My PC is basically turning into a space heater and I think I messed up the thermal paste application or the stuff I used is just junk. Ive been running a 13700k for my video editing rig and it hits 95C just rendering simple 4k clips, which is honestly terrifying. I live in an apartment in Phoenix so my ambient room temp is already pretty high during the summer months, making it even harder to keep things cool.

Ive been scouring Reddit and some tech forums all night. I keep seeing people swear by Noctua NT-H2 because its easy to apply, but then a bunch of other guys in a different thread said Kryonaut Extreme is the only way to go if you actually care about temps. The problem is, some comments mention the Kryonaut dries out too fast if you dont reapply it every few months, and I really dont want to have to take my Noctua NH-D15 cooler off every six months just to re-paste. It feels like everyone has a conflicting opinion and its giving me a headache.

Im looking for something that hits a sweet spot, here are my constraints:

• Budget: Under 20 bucks, dont want to spend a fortune on a tiny tube.
• Use case: Heavy video editing and gaming, so it needs to hold up under long loads.
• Preference: Something that lasts a while because Im lazy and hate maintenance.
• Accessibility: Has to be something I can grab on Amazon or Best Buy quickly since I need to fix this by the weekend.

Is there actually a brand that sits between the super expensive enthusiast stuff and the cheap generic gray paste that comes with stock coolers? Im just trying to get these temps down to something respectable before I cook my motherboard...