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AMD’s Ryzen 7000 processors have come under fire for the design of their integrated heat spreader (IHS), and how it doesn’t help thermals — but there’s apparently a way around this, one that makes the chips feel a lot better. work cooler. However, this is Surely not something we recommend the average user to try (not that they are equipped for it anyway).
Why? Well, because it means taking a shiny new Zen 4 processor and exposing it to a grinding tool. Yes, the solution to the thick IHS for this Ryzen generation – we’ll discuss why it’s meatier later – is simply to make it thinner by grinding it down.
Obviously this isn’t something the average PC owner wants to do, but more hardcore types may want to consider exploring this avenue – and some have already done so in the case of JayzTwoCents using expert overclocker Der8auer’s grinding tool – as spotted on Twitter by Andreas Schilling (via Tom’s hardware (opens in new tab)).
With a little help from @der8auer and his Ryzen 7000 grinding tool, @JayzTwoCents just showed that you can lower the temperatures of a Ryzen 9 7950X to 10°C by grinding down the heat spreader by 0.8mm. Roman talks cautiously about a maximum of 6 °C. pic.twitter.com/TElwxis6Q0October 20, 2022
The result of decreasing the IHS of a Ryzen 9 7950X CPU by 0.8mm turned out to be a drop in temperature from 94-95C, to 85-88C, a pretty substantial drop (that was the temperatures found anywhere at 5 .1 GHz ran cores for the CPU).
Analysis: the lesser of two evils? Well, not exactly
Essentially, this is an alternative to another risky procedure known as “delidding,” where the CPU has actually removed the IHS, which can result in even greater temperature drops. (Der8auer showed a huge drop of 20C when he did a 7900X before, though that used a special liquid metal thermal grease that is the overclocker’s own custom brew).
Shrinking the IHS represents a somewhat less risky path – and less fiddly too, since there’s a lot of extra work involved in mounting a cooling solution on a delidded (very different sized) chip – but admittedly, either way you’ll void your warranty. And unless you really know what you’re doing, you risk ruining the CPU, as you might imagine when it comes to drastic actions like tearing it apart or grinding bits down. That’s why we really wouldn’t recommend this to anyone other than expert enthusiasts (who can afford the cost if something goes wrong, by the way).
The whole background to this is that AMD has used a thicker design for the IHS with Zen 4 chips on the AM5 platform (with a new processor socket). This is to maintain compatibility with new Ryzen 7000 CPUs in terms of existing (AM4 platform) coolers – so people don’t have to buy a new cooling solution – because the new socket is flatter meaning the chip sits slightly lower (so the thicker IHS makes up for that difference). But that 1mm extra thickness is somewhat counterproductive for good thermals.
Now AMD thinks it’s fine for the Ryzen 9 7950X to compete in temperatures like 95C, but some enthusiasts beg to differ, hence the controversy. And so shave off 0.8mm to bring the IHS back to roughly its previous pre-Ryzen 7000 size, with the processor running at more than 85C, a level owners will be happier with.
As an aside, don’t forget that the IHS is there to protect the CPU, and with deliding that poses an additional risk in terms of exposing the die – while grinding down still leaves a protective cover on the chip, as they were .
If you’re concerned about your Zen 4’s temps – which of course can vary from case to case anyway – rather than going this route, it’s a much better and more feasible idea to look at alternative solutions such as using Eco Mode settings (in AMD’s Ryzen Master software) to keep that heat in check. (Or undervolting may be another option).