AMD's new Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 series CPU delidding 'goes wrong' with a cracked die

AMD's new Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" desktop CPUs are slowly finding their way out into the wild, and now we've got the first delidded Ryzen 9000 series CPU... which didn't go as expected.

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ASUS China manager Tony Yu delidded the AMD Ryzen 9000 series CPU, which involves removing the IHS (integrated heat spreader) so you can use higher-end forms of thermal paste like liquid metal. Not just that, but you can reduce CPU temperatures when stressing out your CPU under stronger workloads, but how did it go?

Tony Yu shared his Ryzen 9000 series CPU delidding story on social media platform Bilibili, where he said he had the "world's first" Zen 5 delidded CPU that was a complete failure. The on-board I/O die was cracked, which means the processor was useless afterwards. Parts of the cracked die were found on the IHS as well as on the chip itself, showing just how big the mistake was for Tony.

The first Ryzen 9000 series CPU delidded, and the first one to die during the process. Kosta said in his review of the Zen 5-based Ryzen 7 9700X processor: "Enthusiasts who edit 4K video, develop games, or render and animate complex 3D scenes will want to consider the Ryzen 9 9900X and 9950X CPUs: high-performance, high-end products with the price tag to match. The Ryzen 7 9700X, at $359 USD, is an impressively efficient and performant mid-range CPU. Looking specifically at gaming benchmarks and the broad PCMark 10 Extended test in this review, it's a chip that manages to edge out the Ryzen 9 7950X while using less than half the power".

• Read more: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X CPU Review
• Read more: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X CPU Review

"Yes, that's a phrase mentioned once or twice in this review (and a few more in our review of the Ryzen 5 9600X), but these efficiency gains are like technology unicorns - super rare. As one of the most powerful and efficient CPUs for gaming and everyday PC use, the choice is easy if the Ryzen 7 9700X is within your budget. That is, until the Ryzen 7 9700X3D arrives, and AMD changes the game again".