Maingear EPIC T1000 Thermal Cooling Solution Review

By Bill Hentschell

Introducing EPIC T1000 from Maingear

Maingear Logo

When it comes to extreme computing most people are familiar with Maingear, the boutique PC builder that constantly cranks out some of the fastest and sexiest systems in the pre-built market today. If you are looking for an enthusiast rig with a high overclock and extreme cooling look no further. But how do they get such high overclocks and keep them so stable? One of their tricks is superior cooling from their Enhanced Performance Innovative Components or EPIC line of products which includes self contained water cooling units for CPU’s and GPU’s. In order to extract the best performance from these advance cooling blocks they started using an innovative thermal interface material (TIM) that is actually a phase changing liquid metal. The good news for all of us is that Maingear is going to start selling this wonder TIM under the name of EPIC T1000.

Maingear Epic T1000 angle

The difference between a generic zinc oxide type TIM and the best products on the market today can be as much as 10C which can be the difference between breaking that 5Ghz barrier or defaulting to the 4Ghz club on an i7 chip. We first mentioned Maingear EPIC T1000 during Legit’s visit to the AMD/HardOCP FX GamExperience event in Dallas, Texas here. Maingear sent us home with one of their Epic T1000 kits to test on one of our extreme overclocked rigs.

EPIC T1000 is a precision engineered Phase Change Metal Alloy (PCMA) that maintains high contact with the metal surfaces of the IHS and the cooling block (surface wetting) and provides very low thermal resistance due to its high bulk conductivity. Testing has shown this can be as much as three times (3x) better performance than the best TIMs based on aluminum, silver, and diamond. Maingear’s EPIC T1000 sells for $19.99 plus shipping for a 1155/6 CPU and from $29.99 plus shipping for a 2011 CPU from Amazon. You can also get it for your AMD processors for $19.99 plus shipping.

Epic T1000 package front

Maingear Epic T1000 Specifications:

  • Lowest overall thermal resistance of any TIM available today
  • No cure time
    Most consistent performance – automatically applies the correct amount of alloy
  • Fully compatible with all surfaces, including copper and aluminum
  • Fully sealed structure – no mess or migration
    Easy clean-up just peel to remove
  • Laser-cut precision
  • Gallium-free phase change metal alloy
  • Bulk Thermal Conductivity: >20 W/mK
  • Thermal Impedance: 0.04C-cm2/W

The only two drawbacks to Epic T1000 is that each kit only provides two single use applications and they require a reflow process that isn’t for the faint of heart.

NOTE: Be sure to see page 3 for a full video tutorial on the installation and re-flow procedure.

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