AMD's Upcoming Zen 4 CPU Delidded by Overclocker

[TheLostSwede]

It appears that AMD's Zen 4 based CPUs are making their ways into the hands of overclockers and so far at least one has already been delidded. Although we only get to see the IHS itself, it's clearly very thick compared to what we've seen in the past, although it appears to be fairly straightforward to remove, if it wasn't for the fact that the two CCD's and the IOD are soldered to it. Unlike current CPUs, which have a solid seal, the Zen 4 CPUs appear to only have the IHS glued to the CPU packaging in a few spots.

Judging by the looks of the area where the CCDs and the IOD attach to the IHS, this looks like a destructive delidding, although it could just be leftovers from the soldering material. The IHS has clearly been coated with some materials for a good solder interface as well, but this is nothing new, as we've seen this on delidded, soldered CPUs in the past. The person who shared this picture should most likely not have done so and as such, we won't be posting a link to the source.



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[ZoneDymo]

man that is one chunky lookin ihs

 

[Crackong]

That IHS is like a thick copper base plate more than an IHS

 

[a111087]

 

[dj-electric]

The need to keep a certain Z height to keep compatibility with previous mounting systems suck.
I get it, its probably for the better good, but im not a fan of the result. At all.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Judging by the looks of the area where the CCDs and the IOD attach to the IHS, this looks like a destructive delidding, although it could just be leftovers from the soldering material.

I'm in favor of the leftovers, it looks like that is solder at the outer corners on the right and just a blob of it on the left.

 

[stimpy88]

Is it solder, or is it liquid metal? Looks more like liquid metal to me.

 

[Chaitanya]

Is it solder, or is it liquid metal? Looks more like liquid metal to me.

Typical solder

 

[TheLostSwede]

I'm in favor of the leftovers, it looks like that is solder at the outer corners on the right and just a blob of it on the left.

I checked with the person that posted the picture and the CPU is indeed alive.

 

[Wirko]

the Zen 4 CPUs appear to only have the IHS glued to the CPU packaging in a few spots

It's not just that the lid isn't sealed along the entire edge. On the contrary, it has eight large holes.

 

[Crackong]

Is it solder, or is it liquid metal? Looks more like liquid metal to me.

It look like liquid metal because they heated it up and delided it

 

[TheLostSwede]

It's not just that the lid isn't sealed along the entire edge. On the contrary, it has eight large holes.

Well, I was actually expecting AMD to seal the edge still, to prevent "gunk" to get in under the IHS, but that's obviously not the case.
I guess these won't be easy to clean properly if someone makes a thermal paste mess.

 

[Arkz]

That looks waaaaay too thick for an IHS.

 

[AusWolf]

That looks waaaaay too thick for an IHS.

But it makes sense, imo. Unlike monolithic dies, small chiplets concentrate heat into a tiny, non-central spot, which isn't ideal for cooling. You'd rather want to dissipate that heat in order to use as much of your cooler's coldplate area as possible. Zen 2 and 3's problem has always been heat dissipation.

What I don't get is how overclockers manage to get their hands on these CPUs so soon.

Well, I was actually expecting AMD to seal the edge still, to prevent "gunk" to get in under the IHS, but that's obviously not the case.
I guess these won't be easy to clean properly if someone makes a thermal paste mess.

I really hope this is just an engineering sample.

 

[SL2]

I'd like to see someone try to bend that thing, or maybe make a throwing star out of it.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Would using conductive paste on this matter?

 

[Chrispy_]

man that is one chunky lookin ihs

It has to be a chungus to make up the height difference. The old PGA socket was 3-4mm taller than the new LGA socket and AMD are being the good guys and trying to maintain compatibility with all the existing coolers on the market, including the one you presumably already own and paid good money for.

Having an extra-chunky IHS will also add to the thermal mass and make it easier to air-cool. I'm guessing LN2 and high-end water chillers will suffer, but that's such a tiny niche market that custom-build their own retention bracket and probably delid their CPUs anyway.

 

[TheLostSwede]

What I don't get is how overclockers manage to get their hands on these CPUs so soon.

Depends on where you work...
It's someone I know, but I don't want to post too many details.

I really hope this is just an engineering sample.

Most likely, as AMD hasn't finished their QS chips as yet, from what I understand.

Would using conductive paste on this matter?

I guess we'll find out in due time.

 

[Chrispy_]

Would using conductive paste on this matter?

We'll have to see when reviews come out and compare a cooler on AM4 and AM5.

AM5 has slightly less IHS surface area and a raised PPT of 230W so the thermal interface will play a larger role in the cooling performance.

In saying that, I am guessing that thermal paste will still play a relatively minor and insignificant part of cooling, where Conductonaut vs generic goop will provide no more than a few degrees.

 

[Mathragh]

That chonky thick IHS potentially looks like a good candidate for housing a vapor chamber.
I wonder if it's possible to build an effective and structurally sound one within those physical constraints, but it seems like a cool (hehe geddit) idea at least.

 

[Bomby569]

that chonky thick IHS potentially looks like a good candidate for housing a vapor chamber.
I wonder if it's possible to build an effective and structurally sound one within those physical constraints, but it seems like a cool (hehe geddit) idea at least.

it would probably cost a bit more to produce but seems like a great idea

 

[TheDeeGee]

Looks like LM disaster when it spills underneat, so many gaps ^^

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

So chip details, one big IO and two long thin chiplets?! Or is the CCD now ultra long?!

 

[TheDeeGee]

The need to keep a certain Z height to keep compatibility with previous mounting systems suck.
I get it, its probably for the better good, but im not a fan of the result. At all.

I think it's simply a matter of the LGA mounting system not being able to be made flat enough and make the IHS protrude the retention plate. So they compensate it by making a thick IHS.

 

[Solid State Brain]

Such thick IHS possibly mitigates bending issues, which have always existed to some extent on Intel anyway (just got worse with Alder Lake).