High performance thermal paste has come into its own.  A few extra bucks for good goo can take several degrees off your processor or GPU's temperatures.  The last round of high performance thermal goop we reviewed here showed just over a 4 degree Celsius drop in load temperatures over traditional silicone paste.  As we all know, a degree or two is all that may be needed sometimes to make all the difference in the world between a stable overclock and fluff.

OCZ Technology is no stranger to thermal solutions and high end paste.  Today, they have sent over some of their brand new thermal compound styled OCZ FreeZe.  Their website states "OCZ Freeze can lower CPU core temperature as much as ten percent when compared to conventional silver-based compounds that are a popular choice amongst enthusiasts."  That is a very bold statement.  Our experience has shown differences between standard paste and silver based products to peak at 10%.  To say there is another 10% to be gained is interesting to say the least.  So this is a review I am very much looking forward to.

Why use powerful paste

High performance thermal paste works on the principle of all coolers not having their bases being 100% flush.  They have small gaps or pits that are not visible to the eye.  The more gaps there are, the less surface area of the cooler is in contact with the processor, subsequently the less efficient a cooler is.  By filling those gaps you are turning empty space into useable convection area making for a more efficient cooler.  How well these pits get filled depends on the paste and how thermally conductive it is.

I said FreeZe!

Like most other performance paste products, OCZ's FreeZe comes in a 3.5gm tube.  The amount of mileage this will give you depends on how 'generous' you are in its application.  I have greased over seventy processors with a single 3.5gm tube of a competing paste before but I've also known people only getting a dozen or two applications out of a tube.  So it really depends on how stingy the end user is.

The OCZ paste is like other top tier products in this category and is not electrically conductive.  Meaning if you drip any on your motherboard you won't have ruined it albeit you still would deserve a smack for doing that to begin with.  There are competing theories about application of thermal paste.  In the end, provided the correct amount of goop used in the center, the pressure of the cooler will squish everything where it needs to go.  Personally, I like to spread it around myself.  If you are like me, you aren't going to be too fond of the OCZ FreeZe's consistency.  While it has the same grayish appearance we've seen before it is a decidedly thicker and different than anything we've seen.  Spreading it around felt more like spreading peanut butter than warm butter.

Something to note about OCZ's FreeZe is that it does not degrade over time or require an excessive amount of time to 'cure' to reach its maximum benefit.  The later is important to me as when I'm testing heatsinks, I don't want to go 30 hours for each test run for each sink in a review.