Intel's Core i9-14900K has finally been delidded by hardware enthusiast Der8auer, which shows a decent improvement in thermals.
Intel's Core i9-14900K CPU Delidding Process Becomes Easier, Also Leads To Better Temps
Before we proceed, let's take a quick recap of what "delidding" a processor actually means. This process involves removing the IHS (Integrated Heat Spreader), along with utilizing a more "premium" form of thermal paste, such as liquid metal. Now what this does is that it increases the contact area of your cooling solution with the onboard CPU die, resulting in a reduction of temperatures by at least 15%-20%. This is, however, limited to a certain type of consumer, who either are bothered by high temperatures or want to test the performance limits of their CPUs.
Now Der8auer here has utilized a "prototype" delid toolkit, which is basically similar to the Thermal Grizzly one, for Intel's 13th-Gen CPUs. The delidding process requires a certain procedure. And as expected, the Intel 13th Gen "Raptor Lake Refresh" doesn't feature many changes in terms of IHS, since there isn't much of a generational difference in the respective die sizes. However, one change is the higher temperatures that are a result of the higher wattage that comes with the increased clock frequencies which we reported in our review here.
Moving on, Der8auer does further testing such as measuring the height difference between the die and PCB to compare it with previous generations. Moreover, upon checking the height difference between individual layers of IHS, it was revealed that Intel has apparently left out a 0.3mm gap, allowing the application of liquid metal without doing any physical changes such as trimming the IHS out.
Initial testing of the "delidded" Intel Core i9-14900K CPU revealed that the P-Cores saw a drop of 10C, that too without a contact frame. Moreover, the E-cores saw an 8°C drop as well, which is what you would expect in usual cases as well. However, by mounting the CPU with a contact frame, a tool optimizes the contact pressure, a higher temperature drop was witnessed, but the difference was minimal but led to a 13C overall drop.
The part that amazes us as well as Der8auer is the ease of the process, since according to him, it was bound to fail. While there isn't a structural change that defines the "delidding" procedure to be relatively easier, Der8auer does highlight that it could be specific to his unit of the Intel Core i9-14900K CPU only. Still, the results were indeed interesting.
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
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