How to "unlid" your athlon 64

[SparkyJJO]

I'm tempted cuz my load temps can get up to 48C. Pretty sure it won't help out the OC any (I've hit a wall), but just to cool stuff down... But I'm scared I'll destroy my $200 chip and I don't have another $200 to replace it with.

 

[Doctorweir]

Lol, this thread has a nice re-appearing factor But it is still one of the most useful / illustrative regarding IHS removal, so...

Regarding the P4 IHS removal I also heard the core is glued to the IHS, so removing the IHS can most likely rip the whole core off, which I would not risk...

The removal always has its risks if unsure and no money left to replace, better don't do it. If you do it, carefully study our pics here, especially where the capacitors are. Take your time, run around with the blade until there is no more resistance and the twist the IHS gently until it comes off. Don't just pop it off, otherwise you may end up in the P4 boat...

 

[P0pinjay]

I unlidded my Opty 165 this weekend. Apart from a small cut on my finger it went pretty smoothly. One thing to consider though, is that the razorblade you use needs to be fairly thin. I would guess the one I used was 0.5 mm or less.

Also, I am using a Zalman CNPS7700AlCu heatsink on the CPU. In its stock configuration it doesn't seat on the die with any significant amount of force so the HSF recommendation on that one could use a little footnote. What I did was the following: There's a sort of higher level that the retention bracket can sit on. I simply placed the bracket at the higher level (i.e. greater distance from mobo to bracket) and then was able to apply a good amount of force to the die using the two original mounting screws. I doubt that the higher level was designed for this particular use, but it works out nicely anyways.

All that being said, my Opty runs hot as hell. At stock speeds, after unlidding it, the load temp is 60C. I had originally tried reseating the HSF with the IHS still in place in order to lower the temps. When this didn't work, out of frustration, I decided to unlid the thing. I have only seated the HSF once after unlidding it. Perhaps it is not quite sitting properly. I guess i'll have to open it back up and try again.