Which do you prefer...?

[icallmedan]

Thermal compound or thermal pad?

[homer15]

i like the compound, but i've heard the pad is easier to remove.

[Markoman01027]

Compound.

[i3OSS]

pad is easier to use, but i heard paste is more effective.

[corosus]

i hear that thermal compound is better
+ i had this experience:
i bought a new mobo, and a new processor and heath sink and fan. the store would not give me a waranty unless i let them put these elements together, so i let them
when i got home i installed them into my case, plugged in the drives........ no matter what i did, i could not get the onboard soundto work;
afther a while i head back to the store,and they offer to replace it; the put my processor and hs on the new mobo,..
i get home and cpu surface runs at 43°C and cpu core is 80°C, i check the mobo, and the hs is about a milimeter out of alliggnemnt ( => the patch is slightly out of place), i reattached it and the problem is fixed.
now for the point of my lengthy tale: if you use compound, you can re-apply it on your hs every time you lift it without havving to clean your processor ( i am told this is a risk)

[TEEB]

Compound for sure if your using AMD and it wouldn't hurt on Intel either!!

[Nuclear Krusader]

Compound.

[icallmedan]

That's a funny story from corosus!!!

[i3OSS]

you can always get the pad off with certain products, so go which ever is cheaper and has a better deal like a COUGH 3 year warranty

[dackerman]

Thermal compound is the way to go, Arctic Silver III specifically is the best one out there.