How do our prices compare?
The reason for Kritical Thermal Pads to exist centered around obtaining a top-shelf product for a reasonable price...because we initially created those thermal pads exclusively for our personal use!
Before discussing price comparison, let's touch on the two main parameters affecting the cost of thermal pads.
- Overall material volume directly correlates with the cost. However, three pads of 1 mm are bound to cost more to make than a single pad of 3 mm as they require more labor.
- Thermal conductivity is a major factor. With silicon-based material (that the vast majority of thermal pads are made of), conductivities up to about 30 W/mK could be achieve, but going that high comes with trade-offs such are requiring delicate handling. Difficulty, and thus cost, if making thermal pads grows exponentially with the desired conductivity. This means that going from 15 W/m-K to 20 W/m-K cost more than going from 10 W/m-K to 15 W/m-K. This is why most products out there settle with 15 W/m-K or less.
Our approach to pricing is simple: a better product for a lower price.
How is that possible: we work directly with the manufacturers, and do not apply excessive margins. For us, this is a service to the community rather than "yet another way to make money".
"Blah, blah...convince me!": Let's ignore for a minute the noticeably higher thermal conductivity of Kritical thermal pads compared to other main brands, and focus solely on the average price per pad volume, based on advertised prices:
- Thermalright Extreme Odyssey: $2.5 per cm3 (12.8 W/mK)
- Gelid Solution Ultimate: $2.4 per cm3 (15.0 W/mK)
- Fujipoly Ultra Extreme XR-m: $17.5 per cm3 (17 W/mK)
- Kritical - sheets: $1.9 per cm3 (20 W/mk)
- Kritical - GPU sets: $2.6 per cm3 (20 W/mK)
And we almost forgot to address a common question: yes, we verified the thermal conductivity of our pads, through independent testing, and 20 W/mK is not a lie!