4770k (and all non E ivy and haswell chips) temperature fix works!

[Soviet Sandwhich]

So it became apparent a while back that Intel now only solders on the IHS on to the E type chips, using TIM on all others, the thermal paste interfacing the die to the chip's heat spreader being pretty garbage causes temperature problems even when under some hefty watercooling.

I run a 4770k at 4.2 ghz at 1.2v on core (unlucky lottery pick) and cool it with a Corsair H60, getting some 92'C highs once fully heat saturated running Intel Burn test on max. Realising that those temps are pretty ridiculous, I delidded the CPU using a razor blade (how to's can be found on YouTube), cleaned off the crappy thermal paste and slapped on some Arctic Silver 5. Put the whole thing back together and I'm reading 74'C highs after heat saturation, again running Intel Burn test on max. After the paste has time to settle in I even expect it to drop as low as 72/71'C. My room temperature having remained at a steady 20'C the whole time.

If you're having temp problems with Ivy or Haswell non E chips (as those use solder, dellidding them will break them) and are looking for a fix, definately give this a try, some good thermal paste to replace the crappy intel stuff certainly will help lower the temps by a lot.

 

[Calculatron]

Some people say that it is not the thermal compound, but the gap between the CPU-proper and the IHS. Either way, if you don't mind voiding a warranty, de-lidding seems to help. Some are lucky, like you, and experience a 10-20C difference; others have experienced only ~5C.