Thermal Grizzly, a German company famous mainly for its liquid metal, thermal pastes and other thermal interfaces for computer equipment, has started selling scalped AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processors. These chips do not have a heat spreader, but there is a guarantee!
Image Source: Thermal Grizzly
The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is currently considered the best gaming processor in the world, and due to high demand, it is quite difficult to find on sale. Thermal Grizzly prices the uncapped version of the chip at €679 (including VAT). The company provides its own two-year warranty, but mechanical damage is not covered.
Well-known overclocker, enthusiast and part-time head of Thermal Grizzly Roman “Der8auer” Hartung published a video on YouTube in which he demonstrated the process of scalping a processor and also talked about the chip supplier – German retailer Mindfactory.
Scalping a processor is the removal of the metal cover installed over the crystals. This cover transfers heat from the silicon to the cooling system. A special solder is used between the cover and the crystal for more efficient heat dissipation. Scalping is aimed at replacing the factory thermal interface with a better one, but the crystal can be irreparably damaged in the process. Of course, scalping automatically deprives the user of the manufacturer’s warranty.
Thermal Grizzly takes these risks on itself and offers already scalped processors that have been tested for operability. The user only needs to choose a thermal interface and a cooling system. Thermal Grizzly scalps all processors itself. The process is carried out using a special oven that heats the processor to 160-170 degrees Celsius, in several stages, until the heat spreader cap detaches itself. After that, the processors are tested under load with operating temperatures measured.
According to the head of Thermal Grizzly, the company provides a warranty on processors, excluding mechanical damage. However, it is very easy to damage an “unprotected” crystal, even during the installation of a cooler.
Thermal Grizzly’s scalped Ryzen 7 9800X3D comes with the original box from the processor, its heat spreader, and a USB stick with additional information, including target chip temperature data and photos of the CPU dies.