Gigabyte’s Metal Thermal Grease tested

Switching from hybrid metal thermal paste to pure liquid metal drops temperature by 5°C

Der8auer is analyzing Gigabyte’s claims after users noticed that their AORUS Master cards don’t actually use liquid metal. The official information never promised liquid metal for the Master series, only for Waterforce, but this created a good opportunity to check what is under the cooler.

Der8auer, who runs Thermal Grizzly, used lab equipment to identify the ingredients of Gigabyte’s “Metal Composite Crease.” He tested an RTX 5090 AORUS Master card he bought at launch. Stock testing with FurMark for 15 minutes at a fixed 40% fan speed (~1,280 RPM) showed 78–79°C, with low coil whine and reasonable noise.

Source: Der8uauer

After disassembly, he found a hybrid thermal interface: conventional paste mixed with liquid metal droplets . Under a microscope and then a scanning electron microscope with EDS mapping, he confirmed a gallium–indium alloy (liquid metal) dispersed in the paste, alongside common filler compounds such as zinc oxide and aluminum oxide.

Some material had squeezed out near the GPU edge, and unlike NVIDIA’s FE seal, there was no rubber barrier around the die. Gigabyte does appear to coat surrounding SMDs, but stray liquid metal can still threaten shorts if application amounts vary.

Source: Der8uauer

He then cleaned the card and applied pure liquid metal, adding a sealing frame (GPU Guard) around the die. Re-running FurMark at the same fixed fan speed produced ~74°C, a 4–5°C improvement compared to the hybrid paste. The hybrid mixes are easier for mass production, but keep the same handling risks while performing closer to regular paste than to liquid metal. Pure liquid metal remains better for thermals if applied safely, but then, who is going to risk voiding the warranty on a $2000 graphics card for 4 ° C?

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