Thermalright has launched its Heilos Thermal Pad for Intel and AMD processors that offers a fast and easy way for novices to repaste their CPUs when changing coolers.
Not to be confused with Thermal Grizzly’s Carbonaut or regular VRAM thermal pads, Heilos is seemingly a normal electrically non-conductive liquid paste that is viscous enough to stay in a predefined size, meaning it should make application easy for even the non-initiated.
Looking at the pictures, application does seem to be straightforward; place the pad and peel the protective plastic. We would even say it’s easier than a regular thermal pad, as these tend to have a transparent cover that is hard to see. We assume the pad will ‘melt’ following the CPU’s first run, thus filling any micro-voids, as does a normal liquid paste.
Thermalright offers two pad sizes to suit different CPU formats – an elongated one measuring 30mm x 40mm x 0.2mm for Intel chips and a square measuring 40mm x 40mm x 0.2mm for AMD. To be more specific, there’s support for Intel’s LGA 115X/1200/1700 plus AMD’s AM4 and AM5 sockets.
Either way, when it comes to specs, the brand announces identical figures for both formats, leading to 8.5W/mk thermal conductivity, 0.04°Ccm2/W, thermal resistance, and 2.1×10¹⁴ Ω·cm resistivity. In other words, the same material is cut in two sizes to suit each brand’s CPU IHS, meaning that nothing is stopping you from using the AMD version on an Intel CPU if, let’s say, you change the platform and have one of these laying around.
Note that comparing numbers between different brands can be misleading, as Der8auer explained in a video with Gamers Nexus. The best way to find out which one to choose is still the good old reviews. What is sure is, no matter what, these still conduct heat better than toothpaste.
Needless to say, this idea is nothing new, because for a long time we had similar products, but mainly used for repasting laptops, albeit with varying levels of quality. Now desktops can also enjoy hassle-free maintenance, even though for most, liquid paste does the job just fine. The choice is yours.
