Noctua is now selling a carbon nanotube thermal pad for AMD CPUs at EUR 24.95 / USD 24.95.
The NT-CP1 AM5/4 takes the place of thermal paste on AM5 and AM4 CPUs. Noctua says paste and most other pads lose performance over time through pump-out, delamination, and cracking. Its pad keeps improving over the first few hundred to a few thousand thermal cycles. According to Noctua’s announcement, the pad holds stable, maintenance-free performance “for years and years” once its initial activation phase is over.
Noctua announced the pad on 12 November 2026, with a suggested retail price of EUR 24.95 / USD 24.95. The pad is available now through Noctua’s official Amazon stores, and other sales partners will receive stock shortly.
Fit and installation
The pad is pre-cut to 33x33mm and 90µm thick, and fits both AM5 and AM4 sockets. The company says it has validated and fine-tuned it for Ryzen CPUs and APUs.
Installation is a “peel, press, peel” process. Noctua says the aluminium backbone makes the pad sturdy and easy to remove. A polymer coating holds it in place and keeps the contact surfaces electrically non-conductive until the polymer layer is penetrated.
Carbice Corporation makes the pad in the United States from recycled aluminium and waste carbon gas, using a low-temperature process. It can go through standard aluminium recycling.
Carbice’s carbon nanotube thermal pads were first built for spacecraft. Now, with Noctua, every PC builder can put that same technology in their system.
Baratunde Cola, CEO and founder of Carbice
From spacecraft to PC builders
Carbice was founded in 2011 and is based in Atlanta. According to the company, its vertically aligned nanotube technology is used in satellites, aerospace systems, and AI infrastructure. Noctua’s release calls it “space-grade”.
The two companies announced their partnership on 1 June 2026, with Noctua distributing Carbice pads exclusively for the retail market. Noctua showed the NT-CP1 at Computex that month and said it was scheduled for September 2026. Noctua is selling the pad earlier than that and hasn’t explained the change.
Carbice’s pads have already reached some PCs. According to Carbice, CyberPowerPC has sold gaming desktops with the pad pre-applied since late 2025. According to TheFPSReview, AMD also bundled Carbice’s Ice Pad with the relaunched Ryzen 7 5800X3D 10th Anniversary Edition.
Reviews and caveats
IgorsLab tested a press sample and measured an effective thermal conductivity of about 4 W/mK at an average pad temperature of 65 °C. It adds that the pad can’t sensibly be judged like a normal paste.
Noctua doesn’t say whether the pad can be reused. Tech Times reports it’s rated for single use, because repeated removal damages the nanotube structure.
The NT-CP1 works only with AMD’s AM4 and AM5 sockets. According to Tom’s Hardware, Noctua will also help Carbice develop future pads, which suggests an Intel version could follow.
