sitting up vertical.

[@tonymonxana992]

The risk reward just seems ridiculous. Risk destroying your motherboard. Reward a tiny bit cooler in temp than normal battle tested thermal paste.

[@Lylcaruis]

It's more than a tiny bit

[@JordanWeber]

Nothing starts off battle tested, innovation isn't free.

[@Snay1998]

If u rich then sure but not for us poor guys

[@xythiera7255]

​@@Snay1998If you are poor you wont even have a cpu that gets warm enoth to need it

[@rangerthememe1305]

@@Lylcaruis just read a comment saying he used it for 3 years and saw minimal difference

[@Metarortiz]

We got CPU condoms before GTA 6

[@randhum]

Tis gonna go rated from underrated

[@TecraX2]

"Phase Changing" = Apple style PR language for "It Melts"

[@springpanda9393]

I mean no not really. It changes physical states from solid to liquid back to solid as it heats and cools.

[@casual_elitist]

@@springpanda9393 that is in fact apple style PR language for how quite literally all matter in the universe works

[@springpanda9393]

@@casual_elitist it's literally a physics term lmfao.

[@casual_elitist]

@@springpanda9393 huh, the more you know lol

[@Kalvinjj]

@@springpanda9393 To be honest you're both correct, I often joke about it at work when we got to send some stuff in the mail and I'll prepare a "Cellulose based, structurally corrugated, auto-adhesive polymer film reinforced transport container"... Also known as taped shut cardboard box

[@iconacy]

Thermal past works just fine I’ll keep using that.

[@sylviam6535]

Yeah, people should just get a better cooler and stay away from liquid metal.

[@jamesm568]

And it also doesn't drip when your computer is sideways.

[@Israeli_Prince]

Yeah hand me 50g of artic mx-6

[@Aiden-ew3dy]

Agreed

[@Stabbyson]

You may use the thermal past, but I'm looking forward to the thermal future!

[@softtaco8264]

A perfect example of don't fix what ain't broken

[@Albtraum_TDDC]

I agree. Who cares about like 1% increase in efficiency or whatever. Normal paste is enough for 99% of the (computer) users.

[@ghosthunter3424]

@@Albtraum_TDDCI would say it’s not about the efficency but the lifespan. A well refrigerated CPU would last much longer that one that is constantly getting overheated

[@christophfischer2773]

With that attitude we'd still be playing Pong on an 80s arcade. Right now, heat is one of the biggest hurdles in computing power. In most other aspects we are literally nearing the limits of physics. We are already running into problems with the speed of light, which limits size and clock times of cpus. We are reaching problems with density because the smaller we build the more energy we need and the more heat we have to dissipate. We need the best possible cooling.

[@RepublicofODLUM]

​@@christophfischer2773 That's a fair point, but imo until there's something that doesn't have such high risks we won't see paste being replaced anytime soon. Especially with how well coolers work nowadays, liquid metal just ain't it

[@kxngmorales143]

Try creating a border with the silicone thermal paste, fill the center with liquid metal

[@wolvreigns]

Just a note guys but not all thermal pastes are non conductive. Make sure you check the packaging before applying so know what type you have and the risks/benefits associated

[@ISuckUnderPressure]

This. This video is very misleading. There are many silicone based thermal materials that are VERY electrically conductive. It’s the particles inside that make the difference, not the base liquid.

[@RedHaloManiac95]

Not to mention just because it isn’t conductive at DC voltage doesn’t mean it’s not conductive to AC or RF circuits

[@sihamhamda47]

​@@ISuckUnderPressureArctic has one of those called Arctic Silver. It used pure silver instead of silicon so it techically last forever but also dangerously conductive like liquid metal does

[@ISuckUnderPressure]

@@sihamhamda47 while you are kinda right, they got you with their marketing. It contains silver that is 99.9% pure. But the paste isn’t 99.9% silver. It’s mixed with zinc oxide, boron nitride, and aluminum oxide as well as some sort of non silicone based oil. It is 88% thermally conductive filler by weight, and 12% suspension media by weight. Here is the SDS for Arctic Silver 5 www.arcticsilver.com/PDF/AS5_SDS.pdf

[@hadifelani]

True, there are also some that’s while not electrically conductive, but still electrically capacitive. Which can be just as dangerous. Arctic Silver 5 is the perfect example of this, hence why its popularity has dropped quite a lot nowadays.

[@danceatbacchanalia]

I haven't seen something this flimsy, unpromising, and risky in a while.

[@John-v3n9l]

I agree with you 100%. I don't know if it's just this video, but that looked chronically bad.

[@adamgreenhill110]

Yeah, thin plastic around molten metal, under pressure? What could go wrong?!

[@smeghead666]

@@John-v3n9l 100% this video. Used this on a Q6700 which ran at an overclock from 2.66GHz to 3.33GHz for over 5 years without change 60C at load

[@zeroa69]

It works fucking great, go watch linus tech tips video on it. They also selll the stuff pre cut right from honeywell. Probably where dude got this from

[@C27RickSanchez]

Not since I met my ex-wife.

[@ryanmaris1917]

Cool but the plastic is now a barrier between the metal paste and the cooler.

[@iamjoehill]

Most of the heat is generated starting from the center of the CPU die, spreading outward. So yes, plastic would be in the way, but i think it would be okay because it's towards the edge of the die

[@Danger1225]

@@iamjoehill plastic creates a gap between CPU and cooler. You need more liquid metal to fill that gap. AT BEST you'll get same temperatures as from any shitty paste.

[@MrSpacelyy]

​​@@Danger1225yeah silly aint it. They use thermal conductivity as some kind of marketing thing. But the gap should be extremely small. The imperfections should be filled by a material. Making it a bigger gap doesn't work. I once tried polishing the cpu and cooler. At first it worked better. But the paste couldn't grip so it moved and became worse. Just use good paste and not too much. Also this cpu has a heatspreader, with paste under it.

[@Danger1225]

@@MrSpacelyy with more ideal surfaces and probably too much force in tightening your cooler it is possible that paste pumped out. Try to tighten cooler more evenly, or use thermal paste with phase change (Honeywell for example). It is not ideal, but can solve this problem.

[@KingScuba]

@@Danger1225 Nah. on average you'll see about 2~3c lower than the best pastes on the market, some reports up to 5c. Tomshardware did a full on review on em all.

[@jqmasamune]

This is wrong. You want to use Crest Mint Toothpaste, the minty chill will drop the temp by 45 C

[@Another_Random_Dave]

Hell yeah. A solution to a problem that’s already been solved, with additional risk of a new problem to solve if this solution fails. I like it.

[@effbar2400]

Bozos

[@komikop]

looks janky as hell too

[@KingTUMMAN]

@@effbar2400 nah fam SSD from HDD is a pure upgrade You don't risk losing your MB and shit This is kinda meh comparison take

[@Weggorino]

@@effbar2400 No, it's like saying you shouldn't upgrade from an SSD to a slightly faster, but possibly unstable SSD.

[@3of12]

The normal spreading method really is bulletproof at this point.

[@comradeautukov977]

Why not just surround a dob of the metal stuff with the silicone stuff basically making an insulated wire to conduct the heat better without risking the metal touching the other components Edit: According to several people, air pockets would form, which is bad for some reason. Also, someone said that uneven conduction of heat could warp the CPU, which makes some sense to me and my 3th-grade understanding of electronics

[@Droid6689]

My thoughts exactly.

[@nashiffuadkhan9817]

Sane ppl think alike

[@ofallnames]

Glad I found you guys

[@kenzies.1362]

Uneven conduction of heat could warp the cpu

[@nataliealphonse4634]

The point of applying a paste is to distribute the insulation relatively evenly, doing what you suggest would concentrate the heat in one area and potentially cause problems down the line. Most "obvious" solutions don't work when we are dealing with a system this complex because there are always other factors to think about

[@JJMDude]

Eh. I used liquid metal successfully for nearly three years. Was very careful about the application. You only really need both sides to be wet, so it's not like it'll go anywhere once applied. But it's a pain to reapply, stains your ihs, and application has so much room for imperfection you'll never feel certain you're getting the most out of it, or whether one day it'll short something. I switched back to noctua paste after my recent coolant change and loop clean, and using the spread method I actually can't tell the difference between the paste and the LM. Temps are basically the same, and I have peace of mind knowing my next application will be simple to clean and can't hurt anything if I use too much. Worrying about TIM really IS just obsessing over the margin of error. Don't sweat it.

[@Thatonefuckinguy]

TBH, the only people who should be using liquid metal are overclockers. If you really want better thermals, use a better CPU fan or better yet use a liquid cooler.

[@sihamhamda47]

Try using Honeywell's PTM 7950. It has the same thermal conductivity as the high end thermal paste but has much longer lifespan (it can last 8-10 years before degrading)

[@bob-ps2dn]

Aint reasing allat 😂

[@juhis5936]

What metal did u use

[@JJMDude]

@@juhis5936 Conductonaut

[@soloshottie]

it's going everywhere I can feel it

[@indestruct1bl3]

Arctic Silver 5 has done me well for 15 years. I think I'll keep going with that. Lol

[@HookerHeels]

Sure, it works, but liquid metal is superior in heat transfer. I'm scared af to use to, so I'mma keep using my regular thermal paste, but no doubt it's superior

[@Israeli_Prince]

Try the Artic Mx-6, that thing is great.

[@det_tf2]

I'm not gonna lie I thought you meant you've gone 15 years without replacing it at first lmao

[@MR_DOME]

Agreed only reason would be some crazy over clocks that's more of a crazy hobby.

[@3of12]

Or you could just apply it correctly.

[@kingdom9214]

The aerospace industry already solved this for us. It's call Honeywell PTM7950, nearly identical thermal performance as liquid metal but with zero risk to your components.

[@jonasduell9953]

Sadly almost unobtainium...

[@cemsengul16]

It is meant for direct die applications though. Not good for a desktop CPU with a heat spreader.

[@kingdom9214]

@@cemsengul16 It works nearly identical to liquid metal in both cases. A CPU having an IHS makes almost difference to PTMs performance, as basically every high-end chip easily breaks the melting point of PTM. The only difference with a CPU that has an IHS is you will have higher idle/low power temps until it hits that melting threshold.

[@kevinmitchell766]

​​@@jonasduell9953It's really not. Just don't try to cheap out.

[@kevinmitchell766]

​@@kingdom9214Exactly, and that's only 45 degrees Celsius.

[@2009dudeman]

I got carried away writing this, but I had fun doing the math, so I let it go. The problem with the concept of liquid metal pastes, it essentially doesn't matter outside of benchmarking and scoring. Usually the limitation isn't the interface between the Integrated Heat Spreader and the cooler block. It's not like you have a paper thin gap you are trying to fill, often the gap is fractions that thickness. Thermal conductivity measurement is W/mK or Watt per meter-Kelvin. Essentially measuring how many watts of heat a 1 meter block of material will transfer per degree kelvin difference across the distance (1m) of block. So when you have to transfer heat across a fraction of a millimeter, that W/mK number doesn't matter as much if it's 4 like most realistic figures for paste, or 60 for liquid metal. For an intel 13900, with a 1mm gap between the IHS and cooler block (20 sheets of paper), standard Arctic MX-4 can transfer a theoretical 400W of energy at a 60 degree C differential. If you have that big a mounting gap, you don't need liquid metal, you need to fix your mounting. Taking the gap to a more reasonable 0.1mm or less turns that thermal transfer for standard Arctic MX-4 up to 4,000W. You will never hit that kind of power limit before you burn up the chip. You will also be bottlenecked by literally everything else in the system before the paste is an issue. Going to liquid metal so you can theoretically transfer 60,000W sounds cool, but it's really not a factor at all for 99% of applications. Reverse the equation, yes you can see improvement by using liquid metal. It can be statistically significant, but it's not practically significant. Using the same surface area and 0.1mm gap, if you put 1000W into the IHS with Arctic MX-4, you would see a temperature differential between the IHS and cooler block of 15 degrees. Yes, using liquid metal allows you to move that same 1kW with only a 1 degree differential. But there is no case where you are dropping 1kW from a processor outside of a crazy lab test. Maxing out the 13900k at something like 300W would give you a temp drop of 4.5 degrees between the IHS and cooler. Sure, going to liquid metal would give you a 0.3 degree temp drop. But thats not really where you are going to make up thermal headroom on your build. You are going to need a better cooler that can actually dissipate that heat long before your thermal paste matters. Yes there is more to the total system dissipation, and dropping even from 4 degrees to 1 degree between the IHS and cooler block can provide more than 4 degrees drop in die temp, sometimes even up to 10-15 degrees total reduction in die temp. As you are now moving the differential between the IHS and die closer to total system differential, which results in more dissipation from the die. But that doesn't really matter outside of 1% of use cases where you are pushing the actual limitations of the system where a couple degrees crashes the system. You aren't doing that for gaming, you are doing that for benchmarking without regard for killing the system. Just buy a good air/water cooler and you will keep 20-40 degrees thermal headroom on standard thermal paste. Or replace your old paste that has stopped working correctly, that also happens and people often attribute going to liquid metal as the reason for the improvement and not the fact they replaced 5 year old thermal paste. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed doing the math for it.

[@mattmurphy7030]

I enjoyed reading this

[@bob89901]

This is a great explanation, and brought back memories from my heat transfer class

[@danielshort118]

It matters for laptops

[@mattmurphy7030]

@@danielshort118 no, laptops are the same as desktops when it comes to transferring heat out of the cpu. The problem with laptops is they can’t exhaust enough heat because they don’t have room for high surface area coolers.

[@kezrees7120]

This was a really good read 👌🏻

[@brycehins206]

Would be nice if you actually showed it covering the cpu.

[@AG.Floats]

No way that's keeping that all contained when in a standard upright position for long enough

[@HolySweetPotato]

Isn’t that what’s happening with PS5s?

[@LegalStrawberry1]

​@@HolySweetPotato the ps5 has a sponge around the chip to keep the liquid metal fully contained even while right side up

[@HolySweetPotato]

@@LegalStrawberry1 I see! Thanks Larry!

[@TheFounderUtopia]

​@@LegalStrawberry1That suggests to me that if you have a PS5 you should never fuck with it's orientation, right? Because if it's not in the intended position it might not contain the liquid metal as efficiently?

[@Eduardesuper]

​@@TheFounderUtopiaThat used to be an issue yes, few ps5's that were stood up leaked the liquid metal, but with some tweaking they seem to have completely removed this issue since january 2022 as far as I'm aware.

[@poison7512]

Liquid metal. 10x the thermal conductivity. 1 degree difference in benchmarks. 90% you smoke your machine. Im all set thanks.

[@Ubeogesh]

with CPU the risk is minimal, the socket is quite far away from all the components. With GPU, just cover all the components near the die with some varnish for me the temp improvement was around 5.

[@TheChallengerXX]

Definitely more than 1 degree difference, but only if you delid the CPU. Otherwise yeah, you can only improve temps so much with changing TIMs.

[@PKperformanceEU]

Bullshit. Go back to school kiddo, lm works and I'm seeing big temp diffs on my laptop. Idle 10c, max load 40w more sustained power.

[@FrankOnline007]

On my laptop the difference was 15C. Just used thermal grizzly shielding for the die and i feel comfortable throwing it around in my bag all day

[@the_undead]

For some people, the performance improvement is worth the risk because if you're careful and you have a steady hand, it's not that hard to install flawlessly

[@fugginrambo]

I just laid a Silver-Dollar over my 12600K . Temps never go over 185 Celsius and its still worth a Buck.

[@v1ndit]

185 celsius? Wtf..

[@Gren4te]

@@v1ndittbh. Rambo is right, they never go over 185C 😂

[@Pharozos]

I hear gallium works even better.

[@Rivinwin]

Yo, good to know, I'm building a 12600k into a PC right now, I'll skip the cooler and save $40 👍

[@Quest-lore]

That’s good, I was worried about my cpu reaching 500 degree Celsius again and catching my house on fire

[@AxelTraynor]

Biggest issue with liquid metal is the gallium content not the fact it's conductive, if gallium touches anything with aluminum in it, its toast, the gallium will eat away at any metal that contains aluminum.

[@sethbettwieser]

Same thing with mercury IIRC, which is the liquid metal glob he first showed.

[@MrQuackcorn]

​@@sethbettwieser I was hoping someone would point this out and both of you did, as someone who did chemistry for 8 years, seeing him put either gallium or worse, mercury, on top of that CPU gave me a good damn heart attack. That CPU is fucked, even if they remove the visible liquid metal off of it, if even an atomic level of it is left on the surface (which, trust me, it is) it will corrode that CPU plate over time. Just look up mercury/gallium aluminium reactions and see what happens over time, there's a reason those substances cannot be transported via air mail without extreme precautions being taken

[@Blutwind]

​@@sethbettwieser Gallium and Mecury are very simmilar ik the way they look andgalium melts at 29°C. Using Mecury would be insane given that it would give off mecury vapors which are very toxic compared to Galium😅

[@IScreamAtCats33]

Thermal paste isn’t necessarily meant to conduct heat super well, it’s also meant to displace air which conducts heat horribly, ensuring good contact between the cold plate and the IHS.

[@Jordan-rb28]

Well, no, it is meant to. What's 100% is what it is supposed to do, and partially by the means of displacing air to have maximum conduction is a less misleading way to say it.

[@IScreamAtCats33]

@@Jordan-rb28 The word "partially" is very misleading there. What I'm trying to get across is that there is a balance between heat conductivity and ability to fill in voids. Modern thermal paste sacrifices heavily in the heat conductivity department to be extremely good at filling voids. Since, if heat conductivity was all we cared about, we'd just use the IHS and the cold plate. But we care a lot about filling voids, so we use silicone based compounds which have heat capacities a lot more similar to silicone than to metal.

[@SpecialEllio]

​@@Jordan-rb28not partially, it's entire existence is to fill the gaps between things that get hot and the things that cool the hot things

[@dracopug]

Its kind of a semantical argument but you have a point. Thermal paste kinda acts like a bridge, but its own thermal transfer is important, of course. Ideally if the cooler and the IHS have ZERO gap (air) between them it would be better than liquid metal because of direct transfer, but its practically impossible, especially at scale.

[@SpecialEllio]

@@dracopug it's not semantic, you can have all the conductivity in the world, but if it doesn't make contact with the other surface then it won't be transferred.

[@AJD...]

This is the dumbest idea I've ever heard of

[@Not0bito]

Explain why. Please. I need to see why this is "the dumbest idea"

[@JonChristiansen-nr1py]

Naysayers are not innovators

[@Not0bito]

@@JonChristiansen-nr1py Wild for someone to claim why something that is a fantastic idea by anyone with any knowledge on the subject matter is "the dumbest idea" and have absolutely nothing to say to explain why they think that.

[@p_nutt]

I take artic silver and create a thin border around the edge of the cpu, then fill the middle with liquid metal. It seems to work pretty well at keeping it where it needs to be.

[@s6nity]

@@Not0bitoPlastic

[@badpiggies988]

Not only that, the gallium is extremely destructive to aluminum and copper; all it takes is one hole in the oxide layer.

[@estebansingh9411]

Graphite pads have been out for a while. They perform better than normal paste, are solid and clean to apply, and since they dont decay or dry out, they keep their thermal properties. Best part is that they are at most $15 and last decades.

[@superlavahair1536]

i just searched up graphite pads and they only perform like paste at low temps when at heavy gaming temps they dont do well

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

@@superlavahair1536 Yeah, pads are good only when you dont want any of the mess of regular paste. Not breaking one or two in process however...these things are very fragile.

[@CTimmerman]

@@alexturnbackthearmy1907 The silicone pads that came with my MSI are about 3mm of silicone. The blue putty pad i put on top of the SSD later was fragile, but fills in the space between the chips better than the graphite pad i put on the bottom of the SSD and on top of the putty, making it look cool from the bottom grill as well.

[@TheIncognitusMe]

No, they are not better than normal paste. Nothing is better than normal paste. That's the benefit of paste -- it fills gaps. Graphite pads cannot fill gaps like paste can. It's solid.

[@Kidkosmos]

They don't do well at all. They're not good at transferring heat on the Y axis. Only X and Z and that's kind of useless for an air cooler. TIM still outperforms it

[@sham_shielded]

The Thermal Grizzly Kryosheet works great without any mess to clean.

[@martinkrauser4029]

fam if you need liquid metal then a Kryosheet will ABSOLUTELY NOT work great

[@josefpavlat8551]

​@@martinkrauser4029whoever NEEDS to use liquid metal should be skilled enough to know how to apply it. 98% of people would benefit from the Kryosheet pretty well.

[@bradhaines3142]

that sheet is only decent, not great. does prevent mess though

[@an_easy_name_to_remember4749]

The problem with liquid metal is the gallium, it eats through a lot of the copper water blocks, dust, turning on liquid into a grime that doesn’t conduct much at all

[@KrotowX]

It eats basically everything metalic, turnit id into useless amalgam. A nightmare of any repairman. Though usually boards damaged by this concoction can work only as donor boards and even then with caution.

[@BaieDesBaies]

It doesn't eat copper though. Don't use it with aluminium interface but it's ok for copper or nickel-plated coolers.

[@an_easy_name_to_remember4749]

@@BaieDesBaies hmmm, it doesn’t eat copper? (Respectfully said): Then what is happening to my copper water block? Every time I’ve used LM and I take my block off there’s a stain and black like stuff on it?

[@BaieDesBaies]

@@an_easy_name_to_remember4749 It's just a stain. It creates a surface protection, don't remove the stain.

[@an_easy_name_to_remember4749]

@@BaieDesBaies based on what ya commented and did some research. In short, you’re right. Found some vids from Gamer Nexus and said exactly what you said. Appreciate the help. 👍

[@thedepression950]

Just make a square with thermal paste and put the liquid metal in the middle.

[@ShazzzMazzz]

I was thinking the same idea

[@dundermifflinity]

Yeah, and it doesn’t melt like plastic

[@hamzacasdasdasd]

Meanwhile plastic starts to melt and you know your motherboard screwed

[@IftiChan]

I was here to find a content like this😂😂

[@minimonkeyplay]

You would need a plastic with a high melting point maybe one over 110C but then most of those are rigid plastics.

[@23le09pha]

knowledge people will find your comment and teach you how it work🤓

[@landrelalonde3402]

This is why I always said that people use to much thermal paste. The paste is only there to fill the air gaps, not to replace metal to metal contact.

[@GewelReal]

But the contact between the IHS and cooler is often far from perfect and you're actually using too little paste then

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

@@jordan-mn6yy That where you are COMPLETELY wrong. Perfect metal-to-metal contact would move heat dozens of times better then regular paste, even LM doesnt provide as much termal conductivity - tho still better then paste by a mile. The only problem is - metal surfaces *are imperfect* this is only reason why any thermal compound even exist - to fill tiny gaps on metal surface that you cant see without some good microscope.

[@bradhaines3142]

​@@alexturnbackthearmy1907any amount thats too much gets squeezed out by mounting pressure. i dont think you understand the level of imperfect of the contact point. the past has to make a thin coating entirely across, otherwise it wont have proper heat transfer. yeah you're right metal transfers heat way better, but unless both sides are machined to almost glass level of flatness, and then mated together for the inevitable imperfections, they wont have the contact needed to replace thermal paste.

[@16driver16]

Did you not see the part of the video where the glass spreads the paste? Used alot and it didn't even cover the whole CPU

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

@@bradhaines3142 Exactly. Its impossible to make perfect surface (without some very expensive techniques), and in mass production it can easily have 0.1-0.5mm height difference, then there is uneven pressure from cooler, paste moving around as it gets hot...but if you fine with losing some efficiency metal-to-metal isnt that bad (appropriate mounting for cooler, it will need to be a tight fit, sanded to be even for maximizing contact area and removing big gaps).

[@zdspider6778]

Thermal paste? Real homies use toothpaste.

[@BILIVIOx]

Bold of you to assume my room temperature is not 40° Celsius

[@jugulartheninja]

I have always used and will continue to use silver infused silicone thermal paste My wife did point out while watching this video that you could put a thin layer of silicone paste around the outside of the ihs and then the liquid metal in the middle so as to achieve the same function without the goofy plastic tag

[@mRibbons]

There are also frames one can purchase. They sit snuggly around the cpu preventing overflow and can help thermal transference. It does require a very simple socket mod tho.

[@rock-afire-fan]

When you discover that gallium is solid at room temp and liquid when warm lol

[@kemloorkavarian4461]

I was actually wondering if that was gallium they were using. Wouldnt want it near any aluminum components though, as gallium destroys aluminum

[@bengrogan9710]

​@@kemloorkavarian4461long term there are risk indications for copper too

[@Unethical.Dodgson]

There are a few metals that are liquid at reasonable temperatures but Gallium is one of the worst you can introduce to tech. (Kemloor is correct, of course.)

[@sleepytubbs9405]

​@@Unethical.Dodgsonbeeswax

[@rock-afire-fan]

@Unethical.Dodgson mix lithium and sodium together, and you get a nice liquid metal alloy just dont take it swimming

[@kris2501100]

LM pads were used a long time ago... Coollaboratory pads were there at least 10 years ago. Nowadays PTM7950 are more popular for laptops.

[@Arcademan09]

The PS5 uses something similar to this. It's a horrifying idea

[@Encrypt-o]

Looking for this comment. Exactly! That's why you shouldn't place it standing up, that shit melts down and leaks to circuit board. Saw some horrifying examples of it and using it laid down since then

[@StijnNLDutch]

@@Encrypt-owell luckily my ps5 already is laying down, but doesn’t it have a sponge around it to prevent spilling ?

[@julianxgreat]

@@StijnNLDutch yes it does

[@Willie6785]

@@StijnNLDutch somehow needing to have a sponge around it makes me want to risk using it vertically even less lmao

[@Jesus.Christ106]

ive used my ps5 for 3+ years standing and nothing ever happend and iirc it was debunked but as soon as i heard that back in January, i still put it laying down...just to be sure lol

[@kitsunemiles638]

Honestly I just recommend the Thermal Grizzly graphite pads to people who want to build their own PC but get scared of adding the paste, it's clean, easy to apply, and doesn't require any replacement due to time as it doesn't degrade, unlike thermal pastes. If you choose the crush style pads you can get heat transfer roughly the same as the best pastes out there, and the pads have the added bonus of completely removing the concern of hotspots as the heat travels horizontally far faster than any paste and thus spreads the heat across the entire heatsink interface to improve heat transfer.

[@asm2750]

Been using their graphene pads for a few months now and it works. No more messes or worrying about liquid metal on parts.

[@VITAS874]

Yeah, what about temperature?

[@sorejack]

@@VITAS874 your kidding right? you can use graphite pulled from batteries to built a mini arcsmelter to melt down steel. ttemp is not a problem.

[@VITAS874]

@@sorejack with grizzly it is.

[@leifcelusta6651]

This is really cool! Likely the phase changer is using bismuth as its substrate. Which is non-toxic. Unlike liquid metal compound using gallium; Which is highly antagonistic to aluminum and tin. It'll unseat your SMDs if it contacts the motherboard.

[@3of12]

Are you saying this actually works with aluminum heatsinks? That's actually quite the innovation

[@trukr817]

This has been around for years now. To get the stuff to melt, you have to work the cpu with no cooling, like turn the pump off or cover the cooler with a bag. It works very well, but not something you want to use on any PGA equipment, it's hard to remove the cooler/water block. Even on an LGA, it's recommended to get it a bit hot to make it let go. I have one I got for an i7 2600K, and never got around to using because my custom loop was already doing well, still have it though.

[@BrettLucas-k8b]

Be careful if there is any aluminum in your system at all. If the galium touched the aluminum, it would corrode it. Not only that, but galium can remove the oxidization layer on the aluminum, which could produce hydrogen gas if any water or condensation touches it. Honestly, those facts alone don't concern me as much as the fact that galium acts like water and is very difficult to 'smoosh'. So you would be getting this metal everywhere. Plus, galium melts at temperatures higher than 83°F. So you could cause a lot of damage by leaving your hardware in the sun too long.

[@poseidongodofthesea6235]

i think most people use silver paste because of this

[@thegoldenatlas753]

Gallium doesn't corrode aluminum. It combines with the aluminum to create a very brittle alloy. The oxide layer actually prevents gallium from doing so as easily.

[@starbricks4996]

🤓

[@louiesatterwhite3885]

You can protect neighboring components from liquid metal contact with kapton tape or clear nail polish.

[@Aidan_Neff]

Gallium destroys aluminum by forming an alloy with it.

[@nikix-yt]

If its solid at room temp. There will be a gap during installation. And when it melts the will have a slight wiggle so it won’t be seated properly

[@ISuckUnderPressure]

That’s why most head spreaders are spring loaded and not mounted purely based off the tension the bolt/screws provide. It allows for thermal expansion as well as the softening of any paste you apply. The same thing you’re talking about happens with regular thermal paste too. It’ll get a lot more runny when it’s hot.

[@dLikesDDs]

theres some tension on the cpu from the cooler which would account for that when up to temperature

[@havocking9224]

the metal paste also makes an interesting rough texture on the heatspreader and heatsink, sometimes quite deep

[@retekfekete7807]

Just use transparent nail polish for being protected parts of the motherboard. And dont forget deliding process under te core heatsink cap!!

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

And most important part - apply *enough* of it. Not like your regular paste, literally just a few drops.

[@Morberis]

You can also buy conformal coating either in a spray can or in a jar like nail polish. This is exactly the sort of thing it was designed for.

[@DimKanGr]

Use the silicone on the outside to stop liquid metal from running outwards.

[@tekusergal6511]

It will just push its way through the thermal paste there is a video of someone testing it that way

[@PYROof404]

Just dont use too much...

[@fatalz3276]

Then the hot liquid metal will touch the cooled silicon. The silicon will heat up and eventually melt letting the metal through.

[@FabledGentleman]

@@fatalz3276No, silicone can deal with temperature over double that of what a CPU is even able to reach before it throttles.

[@HazeCake]

you literally showed it doesnt fucking work, and then say its future? :D

[@Alfred-Neuman]

Come on! Don't be a pussy... Real men are using pure mercury and we just cross our fingers we don't get a bluescreen in the middle of a competitive match.

[@Alex-d3l9b]

He showed it starting to melt.

[@Soccerrockker6]

​@@Alex-d3l9balso showed how poorly it spreads, making an extremely uneven surface to transfer heat. The last snippet kind of implies that the metal doesn't stick to the CPU well, either. So no, doesn't seem to work.

[@fabianhwnd6265]

​@Soccerrockker6 it is better tho I use it in my laptop

[@wtcamer]

The surface has to be super clean and it needs some heat. Liquid metal works super good, but it's annoying to get applied to start with. I use it and once you get it started then it's easy, but that cpu looked like it was just wiped clean of previous silicon. It has to be super clean.

[@xander22777]

I've seen some people have like a foam thing around their CPU because they have like absurdly good coolers and they would form condensation otherwise. So like that foam thing could be very useful and you can probably just use regular liquid metal at that point

[@KingScuba]

Been around for over 10 years. Just never caught on because it's like 15 bucks per application. That said, used it for about 8 years straight without ever changing it, worked perfectly. Brand is indigo Xtreme. IF you decide to buy and install it, you have to do a few extra hoops on install, unlike normal thermal paste. Make sure your cpu is laying flat, and any fans/pumps are turned off, then do a CPU torture test. You'll know it's done right when your cpu instantly drops by like 50c even without the fans. Then just do a quick extra screw down on all 4 corners of the cpu heatsink to make sure you didn't get a gap when it melted.

[@Toxic2T]

thats a pain in the butt

[@Geheimnis-c2e]

​@Islykidsthe butt

[@everx7]

11yrs now and didnt change LM, simply no need, temps remained the same more or less. Air cooled cpu so if it gets a bit more dusty, temps rise few C up, after cleaning all back in normal. Sure its risky, but i think if u dont plan to change cpu at any time soon, its worth more then swapping regularly for the regular

[@mattferrigno9750]

Isn't it suppose to cover the full die of the chip and not just the upper corner??

[@Pepesmall]

Lol i think you're supposed to melt it with the heatsink on to flatten it out

[@Nickgaming44]

Metal comes with good electrical conductors 💀, so we can't use directly metal paste but as you described we can use metal paste in a right way. Also in future we will get some metal based paste for more efficiency of removing heat from cpu 🙂.

[@cometor1]

Viscosity is important as well. Noctuas thermal paste is worse at conducting heat but still conducts more heat because it has the perfect viscosity for the cooler. It fills all the air gaps.

[@derekyam1805]

I had a sheep mentality and went with thermal grizzly's kryonaut cuz everyone said its the best. I then repasted a month later with noctua nth2, I didn't see a difference.

[@zero451208]

...did this mf just say to put a piece of plastic around my CPU?

[@johnnychcr]

"Ohh look it's a metal submarine.... I bet I can make a submarine out of bread."

[@plumbthumbs9584]

i'll bet i can make one out of your mom.

[@zxphvr]

worst analogy ever

[@amansavant707]

Maybe in the future the cpu lid itself will have a slight curvature to hold the liquid metal and closed off by the heatsink

[@eabreua985]

Legend said that he is still trying to get the liquid metal to the processor

[@stephenjacks8196]

Boron Nitride conducts heat like Diamond and doesn't conduct electricity

[@medo-qh2ww]

What is the music in the background ??

[@edgenull]

YESSS I WANNA KNOWWW TOOOOOOO

[@holeyguy66]

I’ve used this brand once. The way it was applied via instructions. Is to place it then install your cooler rather water block or air cooler then disable cooler and use speed fan to watch the cpu go into thermal then shut the system down. Once system cools remove cooler and remove plastic. Notice I said I used it once. It’s great works great. But you gotta reach down and grab you marbles and hope for the best.

[@k42uy4]

This is the dumbest, most impractical shit in my life

[@Chris-yr6io]

The PS5 uses liquid metal

[@bansh3ee]

@@Chris-yr6io and I've used liquid metal years ago without this bullshit sticker

[@Shultzy]

Fr 😂

[@ultimatexecutioner8260]

DEHHH CPU CONDOM DEHHH

[@Pidalin]

As a someone who is building computers for almost 20 years, I 100% agree. Just by a proper cooler with flat surface and use normal paste. Liquid metal makes difference only when cooler or CPU is not flat and it has bad contact. The best thing ever would be if producers of CPUs and coolers were able to make it perfectly flat and you would use no paste.

[@greendude0420]

Phase changing like Hughies Dad 💀

[@nevla.]

Vertically mounted CPUs are laughing right now

[@Simqer]

I believe we should have CPU's in a form factor that would prevent the liquid from spilling, basically a lip at the edge. Aside from that, as another user here mentioned, used tiny amounts of thermal paste at the edges to box in the liquid. I can't attest if it is foolproof, so you can go ahead and test it. Another way would be to mount the motherboard with the face down and have the cooler have a lip itself, this way no liquid will escape.

[@luca._..-.]

Another trick: use gallium as termal paste, he is very healty for your motherboard 💪💪 (Please don't do that 💀💀)

[@dale117]

For even better thermal performance, make sure to mix some aluminum foil in with the gallium as well!

[@KrotowX]

Aluminium powder with ammonium nitrate works well too.

[@alexpojoga7272]

Petition for mryeester to use solder as thermal paste 👇

[@naclcube6558]

Ah. Yes. Just casually rub gallium on your aluminum heatsink. Rip.

[@foamyadampower7105]

I hope this goes mainstream

[@Calandron1]

A ~10 thou thick sheet of indium metal is a tried-n-true alternative that seems like a better alternative. Indium is soft enough so as to conform to the surface inperfections of the two faces, and creates an almost perfect, fully metalic interface, with no risk of liquid metal damage. And indium has an 86 W/mK thermal conductivity, higher than either of these a decent margin.

[@ISuckUnderPressure]

It’s expensive and requires a really high mounting pressure to work properly. Higher than most consumer grade electronics can handle. We used to use indium heat springs in our immersion ready server blades because it wouldn’t be effected by the immersion fluids we used. We ended up switching to a PCTIM by laird. It’s basically a solid version of your typical thermal paste. It’s solid at room temperature and is sold in really thin sheets with a plastic film that you have to remove from both sides. Once you apply it to the chip, mount the heatsink, and power the system on, it melts and finishes spreading and filling the voids. It results in a VERY thin and extremely even spread of thermal interface material. It performs extremely close to liquid metal tim, without any of the risks involved. Pretty neat stuff. I’m surprised it hasn’t gained popularity in the consumer market. It’s super cheap, super easy to apply too, no more guessing if you put too much or too little. Simply measure your chip, subtract 20% off the length and width and cut your sheet to that size. Center it on the chip and apply your heatsink. It will spread to fill the remaining 20% that you subtracted from the size of the die, every single time.

[@TiSapph]

Yeah that stuff is great! I've even seen it as "liquid metal" version (InGa alloy probably) which gets applied as a thin sheet and melts into place.

[@Roach_Dogg_JR]

Can I just say it’s awesome to see people talking about such highly technical stuff in the comments. I wish to be as smart as u guys one day.

[@theantipope4354]

Indium is also insanely expensive.

[@ChrisMckay-c2r]

Love this

[@Johnny_C137]

How much better would it perform than diamond dust thermal paste?

[@ManuFortis]

About 3-4 times better based on the conductivity of heat comparatively. Normal pastes don't exceed 15W/mK, while liquid metal sits in the 40-60W/mK range. But you're probably wondering what that translates into for thermals. About 10-20 degrees cooler than any thermal paste, including your diamond stuff. Maybe cooler than 20 degrees even, but your mileage will vary depending the cooler used, ambient temps, competence in general. Etc.

[@Johnny_C137]

@@ManuFortis You're answering based on normal thermal paste... I asked about thermal paste with literal diamond dust infused in it.

[@ManuFortis]

@@Johnny_C137 C137, doesn't matter. It's still well below liquid metal conductivity. Forgive me if I seem rude, just read through, thanks. That diamond dust infused stuff literally is just normal silicone thermal paste... with diamond dust mixed in. It's spec page I am looking at literally lists it as being 4.5W/mK. So it's literally one of the worst. How they get away with the false advertising they use when looking it up where it claims to be 2000-2500W/mK, I don't know how they get away with that. It claims to be better than pure silver at 406-429W/mK. And I've used it before, back when I believed their BS. Hence why I didn't need to be specific with you about it. I actually know what I am talking about, unlike the general majority of arm chair know it alls on the internet. Here it is from their own website: "Key Specifications Thermal Conductance: 4.5 W/m-K (data acquired with an ASTM D - 5470 thermal interface test instrument)" With thermal pastes, the only number that truly matters is the W/mK number. Everything else depends on specific use case, like using different thicknesses for different types of cooling setups. But that's mostly due to drying out, etc stuff like that. Where they might be getting some head room for their results is the Thermal Resistance: 0.25oC-cm2/W@ 100 µ BLT Here is Thermal Grizzly's Conductonaut for comparison. Thermal conductivity: 73W/mk Thermal resistance: 0.0021 K/W Both numbers are incredibly better for heat transfer. The only down side to liquid metal is that ultimately it is conductive with electricity as well, and so you gotta be super careful with where you put it, let it get to, etc. Containment is everything.

[@kswong8757]

​@@Johnny_C137he did say including your diamond stuff tho

[@Johnny_C137]

@kswong8757 His assessment lined up with the numbers I found for regular thermal paste vs. liquid metal on Google...

[@NeoTheatre]

Sweet! I'm gonna use this on all my electronics that are exposed to a lot of bumps/vibrations!

[@st33lsh0tz]

You could do a super tiny dot of it surrounded by thermal paste, spreads the metal but the thermal paste keeps it enclosed

[@quatreraberbawinner2628]

This seems like a good idea and as far as i know it is

[@ToolCraze]

Sounds like a good idea but you can also trap air and we know air is a terrible thermal conductor

[@prashantyerpude5674]

I think that's a bad idea, there will be a heat difference between the metal of the cpu touching the paste and the metal of the cpu touching the liquid metal could cause it to bend. Idk please correct me lol

[@gianlucaolano5341]

Basically the idea of the PS5 liquid metal, seems like a good plan on paper.

[@st33lsh0tz]

@@ToolCraze you risk that no matter what, especially if the surface has high borders in general

[@amineharbili4833]

Nice

[@SodiumEx]

It's not the motherboard people are worried about. It's the cpu

[@AngryDraconequus1]

These days enthusiast grade motherboards are literally more expensive than the CPU's themselves. And there ain't no way anyone is using liquid metal unless they're doing custom water cooling with some extensive overclocking and you would definitely want a high end motherboard for that.

[@zydeox1221]

​@@AngryDraconequus1 ppl on a budget don't care about a top of the line motherboard I bought a shitty 80€ motherboard I don't even know the name of and got my R5 5600x for 300 when it released, my pc never had any issues because everything is stable and well put together.

[@Rivinwin]

It may not be relevant, but getting liquid metal on your mb can kill your CPU depending on what shorts, they're intrinsically connected once installed.

[@ISuckUnderPressure]

Ehhh no. Your motherboard is at risk just as much as your cpu is when using liquid metal. Even your gpu is at risk if you don’t know what you’re doing and apply too much.

[@swe872]

people on a budget wouldnt even consider using liquid metal lol, whats your point?@@zydeox1221

[@johnroanfallega-dg2ci]

Car poster 😎, really cool! I also notice in your video title, your iOS is spelled wrong. But your video is great!

[@pasanaator9874]

Another issue with liquid metals is corrosion, especially on aluminium due to it being a highly reactive metal and forming an amalgamate with the commonly used gallium. On copper the corrosion could happen on other more reactive metals like the metal thermal paste itself, aluminium parts on the cooler and even the IHS.

[@JeckNoTree]

The plastic (lower heat conductivity) litterly negating the effect of the "phasechange metal" when if can prevent the leakage of the metal in a molten phase, and if not its not more secure than just dumping the liquid metal onto the CPU would have the same effect. (not worth it.)

[@alltheboost5363]

I've been running liquid metal in both of my computers for about a year and a half and if you use the right techniques and precautions it's pretty safe. I use liquid electrical tape around the CPU socket and then I get fish tank filtering media..... it's black and squishy and I cut out square and then I put it around the CPU... So that way if any liquid metal leaks it's caught by that media and then if it gets past that then the liquid electrical tape stops the rest.

[@lcortese]

easy solution: put a close circle with common thermal compound, and finally put a bit of metal compound in the center. when the block push the compounds, the common compound will keep the metal inside. you are welcome

[@MrHeHim]

when talking about silicon based thermal paste i think silicon is only there for encapsulating the thermally conductive material which is in the form of small particulates that outside of the silicon would be dust

[@LordAziki]

From my understanding, that plastic would insulate heat, and thermal paste would still be needed to fill the air gaps between it and something that disperses heat. The liquid metal simply has far less surface area for the heat to go to than a heat sync, and liquid metals don't tend to get close to solid aluminum's 200+ Watts per meter-Kelvin of thermal conductivity.

[@EmilioLeotta]

A raised edge on the processor lid, just outside the dissipator contact area would achieve the same, and be kept on permanently, avoiding spills.

[@digiaprotogencalledl4378]

Maybe surround the metal with thermal paste as a barrier to stop it messing with other components?

[@joelo4372]

Also instead of a electrical powered cooling fan use a conductive fan that runs off the heat. Minimize the usage of electricity that causes heat and a fan that constantly cools at a regulated temp

[@fafflerproductions]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but thermal paste is technically worse at transferring heat than the metal touching the cooler. But there's a lot of areas where contact is not made between the cooler and CPU due to small gaps. Think of a painting a wall with a roller, you have to get a spot multiple times because not every spot of the roller touches the wall. But thermal paste fills those small gaps between the CPU and the cooler to make it more efficient. That's also why too much thermal paste makes your temps worse. Because it's worse than the normal connection

[@cobralyoner]

I don’t understand how that makes anything better

[@Cyb3rs34l]

Put rtv sealant around the cpu then put on your liquid metal. Rtv sealant can withstand crazy temps and lots of toxic chemicals.

[@diegoX6Turbo]

I can hear the explosion 💥 after that plastic failing to retain the liquid

[@raughboy188]

metal cooling paste is galium alloy called gallistan and it should not be used if heatsink is made of alluminum because galistan will react with alluminum and slowly destroy it in same way as mercury but mercury reacts unlike galistan very violently with aluminum. If your heatsink is made out of copper then and only then you can use metal thermal paste otherwise avoid it.

[@perhapsbutmaybe]

Could you use both? Use thermal paste on the borders and liquid metal in the middle.