The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D has only been out a few weeks, but that hasn’t stopped one Redditor with a mission to improve its performance using a less-than-traditional set of tools. After being delidded to remove the original heatspreader using only a clothes iron and some string, it can now apparently reach “almost” 6GHz when overclocked without burning out.
This 16-core AMD monster is already one of the best gaming CPUs you can buy, thanks (in part) to its powerful 3D V-Cache. Delidding a CPU such as this one is a risky move, given the cost, but this Redditor was able to MacGyver a solution that, according to their testing, has already boosted performance significantly.
UserBhoss shared their tale in a post on the r/overclocking subreddit. In the post, the gamer explains that, rather than pay an extra $60 for a delidding tool, they decided to use a clothes iron and some fishing string to remove the heatspreader from the CPU, despite never attempting the feat before. The 9950X3D’s heatspreader apparently “slid off like butter” once the silicone was removed from its legs.
With the CPU being tamed by a water-cooling system, the results are “perfectly stable” according to UserBhos, and have allowed the CPU to hit “almost” 6GHz. That’s 300MHz above the 9950X3D’s usual top 5.7GHz boost clock speed, with the CPU only reaching 73°F during load.
We can’t recommend this approach, but this Redditor does show that, with some guile and ingenuity, you can attempt to mod your gaming CPU using the most basic tools. However, a clothes iron and some string isn’t the preferred technique for delidding a $699 processor, so we recommend investing in the right tool for the job if you fancy having a go at it yourself.
Unsure whether it’s time for a CPU upgrade or even a brand-new gaming rig? Check out our guide on how to build a gaming PC for a quick refresher, which will guide you through the whole process, from picking the components to installing Windows at the end.
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