Thermal Grizzly - Kryonaut Extreme - currently  best thermal paste for CPUs.

Regarding what #7 said about "For those pushing the 9950X to its limits,..." - i'd be really careful before jumping into liquid metal. one tiny mistake during application and you could short your whole system. honestly, if you're chasing top performance without the risk, i would suggest Kingpin Cooling KPx Thermal Grease 3g. it stays stable even under extreme heat cycles and i've noticed it doesnt suffer from pump-out as much as some of the thinner pastes on the market. you might also want to consider something like the Honeywell PTM7950 Phase Change Thermal Pad. its basically a cheat code for these high-TDP ryzen chips because it starts solid and then melts into every microscopic gap once it hits about 45c. it solves the issue of performance dropping after a few months because the heat cycles dont push it out from between the die and the cooler. just make sure to store it in the fridge before you try to apply it tho, or it'll stick to everything but the CPU.

For a beast like the 9950X, I'd recommend Noctua NT-H2. It's a step up from their popular NT-H1 and performs exceptionally well with high-heat CPUs. It's also non-conductive and easy to clean off if you need to reapply later.

Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut: https://www.amazon.com/Thermal-Grizzly-Kryonaut-Grease-Paste/dp/B011F7W3LU?------123456890?6890-20

Any thermal paste is OK, I personally use MX-6, no issue yet.

Having used several pastes with Ryzen chips, I'd recommend either:

• Arctic MX-6: Great all-rounder, easy to apply, lasts 8+ years
• Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut: Best thermal performance but costs more
  Skip liquid metal unless you're very experienced. The regular pastes work great for the 9950X.

Noctua NT-H2.

For those pushing the 9950X to its limits, liquid metal (Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut) is still king. Dropped temps by 7-8°C compared to regular pastes. Just be careful about application since it's electrically conductive. Not recommended unless you're comfortable with the risks and need every degree of cooling performance.