Delidding a CPU, is it really a risk?!

[omar80747326]

Many people suffer with their overheating CPUs so they go with delidding as an option doing crazy things like removing the IHS and putting better aftermarket solutions although this voids the warranty, putting nail polish, silicon pastes and liquid metal on them then they become happy after noticing the temperature drops? Does it even deserve? And why somebody like Intel or amd puts the worst quality silicon pastes and thermal compounds?!

 

[Gam3r01]

Personally, no its not worth it.
But some people really want that extra .3GHz increase in speed.

As for why, it comes down to money. Its cheaper to mass produce them with cheaper TIM (thermal interface material).
That being said, AMD is using solder currently, and intel is allegedly going to be doing the same soon.

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

If you are running the CPU at stock speeds with a good cooler you will never need to delid a CPU. If you are overclocking and trying to squeeze every bit of performance out of your hardware it will keep things cooler and help get you more performance. It is actually useful for that.

Well, to be fair to AMD, they only use mid range pastes on their lower end CPUs, that don't need all that cooling. Intel did it to save money, and the paste they use isn't the worst quality, it is actually ok stuff, it just isn't anywhere near as thermally conductive as a soldered connection is. So, people remove the paste and put the liquid metal on because it just does a lot better job at conducting heat.

 

[omar80747326]

But I watched somebody on YouTube who done a delidding for his i9-7900x with a der8auer delidding tool, nail polish, liquid metal and silicon paste all that of high quality. He said the delidding video was the most unbearable as expected to go with a dead cpu and to buy an i9-7980xe, but the CPU worked well without problems, and he was happy about the results! Even he made his setup custom water cooled
On closed loop cooler before delid:
80s-99°c full load
Idle 45-50s
Delidded:
42°c idle-76 to 87°c max. full load
Water cooled:
34°c idle - full load 81°c max.

 

[Gam3r01]

And that is exactly 1 sample of delidding.
A very large portion of it is how confident you are. People used to do it with a razor blade, a vice, and hammer.
Now all these "tools" make it easier so more people do it, hence more people taking the risk, meaning you hear about it more.

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

It is really quite a risk. One mistake and your really expensive CPU is broken and worthless. If you crack the chip when you delid you'll break it. If you bend the IHS you can usually replace it, but you can't do anything with the chip until you replace it. If you don't apply the insulation to the components on top of the chip you'll run the risk of shorting the CPU out and killing it. If you crack or chip the actual CPU core it is useless.

But, if you are careful, take your time, and pay attention to details, you can do it without killing the CPU. It is just challenging.

 

[asoroka]

Yes but as said before. what are you trying to achieve.

In real world scenario, you will not notice the difference in performance. A system is more than just a CPU.

Yes you can post a higher clock speed, but it won't make a real difference to your gaming experience.

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

Yes but as said before. what are you trying to achieve.

In real world scenario, you will not notice the difference in performance. A system is more than just a CPU.

Yes you can post a higher clock speed, but it won't make a real difference to your gaming experience.

Well, given very specific circumstances it might make a difference. If you are building an ITX system in an extremely small case with limited cooling you will see a significant improvement in temperatures with a liquid metal modded CPU. That will allow it to turbo properly instead of thermal throttling... and that is the only specific circumstance I can think of right now.

Needless to say it is a very niche thing. The VAST majority of users don't even need to be thinking about it. Outside of a very small number of people that want specific things out of their machines, everyone else who does it just wants bragging rights or attention.

 

[USAFRet]

But I watched somebody on YouTube who done a delidding for his i9-7900x with a der8auer delidding tool, nail polish, liquid metal and silicon paste all that of high quality. He said the delidding video was the most unbearable as expected to go with a dead cpu and to buy an i9-7980xe, but the CPU worked well without problems, and he was happy about the results!

And I just watched a utube of someone do a parkour jump between two buildings across an alley.
Doesn't mean it is good or safe to do so.

Can it be done? Yes.
Can you do it? Maybe.
Will you gain any benefit from doing it? Maybe.

Are you ready to risk your personal CPU in doing this?

 

[volkgren]

I've done it and I don't recommend it.

 

[omar80747326]

But does delidding even require a nail polish in order to avoid the catastrophic effects of liquid metal as it has got excellent electric conductivity not just heat conductivity, I mean if the liquid metal dropped on anything else like the PCB not just the CPU chip itself this can lead to problems with the cpu, so must I use it for this cases by sweeping it on the PCB but without using something containing Oil derivatives as this also can lead to problems?! In addition please, from whom else can I get such a delidding tool from, just der8auer?!

 

[volkgren]

I did not need a delid tool, only a razor blade. I do not have nail polish on mine. The LM did get on the PCB, but there are only certain places on the PCB that it cannot touch, so it is okay as long as it doesn't run out and touch those certain places. Now, my i7-7700K is seeing it's limitations playing AC Odyssey and I want to sell it. But it's delidded and isn't worth as much as a non-delidded. Also, 5.0GHz does not make much difference in gaming over the stock 4.5-4.7GHz I could do before.

 

[theonerm2]

I've delidded a CPU before too and I would not do it again. I used the razor blade method. I was so afraid my CPU wouldn't boot because I saw bare copper on the PCB after I delidded. I only got an extra 200MHz on my OC. That's hardly worth it. I didn't use nail polish and the liquid metal stayed where I wanted it. I glued my IHS on with super glue though. At the time I didn't know it but super glue can damage a PCB. It ran a lot cooler though and my fans didn't ramp up as much. I later switched out my CPU for one that could OC a lot higher. I've thought about delidding again because my CPU that I have now runs hot when it's overclocked. But I really don't think I should.