[ GLOSSARY DEFINITION ]
Performance
Liquid Metal
A high-performance thermal interface used instead of paste; cools CPUs/GPUs far better but is tricky to apply.
Also known as:
LM
Liquid metal thermal paste
Full Definition & Technical Explanation
Liquid metal is a gallium-based thermal interface that transfers heat far better than regular paste, letting boost clocks hold longer. See Liquid metal: Yes in laptop cooling specs.
Downsides: it is electrically conductive and can corrode if applied badly. Vapor chambers are the complementary cooling method.
Related Technical Terms
TDP
Sustained power/heat a chip is designed for; higher allows higher performance with more cooling.
Performance
Thermal Throttling
Chips slowing down when hot to stay within thermal limits; higher stability % means less slowdown.
Performance
Vapor Chamber
A flat heat-spreading cooling plate used in laptops and phones to lower temperatures under load.
Performance