Thermal compound designed for efficient heat dissipation.
Thermal compound designed for efficient heat dissipation.
It can be applied when you're pushing beyond normal limits; using LM usually gives the best results. Doing this just to get a small boost isn't smart unless you're frequently doing XOC A—such sessions are typically reserved for liquid nitrogen work, as LM struggles much more in colder conditions.
The most recent attempt I made was on a 7700k. I experimented with various liquid metals—some all-copper IHS and thermal paste—and even tried Kryonaut and Arctic Silver 5 between the die and IHS. I expected to see consistent results, but so far I've only identified two types of liquid metal. From what I recall, I ended up using liquid metal because the thermal paste didn't perform better than the original. If you plan to delide the component, liquid metal is essential. Otherwise, it's best to leave it alone.
I focused only on LM because of its insulating qualities and the issue with staining. I’m not aiming for a rushed effort; I plan to use LM, but I wanted to know if it was really needed to achieve good outcomes or if a non-conductive material on a deli worked better.
I'm not either. This was my 7700k freshly delidded, no marks (clean die): One week later I took it apart to switch from Liquid Ultra to Conductonaut, this is as clean as my die would come, it actually appears scarred / corroded after only a week: The copper IHS I believe was part of that, so I swapped back to the stock nickel plated IHS. Used the Conductonaut, and it's been sealed up for over 4 years now. That PC my son uses it now over at my in laws after school and such. Still no temp problems. Still never needed to be serviced. I'm not touching it until it has a temp issue.
It might work occasionally, but usually it leads to a worse outcome than simply soldering the IHS like the 12700K is done in stock. Removing those chips isn't practical unless you intend to use liquid metal and push them to extreme overclocking levels. Unless you're aiming for that, it's probably not worth it.
For me, it’s an enjoyable activity. I achieved 5.4 on my 12900ks using the contact frame, and I’ve never tried a delid or lap before, so I’m eager to explore that scene. I don’t like rubbing coins together, and if something breaks, I’ll just grab a newer model anyway.
I must disagree – LM isn’t necessary at all for achieving better temperatures from a delid, and the differences between it and a standard TIM aren’t significant enough to outweigh the possible risks involved. At least that’s my view. It does provide higher temps, but the amount of improvement you need matters a lot when deciding what to do. The OP I’ve heard about also doesn’t like it, especially because it can harm certain metals or alloys like aluminum due to its Gallium content. It’s also problematic if your cooling components are made from materials that react with it, leading to future issues. I’m not aware of any standard TIMs that handle this situation well. There’s a recent article discussing this topic.
They achieved it with a 7700K setup. That chip kept Intel's poor thermal paste, so any aftermarket stuff really just improved things. The 12700K uses a soldered IHS design, making all those pastes feel like a step back, and LM only offers a minor boost.
That's another point you just made about the results of LM vs solder in terms of temp improvement - But at the same time there are exceptions. I must say if a chip's lid is soldered on, there is a risk of destroying the chip in the process of delidding but at the same time it can be done. A guy over at TPU did it with significant gains in their results and it's really a good read, this info coming from someone that's already done it is worth the read, esp to someone that doesn't know much, if anything about it. Delid 12700K Results - Surprising | TechPowerUp Forums Yes, my 7700K was a chip TIM'ed with Intel's brand of pigeon-poop TIM but that's not my point - My point is if you're going to suggest LM, that's fine but at least be sure to mention both, the good AND bad points about it so an informed choice is made by the one(s) who's asking about it. That's all I'm doing here.