CPU Delidding

[Marc_92]

Hi guys,so I'm a relatively new to the overclocking/modding scene and I was thinking about possibly delidding my cpu to lower the temps and increase the overclock. I am currently using an i7950 @stock but once my noctua comes, i think ill push it to around 4ghz+ if i can. Basically I am just looking for anybody who has had experience with the process and if they came across any problems on the way.
Cheers

[Stubo]

Make sure you're certain you can do this with your CPU, this is very important! Some chips are soldered, and delidding them results in this

[mikeo01]

Delidding will void your warranty and is easier to fry because of static electricity. If you do mess up that's a chip out of the window.

You have ordered a Noctua you said, wait till then and if it is not sufficient I would send it back and either invest in water cooling or some other cooling if you are going for high overclocks.

Basically I wouldn't recommend delidding your CPU, dangerous and easy to mess up

[Badbonji]

Delidding isn't necessary on that line of processors, you won't really see that much of a benefit unlike the Ivy Bridge chips due to their issues with the thermal interface between the CPU and IHS. I believe all 950's are D0 stepping, and in that case I believe you have a good chance of reaching 4GHz and possibly more. If you do decide to delid, I would expect a temperature drop of 0-5C so I wouldn't say it was worth the risk (soldered CPUs generally have great thermal conductivity to the IHS).

Also as this CPU is soldered, it is very difficult to do and can easily destroy the processor (from http://www.overclock.net/t/305443/ih...-and-the-facts). I'm sure you'll still manage a decent overclock just with the aftermarket cooler anyway!

[Marc_92]

Thanks for the insightful and quick responses guys! Another technique I have witnessed but cannot remember the name is where you sand either the heatsink contact or the ihs to make it flat for better heat transfer. Anybody used it before and if so how effective was it?

[Macadee]

Thanks for the insightful and quick responses guys! Another technique I have witnessed but cannot remember the name is where you sand either the heatsink contact or the ihs to make it flat for better heat transfer. Anybody used it before and if so how effective was it?

Lapping, have not done it on a CPU, but have done on waterblocks to get rid of surface imperfections.

Use a small mirror or piece of glass as a flat base, hold on some dampened wet n' dry paper and push the block in a figure of eight pattern, turning 90 degrees every 10 or 12 circuits.
Increase the grade of wet n' dry as the marks even out. I use 400, 800 and 1200 grit paper. Look at the reflection of a piece of graph paper on the block to check for flatness.

[mikeo01]

Lapping will probably shave off a few degrees again, not worth the warranty void in my opinion

But that chip is hot in general

[Marc_92]

Yeah! Thats what it is, Thank! I may look into it more to see if the performance is worth the time.

[oralpain]

Hi guys,so I'm a relatively new to the overclocking/modding scene and I was thinking about possibly delidding my cpu to lower the temps and increase the overclock. I am currently using an i7950 @stock but once my noctua comes, i think ill push it to around 4ghz+ if i can. Basically I am just looking for anybody who has had experience with the process and if they came across any problems on the way.
Cheers

I recommend against delidding this part. The gains will be minimal in relation to the effort involved.

Most delidding these days is done with Ivy Bridge parts because they have standard silicone based TIM with a fairly thick bondline and will see a large temp improvement with a delidding or replacement. LGA-1366 i7s have the IHS soldered to the die, which greatly increases the labor needed.

In short, your CPU is both difficult to delid, and will see minimal improvement from it.

Make sure you're certain you can do this with your CPU, this is very important! Some chips are soldered, and delidding them results in this

It's possible to desolder these parts safely, or to delid them by sanding through the IHS completely.

Delidding will void your warranty and is easier to fry because of static electricity.

Static electricity is the least the dangers. Cutting the glue that holds the IHS to the substrate requires precision and force; it's easy to bend things too far or gouge traces in the substrate. Soldered IHSes require massive effort sanding through the IHS, in which case it's possible to go to far with coarse paper and scratch the die deeply enough that it cant be lapped out; or you need to heat the IHS to the melting point of the solder that holds it on, without heating it far enough to desolder the whole die.

[kalniel]

It's also easy to push the 950 to 4ghz+ without needing de-lidding (or even an uprated cooler probably).

[Marc_92]

I've decided against delidding since its not worth it really (the cpu is out of warrenty very soon which is why i was considering it). What temperatures would you consider being safe for an oc? I ran intel burn test last night for around half an hour and the temps hit around 63-63C across all cores.

[oralpain]

I ran intel burn test last night for around half an hour and the temps hit around 63-63C across all cores.

TJmax of an i7 920 is ~100C.

For moderate OCs, I feel comfortable with a max of 80-85C.

[Marc_92]

Thanks for that, ill probably go from 4ghz and then see what I can do after that.

[Phaz0r18]

To be honest any of these things will only marginally decrease your temps and for the risk involved the gains are really not worth it.

If you really want to push your OC ability, invest in a good custom watercooling loop...

[watercooled]

Bit late, but a bit extra on de-lidding for future reference;

As others have said, it's easy to slip up and destroy the die. Even if you successfully de-lid the CPU, there may be residue solder on the die which could be a pain to remove, and you have to be very careful with what cooler you choose as slightly unbalanced pressure on the die could also crack it.

It's somewhat less risky with non-soldered CPUs like IVB although you still risk ripping off SMD components while cutting through the adhesive, and the issue with HS pressure.

For soldered dies, it's almost guaranteed to be utterly useless unless something went wrong with the soldering process. Aside from the very high likelihood of destroying your CPU, see here for an interesting, albeit unsuccessful attempt on a Thuban CPU, think about the heat transfer logically. Solder conducts heat far better than any thermal compound - it's a metal. This is partly why IVB runs fairly hot vs the soldered die SNB. A heatspreader soldered to the die takes heat and allows a larger contact area with the heatsink base, as the name implies.

Lapping is just a way of trying to ensure you have as much metal-on-metal surface area as possible between heatspreader and heatsink, I can't see thickness making much of a measurable difference. Even lapping generally results in negligible results, so you're probably better of just upgrading your cooling solution considering the time+effort involved in lapping. Both the CPU and HS need to be lapped for it to be worthwhile.

[Kumagoro]

I have often thought about popping off the ihs on my e4300 core 2 duo. I think if I remember rightly they used paste over the e6xxx chips. My chip is a dog and I can't get it above 2.8 stable, and wondered if it would make any difference.

Out of curiosity why do they use fluxless solder, would flux based solder eat away at the die? I had thought about sticking a load of solder in and putting the ihs back on.