If you’ve read our review of all the Ryzen 7000s that are coming out, you’ll have noticed that their excellent performance comes at a price, or more accurately, a temperature. In the new lineup, CPUs like the Ryzen 9 7900X and the 7950X get up to very high temperatures. But some will be happy to hear that this problem will revive the interest in the “delid”.
Removing the IHS from a CPU is not a neutral operation and apart from losing its warranty, you could also simply damage the processor permanently. However, with a minimum of attention and expert hands, the manipulation can bring big gains. With each generation, do-it-yourselfers try to see if it’s worth the effort. So Der8auer took on AMD’s 7900X to run it in direct die (i.e. without any IHS). After spending quite a bit of time removing the IHS and designing a tool to simplify handling, he ran several simulations to create an aluminum block that works both as a protection and as a CPU mounting / locking system on the socket. He was then able to perform the same tests he had done with this chip, which brought the temperature of the latter beyond 90°c.
Ryzen 7900X temperature: -20°C in Direct Die
After several sessions in Cinebench R20 to fully load the CPU, Roman could see that it only went up to 71/72°c against 91°c with the IHS. We will follow the peregrinations and the evolution of Der8auer’s tools because the method needs to be refined. Indeed, while trying to practice on a 7700X, the success was not there for the poor CPU which unfortunately joined the cemetery of destroyed CPUs…
