Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut scratching and denting.

[Chen]

Hello all

I bought this tube of Thermal Grizzly (TG) Kryonaut in December 2019. I applied the paste to the CPU and GPU in January 2020. After about 8 months in September 2020, I dissembled the blocks for maintenance. At first, I saw some marks on the CPU block after I wiped away the old paste, I thought it was just dried paste. However, upon further cleaning, I realized they were actual scratches and dents, which are quite prominent, I can feel them when running my nail across it. Then I examined the CPU HIS, and it was damaged as well. I took apart the GPU block and saw some minor scratches on the block and die, although not as prominent.

I contacted TG support, they asked me to send a proof of purchase which I did, then they went under the radar for the next 10 days or so without getting back to me. During this period, I sent three emails trying to get in contact but no replies were heard. In the third email I sent to them I wrote if I don’t hear from them, I will raise this issue on the community forums. On the next business day, I received an email from TG Public Relations, which says that they did not receive the proof of purchase picture I sent earlier. I replied and resent the proof of purchase. Then they replied that they could not see the date of purchase, so I took a picture of the date and sent to them. I haven’t heard from them since. It’s been four business days.

I read on overclockers.co.uk forum that TG admitted that they made a bad batch where zinc oxide was not ground up properly (Zinc Oxide). I also read about other people who had this exact same problem after using Kryonaut (Thermal Grizzly Scratching, Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut PSA (nasty scratching), Kryonaut - abrasive properties). I’ve checked through TG website that my tube of Kryonaut is Authentic. I can’t believe that TG is ignoring my issue especially when this issue is their fault. For such a premium product, this is unacceptable.

Could someone please help me out!

 

[R-T-B]

I can’t believe that TG is ignoring my issue especially when this issue is their fault. For such a premium product, this is unacceptable.

They aren't. This is a known bad batch, as you yourself said. It can both be authentic and not fit for resale. Contact them, they will help you. Reach out to a rep.

On an unrelated note, I notice a lot of third party sellers are pawning off said bad batch knowingly on amazon. Sometimes it even mixes with amazons own inventory, due to how they handle stocking. It's very tough to manage.

 

[nguyen]

Many people fell for the overrated Kryonaut I see, well myself included .
I suggest buying Kingpin KPx, Gelid GC-Extreme, Thermalright TF-X, Noctua NT-H2 instead of this overrated TIM.

 

[Chen]

They aren't. This is a known bad batch, as you yourself said. It can both be authentic and not fit for resale. Contact them, they will help you. Reach out to a rep.

On an unrelated note, I notice a lot of third party sellers are pawning off said bad batch knowingly on amazon. Sometimes it even mixes with amazons own inventory, due to how they handle stocking. It's very tough to manage.

I did reach out to their support, which was on 22nd September, but they haven't addressed the issue at all. They seem to be ignoring me a whole lot.

Many people fell for the overrated Kryonaut I see, well myself included .
I suggest buying Kingpin KPx, Gelid GC-Extreme, Thermalright TF-X, Noctua NT-H2 instead of this overrated TIM.

I bought a tube of GC extreme. Had to get this PC up and running again.

 

[joemama]

I remember already seeing this same problem months ago from others here

 

[Deleted member 193596]

Many people fell for the overrated Kryonaut I see, well myself included .
I suggest buying Kingpin KPx, Gelid GC-Extreme, Thermalright TF-X, Noctua NT-H2 instead of this overrated TIM.

overrated?
on an old i3 maybe.

this paste is beyond awesome in very high load scenarios where even my NT H2 gets up to 10% hotter than Kryonaut.


even MX2 is good enough on a 50W chip.
but compare them on a highly overclocked 10900k or a GPU.
in my case just immediately repasting with NT H2 results in up to 7°C higher temps under 230W of load. and the 7°C are immediately gone after repasting with Kryonaut.

 

[nguyen]

overrated?
on an old i3 maybe.
this paste is beyond awesome in very high load scenarios where even my NT H2 gets up to 10% hotter than Kryonaut.
even MX2 is good enough on a 50W chip.
but compare them on a highly overclocked 10900k or a GPU.
in my case just immediately repasting with NT H2 results in up to 7°C higher temps under 230W of load. and the 7°C are immediately gone after repasting with Kryonaut.

Yeah and when you subject the Kryonaut under high temperature (>80C) for extended period of time, it degrade very quickly.
I have tried Kryonaut vs GC Extreme vs CM Master Gel on GPU and the difference is only 1C. I tested them on Titan X Maxwell and that card easily pull 350W with modded BIOS (GPU die alone pull >250W).

Though I agree that Kryonaut is good for desktop CPU usage, but not for other purpose such as GPU, Laptop.

 

[Deleted member 193596]

Yeah and when you subject the Kryonaut under high temperature (>80C) for extended period of time, it degrade very quickly.
I have tried Kryonaut vs GC Extreme vs CM Master Gel on GPU and the difference is only 1C. I tested them on Titan X Maxwell and that card easily pull 350W with modded BIOS (GPU die alone pull >250W).

Though I agree that Kryonaut is good for desktop CPU usage, but not for other purpose such as GPU, Laptop.

i have a 1080 Ti Strix with Kryonaut, and a 2080 Ti AMP Extreme with Kryonaut applied

the 1080 ti has the exact same temps as when it was applied 3 years ago.

the 2080 Ti application is just 3 months old but still works perfectly fine.

Pump Out is a cooler problem not a paste problem.

 

[Chomiq]

I did reach out to their support, which was on 22nd September, but they haven't addressed the issue at all. They seem to be ignoring me a whole lot.


I bought a tube of GC extreme. Had to get this PC up and running again.

I believe they have an account here. Some guy had the same issues here last year, search the forum.

 

[nguyen]

i have a 1080 Ti Strix with Kryonaut, and a 2080 Ti AMP Extreme with Kryonaut applied

the 1080 ti has the exact same temps as when it was applied 3 years ago.

the 2080 Ti application is just 3 months old but still works perfectly fine.

Pump Out is a cooler problem not a paste problem.

Currently using TG Conductonaut on my 2080 Ti, get 4C lower temp than with Kryonaut .

 

[Chomiq]

There you go:

[SOLVED] Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut PSA (nasty scratching)

EDIT: matter is fully settled amicably, with the help of the very good @Thermal-Grizzly support. What can I say. Pay premium price, get premium scratching on both IHS and coldplate. Delidded my 8700K, only to find out what just 3 days of Kryonaut did to my D15S and the top of the IHS. Good...

www.techpowerup.com

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Maybe get @toyo in here and see if he can drop any contact details pertaining to a customer rep for TG

 

[Ruru]

Many people fell for the overrated Kryonaut I see, well myself included .
I suggest buying Kingpin KPx, Gelid GC-Extreme, Thermalright TF-X, Noctua NT-H2 instead of this overrated TIM.

I somewhat agree, I used to use Coollaboratory Liquid Pro/Ultra on delidded CPUs but now as an AMD user I just use typical good quality thermal paste (MX-4 for example).

 

[Bones]

Sorry this happened to your stuff, that just bites.

To make a point, I never use anything with stuff that's potentially abrasive such as IC diamond for example for this very reason.
I mean, so what if it gets one or two degrees cooler if it's destroying the hardware in the process?
No, I won't mess with stuff like this.

MX4 Carbon ARCTIC MX-4 2019 Edition - Thermal Compound Paste - Carbon Based High Performance - Heatsink Paste - Thermal Compound CPU for All Coolers, Thermal Interface Material - High Durability - 8 Grams - Newegg.com
and Noctua Noctua NT-H1 3.5g, Pro-Grade Thermal Compound Paste (3.5g) - Newegg.com
have been the best pastes I've used so far, no risk of this happening yet performs well too.

As a standard practice, for my everyday stuff I still use AS5 Ceramique since it's cheaper and does well enough for all that but for the more demanding applications MX4 and Noctua are what I use, that includes subzero useage too.
Been using the linked MX4 stuff for alot of things as of late and so far, so good.

BTW the above links are simply for reference to what I use.

 

[bogmali]

Please stop arguing with others who have a different opinion/experience than you and remember that YMMV.

 

[freeagent]

That sucks man. Get in contact with them. A couple of members here had the same problem and they were taken care of I believe.

 

[Space Lynx]

Noctua NT-H2

Agreed.

 

[Chen]

I believe they have an account here. Some guy had the same issues here last year, search the forum.

I massaged TG, but they are not replying. Would you be able to help to @ their customer support?

That sucks man. Get in contact with them. A couple of members here had the same problem and they were taken care of I believe.

Yea I did see those got resolved, but TG is not replying my emails! What could I do?

 

[Chomiq]

I massaged TG, but they are not replying. Would you be able to help to @ their customer support?


Yea I did see those got resolved, but TG is not replying my emails! What could I do?

Hit em up on social etc. Or just give them time.

 

[Massdeth]

Yes, give it a little time and be respectful, that way they cant say you were a nuisance etc... but dont let the matter drop cause thats what they are looking for. The idea is to string you along,as long as possible, for every level, till you give up and say its just not worth the trouble. You have to remember that every time you write into them they have to consult there lawyer on what to say and do, so your really dealing with him not the company. Keep on it, give them everything they ask for asap so they cant complain and youve complied at every turn and be respectful.... dont lose your s--t and youll win in the end. Unfortunately, some companies are like this. Good luck to you though brotha.

 

[toyo]

Maybe get @toyo in here and see if he can drop any contact details pertaining to a customer rep for TG

They're in that linked post above yours. The TG representative was very amiable and fast, and basically put enough money for a new cooling solution on my Paypal, so I have nothing to complain about that.
But Kryonaut I'm definitely not risking again. Conductonaut sure, that thing is amazing, it's gonna be a year soon since I delidded and there is 0 performance degradation, temps are identical as they were in Dec 2019 given the same workload/ambient.
The scratching is mostly cosmetic. I haven't noticed any temperature issues (after I replaced the defective Kryonaut, which was a bit worse than Noctua's NTH1, probably because of the improperly composition, dunno).
My first email didn't reach TG. I suggest just writing them here, with proper details of the issue and proof for the purchase/scratches and I'm sure they'll happily fix things.
Dunno what else to say. I personally kept the money for other computer stuff after I worked on taming that OCD feeling that I had to replace the cooler/IHS because of the scratches. Who cares, it's inside the damn PC, it's cosmetic, it's still TG's responsibility for sure though. There must still be old batches of Kryonaut circulating. Which is why I'm not gonna buy it again unless we get some sort of way of knowing it's recently produced and QAed against scratching, which I doubt will happen.

 

[INSTG8R]

The recent tubes I’ve purchased have a ”slip of authenticity“ with a QR code to scan and a serial number to confirm it’s a legit tube by to prevent this from still happening. Bit surprised to see it pop up again.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

They're in that linked post above yours. The TG representative was very amiable and fast, and basically put enough money for a new cooling solution on my Paypal,

Well, we got a problem then. TG rep hasnt been on since February. I saw this earlier and tagged you to see if you've received any phone numbers or email address that could be passed on.

Its gonna be a long wait for the TG rep to come back.... IF they come back.

 

[toyo]

Well, we got a problem then. TG rep hasnt been on since February. I saw this earlier and tagged you to see if you've received any phone numbers or email address that could be passed on.

Its gonna be a long wait for the TG rep to come back.... IF they come back.

Yeah, I noticed. At least that hopefully means the bad batches are quite rare.
Or that most people just use it and then leave it untouched for years
I would not have noticed the scratches either, but it was my first time delidding and I basically did it like 3 times to see how it works without sealing, with Intel-like amount of RTV silicone and with just a thin layer, so I noticed the scratches really fast. Really weird it happened, when I spread the paste with that small spatula TG is providing within the envelope it never felt like it had larger pieces of stuff in it, it looked and felt as smooth as any other paste. But when I took off the cooler and cleaned it, it was a disaster. Much worse than in the OP here, especially on the IHS where it almost completely erased parts of the text.
I guess AMD can chalk IHS quality as well to their list of achievements vs Intel.

PS: I remembered the TG rep left their own email address in my thread, maybe it can be of use to the OP:
j.froehlich@thermal-grizzly.com

 

[FreedomEclipse]

PS: I remembered the TG rep left their own email address in my thread, maybe it can be of use to the OP:

I would edit your post and send it to the OP via inbox. Im sure the rep wouldnt appreciate the tonne of spam he's going to get.