After the unsuccessful attempts of Tony Yu to delid a Zen 5 CPU, it’s nice to see the successful attempts prosper. Well, almost. The 9700X pictured has been delided by a Reddit user s10hotrod, who used der8auer’s “Delid-Die-Mate” to get the job done. It’s important to note that Tony Yu was also using the same tool but since, der8auer made a video explaining that the Delid was just a user error, and not as a result of his tool.

Deliding, also known as decapping, a CPU is the process of removing the IHS (integrated heat spreader), or the exterior ‘lid’ in layman’s terms, to get better thermal contact with the CPU Die directly for better thermal temperatures. Technically, a delid of the 9000 series is very similar to the 7000 series as they share the same IHS and chip design, it’s just what’s under the hood that’s different.

Ryzen 7 9700X delidding goes wrong for the second time

This particular Reddit user, s10hotrod, has a delided 7950X3D in his user flair on r/AMD, noting the fact that he must be an experienced hardware tinkerer. Deliding is never recommended for the average person, and should only be reserved for people who have the capital to replace the CPU should they break it, as it voids any kind of product warranty.

However, disaster struck the user, as when they went to remove the 9700X from the tool, they cracked the Die. What luck. s10hotrod wrote:

“**** UPDATE **** Sorry to disappoint, but I cracked the IO die when removing from the delidder. I improperly used the delidder to hold the CPU while cleaning, and must have really lodged it in. Took about 5 mins of pressing on it, heard a snap, and then the crack is here. Lame.“

It seems to be a bit of a running theme, and we wonder if the curse of Zen 5 will continue to plague would-be deliders. If the 7000 series is anything to go off, deliding the CPU can lead to massive thermal improvements. This gives you more thermal headroom for things like extreme overclocking.

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About the Author

Jack Howarth

Jack Howarth, a Tech Writer at PC Guide, is deeply passionate about technology. He started his journey during college, earning an Extended Diploma in ICT, and CompTIA A+ later in life.