Intel Core i9-14900K delidded: CPU temperatures drop by up to 12C

Intel's new Core i9-14900K is now out in the wild, available on Amazon and Newegg for around $600 or so -- Newegg is cheaper, $599 right now -- and into Der8auer's hands for some ultra-cool testing.

Before Der8auer delidded his new Core i9-14900K processor, he created a baseline using a CPU at stock settings cooled by a 360mm AIO liquid cooler from Corsair. He proceeded to fix the fan speeds and core frequencies, using the same DDR5-7600 XMP memory profile the entire time. Core settings were locked at a 56 ratio, with a fixed v-core at 1.39V. Der8auer also used a power calibration setting of load level 5, which is what you'd use for a little overclock.

Intel's new Core i9-14900K before it was delidded, running on the 360mm AIO liquid cooler, saw peak CPU power consumption of 294W. Once the 14900K was delidded and liquid metal was applied, peak power consumption came down 10W to 284W. Der8auer was expecting temperature drops, but not to this level, and to reduce power consumption by 10W, too. But once it was delidded... that's when the fun began.

• Read more: Intel Core i9-14900K "Raptor Lake Refresh" CPU Review

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Dera8uer continued his journey, delidding the Core i9-14900K, which saw the temperature drop from 93.1C to 83.2C, but when he used a contact frame -- which is better for package uniformity and provides enhanced contact with the CPU cooler -- another 1.7C was shaved off the 14900K.

Warning: don't do this at home, it's not easy and you can damage your flashy new Core i9-14900K processor... and you really don't want to do that. If you're that worried about CPU temperatures, well, it's no secret that Intel's CPUs use considerably more power than AMD Ryzen 7000 series CPUs, and that power = heat. Heat = you need a better, high-end cooler... something like the Core i9-14900K needs a larger, more powerful 360mm AIO liquid cooler.

However, an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor would keep up with -- and sometimes beat -- the Core i9-14900K and only need a decent air cooler. No expensive, huge 360mm AIO liquid cooler is needed for the 7800X3D... it uses 75W or so under gaming loads, 200W+ less than the Intel Core i9-14900K.