AMD’s Ryzen 7000 The processors have come under fire due to the integrated heat spreader (IHS) design, and how it doesn’t help with heat usage – but there is a way around this apparently, one that ensures the chips run a bit cooler. However, this is sure Not something we’d recommend the average user to try (not that it’s going to be set up anyway).
why? Well, because it involves taking a shiny new Zen 4 Healer Expose it to a grinding tool. Yes, the solution to the thicker IHS of this Ryzen generation – we’ll discuss why it’s better later – is to simply make it thinner by grinding it.
Obviously not something the average PC owner would want to do, but more hardcore people might consider exploring this route – and some have already done in the case of JayzTwoCents with the expert overclocking milling tool Der8auer – as spotted on Twitter by Andreas Schilling (Across Tom’s devices (Opens in a new tab)).
With a little help from @der8auer and his Ryzen 7000 grinding tool, JayzTwoCents has just shown that you can reduce Ryzen 9 7950X temperatures by up to 10°C by grinding the 0.8mm heatsink. Roman cautiously speaks of up to 6 degrees Celsius. pic.twitter.com/TElwxis6Q0October 20 2022
The result of an IHS lowering the Ryzen 9 7950X CPU by 0.8mm proved to drop temperatures from 94-95°C, all the way to 85-88°C, which is a pretty significant drop (those were 5.1GHz temperatures across all – 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 already been removed from the IHS, which could lower the temperature even further. (Der8auer showed a significant 20°C drop when downgraded to the previous 7900X, although this used a proprietary liquid mineral thermal grease which is a concoction intended for overclockers.)
IHS milling is a somewhat less risky path – and also less messy, as there is a lot of extra work in fitting a cooling solution for a (totally different sized) barebones – but given you, either way, you void the warranty. And unless you really know what you’re doing, you run the risk of ruining the CPU as you might imagine when it comes to a drastic procedure like disassembling it or grinding small parts out of it. Which is why we wouldn’t recommend this to anyone except expert enthusiasts (who can afford it if things go wrong, for that matter).
The whole background to this is that AMD has used a thicker design for IHS Zain 4 Chips on the AM5 platform (with a new processor socket). This is in order to maintain compatibility with the new Ryzen 7000 CPUs in terms of existing coolers (AM4 platform) – so people don’t have to buy a new cooling solution – as the new socket is flatter, which means the chip is a bit thinner (so the thicker IHS compensates for this difference). But the 1mm extra thickness than usual is somewhat counterproductive for good heat.
Now, AMD thinks it’s good for Ryzen 9 7950X To stop at temperatures like 95°C, but some enthusiasts are begging to differ, hence the controversy. Hence, removing the 0.8mm brings IHS back to its pre-Ryzen 7000 size, with the processor running at 85°C, which is a much happier level for the level owners.
As an aside, don’t forget that IHS is there to provide protection for the CPU, and with the reduction that’s the added risk of leaving the die exposed – while milling it still leaves a protective cover on the chip, because they were.
If you’re concerned about temporary Zen 4 hardware – which of course may vary from case to case anyway – instead of going this route, it’s better and more feasible to look for workarounds such as using the eco mode settings (in AMD’s Ryzen Master) to curb This heat. (Or perhaps minimizing the options is another option.)