De-Lidding my 7700k!

[Gimbal]

Hi guys, just thought i would share my experience of de-lidding my CPU.

I OC'd my 7700k to 5ghz @ 1.3v and was lovely and stable, but with one issue. I noticed temp spikes up to 85'c from average 50-60'c in games, this caused irritating fan surges that annoyed me... mostly the wife. I looked for a solution to this and learned about "De-lidding" which involves removing the IHS and replacing the stock Intel TIM on the die. I managed to find this "Rocket Cool De-lidder tool" from america which made the whole process look simple, without having to use a scalpel. Well, it arrived today so i gave it a go. It was nice and easy, and only took about 10 mins. The stock TIM intel use is crap, so i cleaned it off with some isopropyl alcohol and scraped the residue silicone sealant off the edges. All cleaned up, I taped around the die to stop any accidental spillage, then applied Cool Laboratory liquid pro to the die with a Qtip. The de-lidding tool also has a handy "re-lidding" attachment to properly secure the IHS back onto the die. I placed the CPU into the attachment, placed a small dot of gel superglue to each corner of the IHS, and put it in place. The attachment then screws down, holding the IHS in place to allow the glue / sillicone to cure. After about an hour, i put the cpu back into the machine and fired her up.
Intel Burn test read a max temp of 65'c (was 92'c before de-lidding) The temp spikes in games have gone, and are about 10-15'c cooler on average.

Total result and i am so happy i did it, fan surges have gone, and have a quieter fan curve, happy days

http://imgur.com/a/zO0Rs

 

[Gimbal]

I still can't believe that this has become such common practice that there's even specialised tools for it now. For a CPU costing north of £300, it's crazy that you need to butcher it apart and replace the TIM to get acceptable temperatures.

Yeah, i agree... Shouldnt have to do it.

 

[Gimbal]

Well, not really. Intel only have to ensure the chip operates within spec at stock clocks. Pushing the chip 25% past stock is entirely down to the user and if that requires delid to do it then so be it. No point whining about it, just get on with it.

Who's whining? I already did it lol.. I just agree that a chip that costs £300+ that is a "K" and is designed to be overclocked should have a better thermal compound than the tacky TIM that intel use. There are a lot of people who are having huge temp spikes, even at stock speeds! This is all down to Intel cutting corners, and saving $.

 

[Gimbal]

Intel charges a premium for a unlocked cpu that can be overclocked so the least they could do is put some decent thermal paste in it. It never used to be a problem and back in the socket 775 days it was not uncommon to get a 100% overclock while still having decent temps. Intel swapped from a soldered IHS to crappy thermal paste while at the same time resticting overclocking to only a couple of unlocked cpu's, then charging a premium for them and people end up having to void their warranties by delidding the cpu just to get sensible temps. Why people can't see what is wrong with this scenario is beyond me.

Well said

 

[Gimbal]

The paste on mine was kind of rubbery, and the coverage was awful.

 

[Gimbal]

Would using superglue not be a bit dodgy if you ever need to de-lid it again? Obviously that would stick better than the gasket type material they use, would think it could potentially pull some of the substrate off if you de-lidded it again.

Its gel, like a quick drying silicone, so is flexible, heat resistant and able to be taken apart again... but tbh, there really shouldn't be any need to de-lid again as i have good temps.