it has been about 300 hours or so since i applied AS3, and my standing temp went from 120 F to 116.6 F (and right now, an usual 114.8 F) Granted its not much of a drop, if you are trying to decide between pads or goop, i would pick goop if you are trying to lower the temps a little. It all comes down to what you feel more comfortable with, i used to be a pads guy, but all im wearing on my cpu/heatsink is the goop