I think that I will install a Zalman ZM80A-HP on my Gainward Ti4600 card and a ZMNB32J on my Intel 850E chipset. To my understanding, both of the products come packaged with thermal paste. Does anyone know if using a thermal grease such as Arctic Silver 3 for both installations will make any difference? I use AS3 on my CPU setup but I'm somehow not sure if the AS3 can especially be used for the ZM80A-HP where I would have to put it between the heat blocks and in the ridge where the heatpipe is placed. Thanks in advance!

For what it's worth, because of the cost and limited quantity of the AS3, this is what I did. I used AS3 on the connection between the GPU chip (9700 Pro) and the ZM80A (don't have a ZMNB32J), then used the supplied grease on the connections between the plates and the pipe. This seems to work very well, but I can't say whether the AS3 has made an improvement. (I like to believe it does ) Both plates (top and bottom) get hot under load, and it has never crashed during benchmarks or games--so it's definitely doing its job!

I personally couldn't justify using AS3 on all of the connections because of the total quantity and diminishing returns. I think its primary benefit is between chips and heatsinks.

I agree with auxyone's reply totally. You'll actually need a significant amount of TIM when assembling the ZM80 and the included white stuff is just the right amount. I don't think that using AS3 will do any harm, but I don't think it will really help either.

i bought ac3 just to replace the stock thermal grease. i didn't notice any difference, nada, nothing, ney and i wish i knew more languages for the word 'nothing'.

anyways, having ac3 on the gpu and other components does give you a psychological reward... it just feels better to have ac3 than to have that shady white stock paste from zalman