Noctua NT-CP1 AM5/4 carbon nanotube thermal pad launches for $24.95

Noctua released the NT-CP1 AM5/4 thermal pad, priced at EUR 24.95 or USD 24.95. Manufactured by Carbice Corporation in the United States, the pad targets AMD Ryzen CPUs and APUs on AM5 and AM4 sockets. There is no Intel version available yet.

Image: TechPowerUp

The pad measures 33 by 33 millimeters with a 90µm thickness. It consists of a 50µm aluminum backbone with 20µm layers of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes on both sides, finished with a phase-change polymer coating. Installation uses a peel, press, and peel method, and a tacky coating keeps the pad in place on the heatspreader.

Noctua says traditional thermal paste degrades over time due to pump-out, cracking, and delamination. To avoid those issues, the NT-CP1 enhances its heat transfer capability during initial usage, requiring several hundred to a few thousand temperature cycles before it settles into stable performance for years. Testing validates long-term stability across more than 100,000 cycles.

Independent lab testing found an effective thermal conductivity rating of roughly 4 W/mK at about 65 degrees Celsius, compared to a bulk figure of 12 W/mK. Testing also found some electrical conductivity across the surface. Noctua states that the polymer layer keeps contact surfaces non-conductive until penetrated, though neither Noctua nor Carbice recommends using the pad on a bare die.

The pad is available now through Noctua's Amazon stores, with other retailers receiving stock shortly. At the end of its life, the aluminum core allows the pad to go into standard aluminum recycling.