How to delid your processor and why you would want to.
Let’s get physical with our CPU.
YOU’LL NEED THIS
Processor
Delidding Tool ($69, for Delid Die Mate, or $161, for Delid Die Mate-X)
Liquid Metal or Thermal Paste (Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut, or Noctua’s NT-H1). + extras
Ah delidding, that old, terrifying procedure, usually only recommended for the elite. For the uninitiated, delidding is the act of separating the integrated heat spreader (IHS) from the top of the processor, and then replacing the stock thermal paste that the manufacturer has used with something a little more premium – usually liquid metal or a better thermal paste.
Once upon a time it used to be quite the daunting procedure, involving all sorts of razor blades and torture devices, with a myriad of techniques used to carefully splice your processor away from its IHS, hopefully without damaging the silicon underneath (or yourself for that matter).
For many, it was rarely ever worth it. As temps on the high-end parts remained resolutely below that 70C mark, even with the weakest of aftermarket coolers, the big question was then: “Why bother?” Heck, even when overclocking, it was rare to see temperatures shoot past 75-85C before you hit your silicon limits, especially with a decent AIO cooler. But times changed, and as the core war ramped up processors began to get hotter, as the two kings of desktop computing added more and more cores. It wasn’t uncommon to see an Intel Core i7-8700K peak at 75C when under load, regardless of overclocks. And although the company has taken steps to solder some of its higher end parts (the 9000 series, Core i9-9980XE and beyond), for those still stuck on Coffee Lake, or harboring a Skylake-X HEDT chip, delidding offers substantial improvements for both a superior overclocking experience, and far lower temperatures across the board.
Choosing your processor
First up on the block today is one of Intel’s 1151 Coffee Lake processors. We’re going to be using the Intel Core i3-8350K for our demonstration chip. It’s a fairly well-rounded processor, not too dissimilar from the old i5s of Kaby Lake and prior. Although it doesn’t come with a turbo, or Hyper-Threading, it’s a fairly sound gaming processor or overclocking chip for any budget tinkerer.
For this guide we’re going to be showing you how to replace the thermal paste between the chip and the IHS with some of Noctua’s NT-H1 TIM instead. The paste Intel uses is typically of poor quality, and with this change you can expect to see temperature improvements ranging from three to five degrees Celsius, dependent on overclock and load application.
Liquid metal is the far superior alternative (one we’ll be showcasing later), but it comes with an added risk factor as it’s conductive, so any spillage on the side of the PCB can cause irreparable damage to the processor.
You can effectively reduce your temperatures using liquid metal from anywhere between eight and 15 degrees Celsius on average, again dependent on clock speed and workload. So let’s get started.
Unboxing the Delid Die Mate 2
First, unbox and disassemble your Delid Die Mate 2 delidding tool [Image A]. In the package, you should find a small CPU retaining holder, a sliding block that fits in it that sits snug against the IHS, a hex bolt, a washer for the bolt, an Allen key, and a clamp.
Take all of this apart, and get a good understanding of just how this works. Then, you simply need to drop the processor into the device. To do this, line up the gold triangle on the bottom left corner of the CPU,with the triangle marking on the delidding tool – much like you would install a processor into a CPU socket.
Removing the IHS
Next, carefully slide the top IHS remover into the device. There are two rails along the top of the CPU retaining holder that it slides into. Once in, make sure the screw thread and the hole in the retaining holder line up.
Secure it in place using the included hex bolt, making sure to keep the washer on the outside of the Delid Die Mate 2. You can do this by hand, keep going until you can no longer turn it. [Image B ]
Once you get this far, you’ll then need to use the Allen key to pull the IHS remover closer. This will push the IHS off the top of the processor. This does require a bit of force, and can be a bit nerve
wracking as it may make a noise as you do this, but you’ll slowly see the IHS move off the chip.
Clean-up, and paste application
Now undo the bolt and remove the IHS remover from the device. You should be able to see that the heat spreader has cleanly slid off the processor. Carefully take the IHS off the chip, and remove the processor from the device.
Once out, use an alcohol wipe or a microfiber cloth and isopropyl alcohol to clean off both the processor and the heat spreader of Intel’s thermal paste. Once that’s done, you can apply your own thermal paste to the chip. To do this, apply a small dot of paste in the middle of the silicon, and then spread it, either with a paste spreader or an old business card or credit card you no longer use. Make sure you’re using nonconductive thermal paste – that way it doesn’t matter too much if you make a mess and some spills out onto the green PCB.
Once that’s done, we recommend cleaning up the IHS of all the glue that stuck it down to the chip to begin with. You’ll be adding a fresh layer anyway, but by removing the glue residue from the IHS you’ll be reducing the total height between the heat spreader and the silicon, and improving thermal performance. I personally use a fingernail to do this, although you can do it with a sharp-edged blade.
Securing down the IHS
At this point you have two options. You can just place the processor into a motherboard socket, carefully put the IHS back down on top, and then use the motherboard’s socket bracket to secure the assembly into position, or alternatively glue the IHS back down and clamp it, so you can swap it in and out of motherboards without worrying later on.
We like to glue ours back down. To do this we recommend you pick up a heatproof adhesive glue.
Here, simply apply a small amount of glue along the remaining glue traces on the CPU itself. Once that’s done, reattach the IHS.
It’s important here that you orient the IHS the correct way round. To do this, locate the gold triangle on the processor, then make sure that it’s aligned with the bottom left of the IHS’s text. Simply place the heat spreader into position on top of the glue traces. If you don’t get it right first time, don’t worry, simply lift it off and try again, or nudge the IHS into the right position using your fingers.
Curing
Once that’s done, take the clamp mechanism and carefully maneuver it into position above the CPU. There’s a cut-out notch located on the bottom of the Delid Die Mate 2 that the clamp will sit in. Once you’ve got here, tighten the clamp until it puts pressure on the processor. [Image C]
In an ideal world, we recommend that you leave the glue to cure for 24 hours, just to make sure that the glue is properly set. But, you can probably get away with two to three hours at a push, depending on your glue/ patience.