Question Direct-Die Cooling a 7600X with a Noctua NH-L9x65

[Villateschle]

I have a question, would it be possible to direct die cool a 7600x with a Noctua NH-L9x65? I know on the surface it sounds crazy, but I'd like to do a mini-itx build in the fractal ridge. The TDP values don't quite align; however, with a 20c drop that der8aur managed by delidding, I figured there may be a chance. The max clearance is 70mm for the cooler. If direct die isn't feasible, would lapping make much difference? PCPartPicker for reference: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/V8WdPX Thanks for the input.

 

[drea.drechsler]

I am aware that direct-die cooling is possible and offers very real performance benefits:

AMD Ryzen 7000 CPU Direct-Die Cooling Can Offer Up To 20C Lower Temps, IHS Hot Spots & Temps Analyzed

AMD's Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs are officially available now but there seems to be a concern over the temperatures that the chips produce.

wccftech.com

But have you explored what it takes to de-lid a Ryzen 7000 CPU? It's very risky since it's soldered on. German overclocker der8auer has built a tool and a process to do it, along with an adapter plate to match Z-height of the CPU since the heat spreader's no longer there. But even that's going to be risky because you're breaking the solder by repeated side-to-side stresses and then have to basically shave the surface of the die smooth with a razor blade.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_jaS_FZcjI

 

[Villateschle]

I am aware of the risk to the CPU, I'm trying to determine whether or not it is worth pursuing the risk of delidding based on the TDP delta between the cooler and the cpu.

 

[drea.drechsler]

I am aware of the risk to the CPU, I'm trying to determine whether or not it is worth pursuing the risk of delidding based on the TDP delta between the cooler and the cpu.

What makes it 'worth it' to you very much depends on your expectations.The simple fact is Ryzen 7000 tends to drive to 95C no matter what cooling you use (excluding sub-ambient) so I wouldn't expect it to make much of a difference in that regard. What it will do is perform better when it does it though. Those videos should give you an idea how much better. Of course, no guarantees for specific performance since your application is different but the delta is really what matters.

Another thing is that Noctua cooler really can't offer that much cooling but if it's the best that fits in your case then it might be what your stuck with. Anything you can do will help it (even direct-die) but if it were me and performance is an important criteria I'd first consider a different case, preferably one that can support an AIO cooler for the CPU since there are some even for mITX.