m17 R4, is ARCTIC MX-5 a good thermal paste?

MX-5 is an excellent thermal paste. I have used it and MX-4 for all of my home builds and have never has any temperature issues.

Hi @Devileyes 

Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme Thermal Paste is probably the best thermal compound. Its thermal conductivity is 14.2 W/mK. The operating temperature of this thermal paste is -250ºC / +350ºC, which makes it the best thermal paste for both Traditional Overclocking and Sub-Zero Overclocking. The thermal paste is greyish in colour and is electrically non-conductive and also non-capacitive. It is also a long-lasting thermal paste and has no curing time. It can be applied to both aluminium and copper heatsinks.

Its competitor is the Thermalright TF8 Thermal Paste. Its thermal conductivity is 13.8 W/mK. The operating temperature of this thermal paste is -250ºC to +380ºC. The thermal paste can be used for CPU, GPU and for Overclocking, including Sub-zero Overclocking. It has no curing time and it delivers the performance right from the go. 

thank you for the suggestions, i will look into it

@crimsomHi, sorry to bother you again, but i was just reading online that new alienware laptops are using liquid metal for their thermal paste. So i was wondering if "Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme Thermal Paste" is a better solution than the one already used?

I've bought this thermal paste yesterday upon your suggestions, but i just want to double check

thank you

Hi @Devileyes happy to assist. For Alienware m17 R4 users, I advocate getting high thermal transfer conductivity, inert, long-lasting thermal paste that has no curing time, so that there are many years of use between repasting. 

There are many enthusiasts that already use liquid metal paste and can afford to buy a new gaming PC every 6 to 12 months in the search for extreme performance. If you are not one of these people, avoid liquid metal thermal pastes, they require repasting every six months and liquid metal mobility potentially short circuits (destroys) other components on the motherboard. Also avoid taking the lid off the CPU in search for extreme performance. 

There are other Dell gaming PCs that are starting to use new technology to remove the typical 45W of heat created within 11th and 12th generation Intel CPUs. There are also many other CPU OEMs that provide high performance without excessive heat. Processing technology keeps evolving and this type of CPU will become obsolete in the near future. 

Is this still your recommendation in June of 2023?  I want to change the paste on my Alienware M17 R4, I7 10870, 3070, I bought new in 2021.  I figured a couple years of heavy use on the factory installed paste was enough and my temps are starting to creep up even with a thorough cleaning every 6 months.

Hi @Shown1964 yes, this continues to be my thermal paste recommendation for the Alienware m17 R4. Thank you for asking. 

I notice you are also looking at my response to Re: How Dell proving that they are using Element 13 thermal paste on X series for their customer? - Dell Community. Please be aware that the X series has a recessed pocket in their CPU lid to accommodate the Element 31 encapsulated gallium-silicone pad and a heatsink seal to prevent damaging migration (leak) of liquid metal onto the system board (aka motherboard). 

Thank you for your response @crimsom !  I would be terrified of frying my machine with LM, I was just reading out of curiosity, thanks for your concern.

I plan on using the thermal grizzly kryonaut extreme when I re-paste my M17 R4 in a couple weeks. Thank you so much for your help!

Hi @crimsom is the thermal paste recommendation still same in October as i remember the laptop uses cryo-tech cooling technology to keep the thermals down and laptop effective moreover,  is it correct to assume that using same thermal paste on GPU is also fine and i do not have to buy another one.

I have been using m15 R6(Intel i7 11th gen) from past 1.5- 2 years now there are few things which i am facing troubles with:

My touchpad automatically starts/stops working and there's nothing i am sure i can do, i thought because its faulty but seems like cable issue for it is it possible to buy a new cable to check and if its not getting resolved i would eventually go and buy a new trackpad replacement.

I see thermals go high laptop do not stutter but still feels weird touching the keyboard when the laptop is super hot.

Hi @vharsh10​ thank you for sharing question about repasting the Alienware m15 R6 (5/18/2021) laptop. Alienware M15 R6 Changing Thermal Paste - YouTube. The same thermal paste is usually used on both CPU and GPU. Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme Thermal Paste is probably the best thermal compound. Cryo-tech cooling technology is not used on your Alienware m15 R6 laptop, but on Alienware’s x15 and x17 gaming laptops. 

Trouble with touchpad might be in response to swollen battery which is located beneath touchpad. Shop Dell Alienware m15 R6 Replacement Parts List (parts-people.com). 

The Alienware m15 R6 laptop review: More efficient, but the RTX 3080 is slower than in the predecessor - NotebookCheck.net Reviews review says "Under heavy stress, the surfaces on the top and bottom can reach temperatures of around 60 °C (140 °F), which is definitely not suited anymore for operation on one's lap. While gaming, the temperature around the WASD keys still reaches a cosy 40 - 45 °C (104 - 113 °F), but at least the palm rests remain relatively cool." 

Hi @crimsom thanks i have used the one suggested buy you. I also checked i had m15 r6 3070 intel variant and dell claimed they are using cryo-tech technology to help keep the systems cool.

Could you also please guide me i have been facing 2 issues recently 

1. The touchpad issue is still persisting i have checked the battery is absolutely fine it’s not swollen at all and the touchpad sometimes works flawlessly sometimes it does not could be because of the wire?

2. Few days back i felt system was getting a little hot so i open the system and i cleaned all my vents and fans suddenly after that my keyboards backlit stopped working i thought it could because of command center or some fx related issue but today after i changed the thermal paste i re downloaded and re installed command center but still no effect can you please guide me how do i resolve this issue when I press caps lock key that small white light gets toggled on but this keyboard backlit is not working at all please help me and try to end this situation once and for all?

Hi @vharsh10​ thank you for sharing update. In response to your post's cryo-tech cooling content, the current Alienware m15 R6 pdf documentation has been searched and fails to mention the cryo-tech technology cooling update. An internet search found What Is Alienware Cryo Tech Technology?(2 Main Products) (instantlobby.com) and Dell online adverts for the retrospective (2020) Alienware m15/m17 Cryo-tech cooling design. Alienware m15 R3 Cryo-tech cooling design gets thumbs up - Laptop - News - HEXUS.net. 

I am running out of time, Questions 1 & 2 will be addressed during my next visit. 

Sure, thanks for your info i will wait for your response!  

Hi Guys , I a have been using m15 r6 Intel i7 11800H 16 GB  ram RTX 3070 and after using Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme Thermal Paste a game like FIFA 23 was working fine earlier but now within 15-20 mins of playing time the laptop shuts down automatically and i do not know what is going wrong but since I have only used a different thermal paste.

Please help as what can be done in this case.

@vharsh10​ Bro, did you find a reason for your laptop shutting down? If yes, please tell me, and also how was it resolved. If you could resolve it.