GELID GC-1 Thermal Paste Review

"Rumours have it that the GC-1 from newly established GELID Solutions is a strong contender along-side the favourites in the thermal paste division."

Rumours have it that the GC-1 from newly established GELID Solutions is a strong contender along-side the favourites in the thermal paste division. We investigate these claims.

GELID is a new company that has arisen out of Hong Kong. On their website (www.gelidsolutions.com) is written the following:

”The English word “gelid” is derived from the Latin word “gelidus” (extremely cold, icy).

GELID Solutions Ltd. is a Hong Kong based company with Swiss Management and founded in 2008 by Gebhard SCHERRER and VC TRAN. Both have worked in the PC Cooling industry for a number of years and successfully built up an IT company with their expertise.

GELID designs and manufactures thermal solutions, CPU coolers, fans, and other computer hardware for both gamers and silent enthusiasts. We provide computer hardware distributors, retailers and system integrators with innovative, virtually silent, high- performance and top quality thermal solutions.

Quality and innovation are key. And, being Swiss, we leave nothing to chance. That’s why we provide a total solution – from bearings to thermal compound, from design to shipping, from the moulding of the fan to the print on the box – with state-of-the-art machines and experienced staff.

Our Vision
Combine quality and ingenuity to set the standard in creating best- in- class products for global computer enthusiasts

As their latest venture, GELID Solutions Ltd. is a privately owned limited liability company with a registered share capital of HKD 1’000’000. Strategically based in Hong Kong, “Asia’s World City”, it enjoys an unrivalled location at the geographical and economic centre of Asia. For our customers, this means easy and quick access to our vast manufacturing base in mainland China. “

So it is with anticipation that today we review one of GELID solutions cooling products. It will be interesting to see how this thermal paste performs when put up against the cooling giants Noctua and Arctic Silver.

Over the page then, so that we can begin this review.

Packaging and Product

First impressions of the packaging from GELID is very pleasing. This product looks professional and the blend of colours and typography is what we like to see. For a new company to establish a good branding design that captures your attention is very important. Although packaging has nothing to do with performance, it can encourage sales if it is stood next to a product which has poor branding and awful colour arrangement.

On the packaging you will find various features of the GC-1. On the rear of the packaging is a list of specifications with a graph displaying a confident accomplishment over other vendors on the market.

As the other thermal pastes on the market the GC-1 is just like any other syringe. Included in the GC-1 packaging though, is a neat little applicator. We haven’t seen anything like this in other pastes on the market and this is a nice little addition, it helps to evenly distribute the paste rather than trying to evenly spread it with the next available item in your desk (which usually makes things messy).

Specifications

A High Performance Thermal Compound
Created for today’s high power CPU’s, graphic processors and other semi conductors GELID’s GC-1 provides both silent and gaming enthusiasts with top level performance, system stability and easy application at a better price than most other high high performance compounds.

Superior Performance & High Thermal Conductivity
GC-1 is a compound made of advanced silicone fluid and thermally conductive nano-filler particles. High performance is achieved within a very short time.

Stability

Consistent performance over approximately 10 years. The compound does not need to be reapplied nor is there any decrease in performance over time.

Ease of Application
The syringe is very user friendly and the applicator makes application onto the heatsink or CPU child’s play.

Completely Safe
Unlike other compounds GELID’s GC-1 is non electrical conductive and does not contain any metal particles. This eliminates any risk of short-circuits.

RoHS Compliant
Net Weight: 5g (25% for FREE)

MSRP: USD 6.99/ Euro 4.70

Testing and Conclusion

To compare the performance of the GC-1, we will be putting it up against two of the most popular pastes available on the market. The Arctic AS5 and the Noctua NT-H1.

Testing Methods

To test the GC-1 we will use the following method:

Each thermal compound paste will be applied to an E6600.

The amount of thermal compound paste deposited will be precisely the same. To ensure that the test is fair.

The same CPU cooler and attached fans will remain the same throughout the test. This is to guarantee consistency.

Temperatures will be recorded at an idle state and during a session of Orthos small FFT’s test for a duration of 30 minutes.

In between testing each paste. The CPU will be powered down for 20 minutes and powered back up. This will allow the CPU to cool down and make the test as fair as possible for each vendor.

The test will be performed on the following hardware:

Intel E6600
OCZ 2GB DDR2
Noctua NH-U12P (with 1 P12 fan)
Coolermaster 532 (with 1 exhaust fan at the rear)

Results

The below results were obtained. It’s pleasing to see that the idle temperatures matched those of the Arctic paste. The most significant factor to observe though is that under load the paste outperforms the Arctic Silver. This is only by 2 or 3 degrees but this is a win and a firm message.

Conclusion

GELID have certainly produced a winning thermal compound solution. It outperforms the Arctic AS5 paste and stands firmly behind the Noctua NT-H1 paste yet it appears on the shelf at a lower price and includes a neat little applicator to keep things tidy. One thing that we did notice when testing this paste is that it can be quite difficult to remove compared to other pastes due to the materials used. But this is not a negative comment at all, It’s just something to be aware of.

GELID can be proud of themselves, they have definately come up with something that stands out as a clear winner and we would recommend this product to anyone who wants a clear cut performance at a low cost.