This is a project that has been close to my heart for a while: testing the various tools offered by Thermal Grizzly to delid, or remove the lid from, our AMD Ryzen 9 9900X processor. To do this, we will use the Delid-Die-Mate tool, the AMD Mycro Direct-Die PRO V1 water block, TG Scrapers, and Remove Cleaner. This isn’t our first attempt at delidding a processor. We did it with our Intel i9-14900K to test the EK-Nucleus AIO CR360 Direct Die D-RGB cooling system. This time, we’re doing it again with an AMD processor, which will be our first experience with this type of processor.
The main idea behind our article, in addition to proposing a delid, will be to measure the temperatures of the AMD processor under normal conditions and compare them to those after delidding and using metal liquid. Thanks to the Thermal Grizzly team for providing the Delid-Die-Mate and the AMD Mycro Direct-Die PRO water block.
Delidding and direct die, yes, but why?
It’s a fairly logical question to ask why you would want to delid your processor and opt for a direct die cooling solution, especially since doing so will void your AMD warranty. The principle is to remove the heat sink from our AMD Ryzen 9900X.
The advantage of delidding is that it improves heat transfer between the die and the IHS, since when these are not soldered, the thermal paste used is not always the most effective. There are two types of delidding. The first involves removing the IHS in order to replace the thermal paste with much more efficient liquid metal and then reattaching the IHS to achieve a gain in terms of temperatures.
The second, more extreme solution is to not reuse the IHS and to cool the die directly , in our case with the AMD Mycro Direct-Die PRO water block. This requires more care to avoid damaging the die by excessive tightening. The first solution remains the most common to date, although new waterblock solutions compatible with direct die cooling are beginning to appear regularly.
