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System Name | FATTYDOVE-R-SPEC |
---|---|
Processor | Intel i9 10980XE |
Motherboard | EVGA X299 Dark |
Cooling | Water (1x 240mm, 1x 280mm, 1x 420mm + 2x Mo-Ra 360 external radiator) |
Memory | 64GB DDR4 |
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Case | Open Benchtable (OBT) |
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Mouse | OG steelseries Sensei |
Keyboard | steelseries 6Gv2 |
Software | Windows 10 |
Hey there. I´m currently busy with 1366 CPUs and made some tests on delidding them even tho they are already soldered.
Right from the start I can tell you it is definitly NOT worth it for temperatures, I can not recommend doing it. There are other reasons to do it tho (I think some Mac Pro needs delidded chips).
The first problem I encountered was, that the current delidding tools like the one from Der8auer are too small to fit the 1366 CPUs. So I instead used the vice method. Have one edge pressing on the IHS and one on the substrate. Keep the angle as flat as possible. Gently but steadily increase pressure, avoid sudden movement and the IHS should just come off (remember that the CPU will drop, try to catch it with something soft underneath).
No heating required! I did this 3x and all three CPUs came out alive and well.
EDIT: 4/4 now, I´ll keep track of the number
Second IMPORTANT thing to know is the placement of SMDs underneath the IHS. I found that with Xeons and the i7s SMDs are placed in the same shape around the die. You do not want to push the IHS towards the SMD components, ALWAYS away from them.
As you can see, there is one side that has no caps on it to the right. So you want to push the IHS to the left if looking at it from the top, oriented with the little QR-Code towards the bottom. On the vice, if you use the top edges you will have to flip the CPU upside down, so you would want the left edge of your vice sitting against the IHS and the right one against the substrate.
Always have the edges of the vice fully cover the side of the subtrate to avoid splitting the pcb.
Once you got this done you now need to remove the solder, it is very soft so you can carefully scrape it off with a sharp knife. I used a scalpel which can actually cut the indium solder but does not scratch the die IF you are careful and use little force. This might take some time, so be patient and go slow. You do not want to damage the SMDs, scratch the die or cut into the pcb.
This will still leave some traces of the solder left on there which can now be polished off, some use a pencil-eraser (did not work for me) or polishing paste. I used a very fine micro-mesh sanding paper used for polishing metal surfaces.
After that you are nearly done, just carefully remove the black rubber from the IHS and subtrate, again be careful not to cut the PCB by accident. And that´s it. Now you can go direct die cooling or use the IHS + LM.
I took it one step further and sanded down my die to remove the diffusion barrier (WIP-pic):
I want to run a small experiment and see if that will have a major impact on the CPUs lifespan. I´m now running this i7 960 direct die and will see if it dies within a month or two. I found very little data on this topic and thought it would be interesting to test this out.
Temp improvement, if any, is marginal on those 1366 i7s. It is very hard to get an even surface under full cooler mounting pressure and if you take the pressure off, the weight of the tubes from the waterblock are enough force to skew the cooler in one direction and completly ruin your temps.
If you finally find a proper position, the idle temps are identical and the load temp improvement I saw was around 3-6°C.
What´s your take on delidding soldered CPUs? Would you consider it or have you done it before? Feel free to share your results and thoughts.
Did anyone else ever grind down a die and ran it without diffusion barrier for an extended period?
Right from the start I can tell you it is definitly NOT worth it for temperatures, I can not recommend doing it. There are other reasons to do it tho (I think some Mac Pro needs delidded chips).
The first problem I encountered was, that the current delidding tools like the one from Der8auer are too small to fit the 1366 CPUs. So I instead used the vice method. Have one edge pressing on the IHS and one on the substrate. Keep the angle as flat as possible. Gently but steadily increase pressure, avoid sudden movement and the IHS should just come off (remember that the CPU will drop, try to catch it with something soft underneath).
No heating required! I did this 3x and all three CPUs came out alive and well.
EDIT: 4/4 now, I´ll keep track of the number
Second IMPORTANT thing to know is the placement of SMDs underneath the IHS. I found that with Xeons and the i7s SMDs are placed in the same shape around the die. You do not want to push the IHS towards the SMD components, ALWAYS away from them.
As you can see, there is one side that has no caps on it to the right. So you want to push the IHS to the left if looking at it from the top, oriented with the little QR-Code towards the bottom. On the vice, if you use the top edges you will have to flip the CPU upside down, so you would want the left edge of your vice sitting against the IHS and the right one against the substrate.
Always have the edges of the vice fully cover the side of the subtrate to avoid splitting the pcb.
Once you got this done you now need to remove the solder, it is very soft so you can carefully scrape it off with a sharp knife. I used a scalpel which can actually cut the indium solder but does not scratch the die IF you are careful and use little force. This might take some time, so be patient and go slow. You do not want to damage the SMDs, scratch the die or cut into the pcb.
This will still leave some traces of the solder left on there which can now be polished off, some use a pencil-eraser (did not work for me) or polishing paste. I used a very fine micro-mesh sanding paper used for polishing metal surfaces.
After that you are nearly done, just carefully remove the black rubber from the IHS and subtrate, again be careful not to cut the PCB by accident. And that´s it. Now you can go direct die cooling or use the IHS + LM.
I took it one step further and sanded down my die to remove the diffusion barrier (WIP-pic):
I want to run a small experiment and see if that will have a major impact on the CPUs lifespan. I´m now running this i7 960 direct die and will see if it dies within a month or two. I found very little data on this topic and thought it would be interesting to test this out.
Temp improvement, if any, is marginal on those 1366 i7s. It is very hard to get an even surface under full cooler mounting pressure and if you take the pressure off, the weight of the tubes from the waterblock are enough force to skew the cooler in one direction and completly ruin your temps.
If you finally find a proper position, the idle temps are identical and the load temp improvement I saw was around 3-6°C.
What´s your take on delidding soldered CPUs? Would you consider it or have you done it before? Feel free to share your results and thoughts.
Did anyone else ever grind down a die and ran it without diffusion barrier for an extended period?
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