I forgot about this thread for a while. Overall, I think you guys are pansies being too scared to do this haha. There's really not that much risk. But then again, this is a keyboard forum and not a computer hardware mod forum. Main forum I'm on is
xtremesystems.org, where this kind of stuff is child's play.
I've heard that with this technique temps tend to get higher over time, though. Can you confirm?
Ok so it's been almost 2 months since I've done this mod, I just tested temps again with the same parameters, and it's about 1°C higher on all cores with ambient 1°C lower. So there is some change in temps, but right now that delta is too small to conclude anything. It might be within margin of error, or it could be actual increase in temps.
This has also gotten me to think of an even more extreme solution. Have you heard of anyone running an Ivy WITHOUT the IHS? You would probably at least need a modded cooler for this purpose so that it would reach down all the way to the die.
Doing this mod is fairly easy and straight forward. But trying to cool the chip without the IHS is where it will get complicated. True that leaving the IHS off eliminates another thermal obstacle, but here are some reasons why you should put it back on:
1) Bare die is fragile and could crack under high pressure.
2) Many aftermarket coolers, waterblocks, and stock coolers are shimmed to a certain height, so removing the IHS might cause the die to not even touch the cooler base.
3) Provides high surface area for heat to transfer to the cooler's base. Direct-touch type coolers REQUIRE a certain amount of surface area.
4) You'll need to mod the CPU socket on the motherboard if the IHS is not put back. The retention bracket will get in the way, so you'll have to remove the whole thing. However, removing this bracket system means you'll have to find some custom way to mount the cooler on.
I didn't see you clean the die or the IHS with isopropanol or acetone. Sad panda. 
Yeah, I didn't use isopropyl alcohol to clean it
. I actually recommended using isopropyl alcohol in my youtube comments, but never did it myself in the video. I didn't have any on my at the moment. Although, in this case I don't think it would have made any difference if I did. The stock paste is so crusty that it just flakes off and left no residue. So cleaning with alcohol or not would have made no difference in temps in this case. If the paste had not dried out like that, I definitely would have spent the time to look for the isopropyl around my house.
I removed the IHS on my 3770K as soon as I got it. I'm waiting on my Liquid Ultra to come in before I get to overclocking, and am currently using AS-5, which I probably have on a little too thick, because it's Prime95 load is around 60-65 Celsius.
Artic Silver-5 was the best... a looong time ago. Now, there are so many other paste that are better. The CL Liquid ultra is one of the best. Have you considered getting CL Liquid Pro instead? Ultra is newer, but the composition is a little different. For this situation, I think Pro might be better. Still, you should be a little more careful when applying both the paste you have because AS5 and liquid metal are both conductive.
Securing the lid using the mobo scares me. Those temps look good though....
Once you lock the retention bracket back on the IHS, you literally won't be able to move it with your hands. It's very secure, and you can see it near the end of the video.
