When it comes the art of delidding a CPU there is probably no better authority on the subject than our pal Roman 'der8auer' Hartung, the creator of the Delid-Die-Mate. Roman created the Delid-Die-Mate tool to make the removal of a CPU’s IHS (Integrated Heat Spreader) a breeze. No longer are we relegated to attacking expensive silicon armed with nothing more than hope and a razor blade. Having tackled several generations of Intel CPUs Roman recently published a video that discusses specifically the challenges presented by Intel’s newly announced Skylake – X and Kaby Lake-X series processors.

Roman notes that in fact for these forthcoming platforms delidding will again be an essential element on getting the absolute maximum performance. Intel have opted to use a pretty generic TIM (Thermal Interface Material) that doesn’t actually perform as well as the solder used with previous generation Haswell-E and Broadwell-E HEDT parts. Thusly, real gains can be made in terms of temperatures by delidding the CPU and applying an improved solution such as liquid metal.

In his video Roman notes how the die on the new chips is the same as previous designs but that the package itself is larger. The PCB of Skylake-X chips use a stacked PCB design and also have small SMDs mounted on the surface of the PCB, a fact that can make the delidding process more challenging. After some considerable time working out a solution Roman has now developed the answer, the Delid Die Mate X. The tool works in similar fashion to previous Delid Die Mate tools, essentially using leverage to push the IHS off the PCB from a specific side of the chip. In the video, available here on his YouTube channel, Roman explains that the current model is a prototype, and that the final product should be available by the end of June.

Interestingly, Roman also took some during Computex a few week ago to do a live delidding session with a Sky Lake –X chip with Gamers Nexus. If you want to see a new SKX CPU being delidded, I recommend that video which can be found here.