Thermal Grizzly Duronaut Thermal Paste – A New Performance King

Thermal Paste or thermal compound or TIM (thermal interface material) as you may call it is a heat conducting material that plays a crucial role in transferring heat from the heat source to the cooler. In our last content, we tested X8 and X10 from PolarTherm launched by Thermal Grizzly.

This time I am taking a look at Duronaut from Thermal Grizzly. This is the new high-performance thermal paste that is expected to take over the famous Kryonaut. The name is derived from the word durability in the English language, showing the resilience of the thermal paste for a long-term use.

This paste is available in 2gm and 6gm packs. The 2gm pack retails at USD 10.40, whereas the 6gm pack retails at USD 18.80 direct from Thermal Grizzly on its website. The price per gm comes to USD 3.13 for a 6gm pack compared to USD 5.20 on a 2gm pack. If you think you will be using this a few times, the 6gm pack is definitely the way to go.

Closer Look

Thermal Grizzly has sent me a 6gm pack of this thermal paste for the testing.

The product comes in a standard Thermal Grizzly themed container box.

The following are provided:

• 1x Applicator
• 1x TG Spatula
• 1x TG Spatula Pro

The Pro Spatula helps in high-pressure application of the thermal paste over the surface to ensure a thin layer in an even spread. I have used The Spatula Pro to spread the thermal paste during application. It is a simple yet effective solution.

An authenticity label is provided as well along with a user guide.

The black color tube has Thermal Grizzly branding. No other data or anything is printed over the label. The salient features of this thermal paste are:

• designed for mainstream/Enthusiast users
• no curing
• long-term durability
• non-electrically conductive

Thermal Grizzly is trying to achieve a maximization goal. They have produced a thermal paste that is ready to take the title from its previous paste, Kryonaut, but also appealing to the mainstream market users, not just the overclockers and enthusiasts.

A part of this comes from the durability of the Duronaut paste due to its optimal mixture. At the same time, the pump out effect is significantly reduced. This effect is generated due to thermal fluctuations at high temperatures. Since pump out is marginal, the long-term goal is achieved.

The thermal paste has a gray color. The Duronaut is based on Silicone oil serving as a carrier to deliver the micro and nano particles from the aluminum and zinc oxide powder. The aluminum concentration is 55-65% whereas zinc oxide concentration is 15-25%. There is a 10-20% concentration of Polysiloxanes, di-Me, Me Vinyl, vinyl group terminated. The higher concentration of aluminum alloy is a major contributing factor towards achieving better temperatures.

The small size particles allow for a thin layer application, allowing an effective heat transfer from one surface to another. Remember that a thin layer is preferred because one side of the layer has to deal with different thermal characteristics compared to the opposite side. In other words, the temperature over the CPU IHS is higher than the base of the cooler and thermal paste sits between these two surfaces.

Testing

Now coming to the main point of this article, the following configuration is used for thermal paste testing: –

• AMD Ryzen 9 9900X [243W]
• ASRock X870E NOVA WiFi
• G.Skill Trident Z Neo RGB 32GB DDR5 6400MHz CL30
• Maxsun Arc B580 iCraft 12G [For Display]
• XPG Rocket 4 Plus 2TB NVMe SSD [For OS]
• Fractal Design ION+ 2P 860W PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open frame layout
• Noctua NH-D15 G2

I have included below high-performance thermal pastes for the comparison:

• Noctua NT-H2
• Alphacool Subzero
• Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut

The sample size is reduced but it is kept relevant by including the high-performance thermal pastes only for better comparison.

How have we tested?

The following testing methodology is used for the thermal paste testing:

• AMD Ryzen 9 9900X was set to operate at 243W Thermal load, producing good enough heat output for this testing
• Thermal Pastes were applied in an even spread
• Since mounting pressure plays important role, I stopped as soon as threads run out on each screw of the cooler.
• Ambient or Room temperature was in the range of 21.7ᵒ to 23.2ᵒC throughout the testing day. Since thermal pastes strive for even decimals of degree Celsius, I am reporting delta temperature.
• At least one thermal cycle was completed before actual testing. This was done by powering the system on and leaving it idle for at least 5 minutes. Then a 10-minute run of Cinebench R23.2 was run followed by idle state and then the system was powered off for 20 minutes. Actual test was done on the next power cycle.
• For testing, PC was left on idle for 5 minutes.
• Cinebench R23.2 run was made to put load on the CPU.
• An average of three test runs is made.
• CPU Tctl/Tdie Temperature is taken as a reporting value.
• The fans were running at full speed (100% PWM duty cycle).
• HWInfo64 was used to monitor the sensors.

Please note that not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of the chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

Let’s take a look at the results.

Result

The Thermal Grizzly Duronaut has 1.1ᵒC advantage over the Noctua NT-H2 whereas this difference (1.9ᵒC) is huge when pitched against the Kryonaut. Even at idling, the Duronaut has delivered a solid punch.

Duronaut has delivered a solid performance with 1.4ᵒC better temperatures compared to NT-H2 and 1.8ᵒC better temperatures when compared to Thermal Grizzly’s own Kryonaut paste.

Conclusion

Thermal Grizzly has launched its new high-performance thermal paste named Duronaut. Dare me to say it was long awaited. This new thermal paste uses an optimal mixture of aluminum alloy (micro particles) and zinc oxide (nano particles) delivered through a silicone oil carrier. Thermal Grizzly has used various sizes in zinc oxide for better heat transfer.

This thermal paste is marketed for the following users:

• Gamers
• Over-Clockers
• Industrial Users

The reason for industrial users is simple. This gray color thermal paste is all about performance and durability. It is meant to be used for a long term, hence the name Duronaut. Thermal Grizzly has achieved this by reducing the pump-out effect to the extent possible. This effect comes due to fluctuating high temperatures under load.

This thermal paste is non-electrically conductive and non-curing. Non-curing means it will deliver the desired performance right from the beginning. Thermal Grizzly has included Spatula Pro as well as simple Spatula in the box. The Pro Spatula is quite handy when applying thermal paste as it allows for greater pressure for a thin layer application in an even spread.

This thermal paste is available in 2gm and 6gm packs. The 2gm pack retails at USD 10.40 whereas the 6gm pack retails at USD 18.80. I am sure this thermal paste has a long shelf life as well, hence a 6gm pack is my choice as it gives a better value (price per gram) compared to the 2gm pack.

Coming to the real question, the Duronaut has delivered a solid performance punch in my testing. It not only levels up the game from Kryonaut but has a good lead over the competition as well. I have kept the sample size smaller in this testing by including only the high-performance thermal pastes.

PS: I know this is a one-time testing and it will not and can’t indicate the long term performance and durability of these pastes. Our test results are from using a specific configuration and they only attempt to show a relative performance of these thermal pastes. It is only a measure of what to expect from a thermal paste.

The Thermal Grizzly Duronaut is a ‘Must Have’.