Tuniq TX-2 Review

Makaveli - 2008-01-25 23:12:21 in Cooling
Category: Cooling
Reviewed by: Makaveli   
Reviewed on: February 3, 2008
Price: $3.99

Introduction:

With today's processors running so hot, it's imperative that overclockers have the best thermal compound applied to their processors. Without a direct connection between the processor and the heatsink, your temperatures would be much higher. So in order to ensure the best direct connection, we need the best thermal compound available. Most overclockers have heard of Artic Cooling MX-2 and the wonders it works when applied to processors. There has to be something better out there, doesn't there? Who would we look to first? How about a manufacturer of one of the best heatsinks available? Tuniq, world renown for its heatsinks, has released its all new TX-2 high performance thermal grease.

Let's see if this Tuniq TX-2 high performance thermal grease can prove itself when pushed to the limit and how it holds up when facing off against relentless competition. Will the TX-2 come out on top? Can it knock off the reigning Artic Cooling MX-2? Join me as I investigate.

 

Closer Look:

The Tuniq TX-2 high performance thermal grease comes packaged in a plastic wrapper that can be easily opened. You'll find the specifications on the syringe of TX-2 once you take it out of the package. The syringe is very similar to other popular thermal compounds on the market.

 

 

Applying the Tuniq TX-2 high performance thermal grease is next on the list so let's go ahead and do that.

Installation:

Installing Tuniq TX-2 is very similar to other thermal compounds. First, power down your machine, unplug your power supply, and take off the side panel of your case. Remove your heatsink and set it aside. Thoroughly clean the processor and heatsink so that there is no remaining thermal compound. I always use 90% alcohol and a Q-Tip to clean the processor and heastink. After both are clean, you can apply TX-2 in a number of ways. You can apply a pea-sized dot in the middle of the processor, draw a line, or spread TX-2 on the processor. Personally, I put a pea-sized dot in the middle of my processor and seated my heatsink on the processor. I then rotated the heatsink a few degrees in each direction to help spread the TX-2. Once you have applied the TX-2 and your heatsink is securely attached, plug in your power supply and turn on your computer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Specifications:

Appearance
Grey
Viscosity
285000 cP
Thermal Conductivity
4.5W/mK
Operating Temperature
-45C ~ 200C
Specific Gravity
 3.96 @ 25C
Volume
3.5g

Testing:

To test the Tuniq TX-2 thermal grease, I'll be applying it to my Intel Q6600 G0 processor. The Thermaltake V1 heatsink is the heatsink that will be used for all of the tests. I allowed each thermal compound to cure for 24 hours before I tested its idle and load temperatures. The Q6600 was overclocked to 3.0GHz from the stock 2.4GHz. I set the VCORE to 1.28v to achieve the 3.0GHz overclock. All tests are in Celsius so lower is better in every test.

Test System:

Comparison Thermal Compound:

The stock speeds were recorded in Celsius; lower is better.

 

The CPU was overclocked to 3.0GHz from its native 2.4GHz. The results are in Celsius, so lower is better.

 

The Tuniq TX-2 did slightly better than each of the other thermal compounds.

Conclusion:

A few degrees less for a few dollars less is how I would sum up Tuniq's TX-2 high performance thermal grease. It performed the best in all of the tests by a few degrees. A few degrees is significant to overclockers because we need to keep our temperatures down as low as possible to be able to overclock the furthest. Also, this TX-2 is a couple of dollars cheaper than Artic Cooling MX-2 and it performs better! Installing the TX-2 was very simple to do and if you've ever installed thermal compound before, you'll have no problem installing this. If you want a few degrees less for a few dollars less than the leading competitors, you definitely need to purchase some of Tuniq's TX-2 high performance thermal grease.

 

Pros:

 

Cons: