Nail polish-like thermal paste could revolutionise CPU cooling

Better than ketchup.

Thermal paste on a desktop CPU.

A German company is supposedly working on a new type of thermal paste with an evaporative component. The idea is to leave only the metallic bits between the cooler and the chip to improve conductivity.

The search for the best thermal interface is nothing new. While some computer enthusiasts pay a premium for high-quality pastes to cool their chips as much as possible, others try weird solutions that involve ketchup and toothpaste.

This also is not the first time we’ve seen a company trying different thermal interface designs. Notably, we have Thermalright with its Heilos thermal pad, which aims to facilitate application, plus Thermal Grizzly with its KryoSheet Graphene pads and Conductonaut liquid metal.

According to Igor’s lab, this German brand is preparing a revolutionary solution capable of changing how we cool our machines. You can reportedly apply the thermally conductive material using a brush, thanks to its nail polish-like nature. Using a combination of metallic bits and a liquidy carrier substance, this paste partially evaporates leaving only the metallic portion to transfer heat.

While we don’t yet know the exact ingredients inside this paste, we know that one part contains types of metal. This metal portion apparently behaves like liquid metal. If true, this could mean higher performance than traditional pastes. However, if it uses indium, there may be compatibility issues with aluminium coolers since they are subject to corrosion.

Another advantage of this paste is its layerability. This allows the application of multiple layers depending on needs. Unfortunately, there is no word about its performance yet.

That said, even if the performance is nothing revolutionary, the brush application may be preferred by novice PC builders as it provides a visual indication of the paste coverage, avoiding any guesswork. Until we get our hands on some, the idea on paper looks promising.