Intel's Core i9-14900K Delidded: 12C Temperature Reduction

Intel engineers are missing out on a huge opportunity, and it seems they don't even know it.

What would happen if some desktop parts arrived already delidded, or more accurately UNlidded? Subbing a piece of plastic to ensure contact for the obviously higher cost of the lid and whatever garbage Intel uses to secure the lid and act as TIM wouldn't just save end users money, it would save Intel, too!

I'd certainly limit this idea to K and KF parts, as buyers of those SKUs are much more likely then non K buyers to want to delid, have the technical knowledge required, and/or know what advantage delidding even promises. Not only that, but Intel already recognizes that set of end users by not including an OEM HSF with K and KF SKUs.

In the age of buzzwords like 'sustainability' and 'carbon footprint', such a move has the potential for a bigger effect than first realized.

1. Labor and energy is spent manufacturing lids, transporting lids, receiving lids and committing lids to inventory. Same with glues and TIM materials.

2. Labor and energy is spent picking inventoried lids and other materials and then mounting them onto dies to create finished products.

3. Finished products are then shipped to distributors and resellers for shipment to end users, each leg of the process consuming more energy because of the weight of metal lids, as opposed to plastic contact plates.

4. A delidded or UNlidded CPU draws 10 watts less power, so says the foregoing, which means each of those million CPUs has the potential to save up to 88 kWh of power per year by itself.

5. Each of those UNlidded CPUs then dumps 10 watts less heat into the rooms they are in, which equates to 10 watts less air conditioning required to cool the rooms.

6. Those 10 watts plus the several additional watts to cool said rooms, plus the cost of transmitting those watts to the place of consumption may cost the end user a very small amount of money on a monthly or even yearly basis, but at ~120 kWh/year, over a 10-year lifespan that money is not trivial, especially when expressed in terms of TCO on a P&L statement.

7. Those 120 kWh must come from somewhere, and even if they come from renewable sources, they serve to offset other uses for that power, which in 2023 still usually means more generated by the use of fossil fuels. That in itself engenders a whole other discussion centering on extraction, transport, supply, demand and the economics thereof, plus the actual burning of and subsequent dumping of CO2 from them into our air.

Phew.

If Intel sells a million K and KF CPUs, and each lid weighs 25 grams more than a plastic piece, that equates to 25 million grams, or better said, 25 metric tons of weight that doesn't require energy to transport every step of the way. Those million CPUs could collectively save 1200 million kWh over a decade, more/less. That's just gotta be enough to send one DeLorean back to 2015.

zachacox said:

What would happen if some desktop parts arrived already delidded, or more accurately UNlidded?

Large losses from RMAs due to cracked dies.

This article is wrong.
The cpu wasn't just delidded, it was delidded and relidded.
The only difference was the kind of liquid metal. He replaced Indium with Gallium.
The Contact Frame was changed finally and only did account for 1.5° improvement.
(I have no idea why he does this or where the improvement came from, probably the heatspreader ends up closer the die)

zachacox said:

Intel engineers are missing out on a huge opportunity, and it seems they don't even know it.

What would happen if some desktop parts arrived already delidded, or more accurately UNlidded? Subbing a piece of plastic to ensure contact for the obviously higher cost of the lid and whatever garbage Intel uses to secure the lid and act as TIM wouldn't just save end users money, it would save Intel, too!

I'd certainly limit this idea to K and KF parts, as buyers of those SKUs are much more likely then non K buyers to want to delid, have the technical knowledge required, and/or know what advantage delidding even promises. Not only that, but Intel already recognizes that set of end users by not including an OEM HSF with K and KF SKUs.

In the age of buzzwords like 'sustainability' and 'carbon footprint', such a move has the potential for a bigger effect than first realized.

1. Labor and energy is spent manufacturing lids, transporting lids, receiving lids and committing lids to inventory. Same with glues and TIM materials.

2. Labor and energy is spent picking inventoried lids and other materials and then mounting them onto dies to create finished products.

3. Finished products are then shipped to distributors and resellers for shipment to end users, each leg of the process consuming more energy because of the weight of metal lids, as opposed to plastic contact plates.

4. A delidded or UNlidded CPU draws 10 watts less power, so says the foregoing, which means each of those million CPUs has the potential to save up to 88 kWh of power per year by itself.

5. Each of those UNlidded CPUs then dumps 10 watts less heat into the rooms they are in, which equates to 10 watts less air conditioning required to cool the rooms.

6. Those 10 watts plus the several additional watts to cool said rooms, plus the cost of transmitting those watts to the place of consumption may cost the end user a very small amount of money on a monthly or even yearly basis, but at ~120 kWh/year, over a 10-year lifespan that money is not trivial, especially when expressed in terms of TCO on a P&L statement.

7. Those 120 kWh must come from somewhere, and even if they come from renewable sources, they serve to offset other uses for that power, which in 2023 still usually means more generated by the use of fossil fuels. That in itself engenders a whole other discussion centering on extraction, transport, supply, demand and the economics thereof, plus the actual burning of and subsequent dumping of CO2 from them into our air.

Phew.

If Intel sells a million K and KF CPUs, and each lid weighs 25 grams more than a plastic piece, that equates to 25 million grams, or better said, 25 metric tons of weight that doesn't require energy to transport every step of the way. Those million CPUs could collectively save 1200 million kWh over a decade, more/less. That's just gotta be enough to send one DeLorean back to 2015.

Been wondering why they have n't tried this.
Years ago most CPUs came without a heatspreader, maybe it's
time to go back?

edzieba said:

Large losses from RMAs due to cracked dies.

Possibly, but don't forget CPUs used to come without a heatspreader.
The larger, more complex parts made now may very well be too vulnerable
to damage to be suppled ' bare ' but if that was the case, why can so many
seemingly delid and direct die cool?

leclod said:

This article is wrong.
The cpu wasn't just delidded, it was delidded and relidded.
The only difference was the kind of liquid metal. He replaced Indium with Gallium.
The Contact Frame was changed finally and only did account for 1.5° improvement.
(I have no idea why he does this or where the improvement came from, probably the heatspreader ends up closer the die)

As was kinda said in a post above. His business is primarily selling the contact frames/delidders/various pastes. He also needs some kinda of content for his weekly video. I suspect he had nothing better to talk about since everyone has fully covered that the 14th gen is not all the special.
There really is nothing new to see here. If you want to go to the trouble of delidding and risk using liquid metal it will likely run cooler. Even he admits that the contact frames only help on some combinations of coolers and motherboard.

Not sure why toms linked this video it wasn't really any unexpect information.....then again this site and their freelance authors need to produce content also and the 14th gen has not been much to talk about.