alt Hacker NewsHardcore builders will remove the lid of their CPU to get the best possible thermal contact. The performance improvement is very small and not worth it but the bragging rights are fun. Unless you destroy the chip while delidding it, that is.
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Your comment reminded me of my K6 (or was it a K7) based PC I had assembled as a high schooler of modest means.
My goto testing protocol was to recompile the Linux kernel and make GNU chess play itself at the highest settings.
I was quite disheartened to find that my rig would crash out repeatedly. Not a single successful compilation of the kernel. Then on a whim I removed the case and pointed my table fan at it. Voila, everything worked.
I had planned to get some more thermal paste and redo the thermals and put the case back. But I never did.
Then one day the dialer of my landline got fried by a thunderstorm. No problem I used to dial using my modem and my skeletonic linux box.
Great setup when the money is tight. Good times.
Flip-chip packaging is still common in laptops. Still a (albeit minor) risk if you're repasting an older laptop.
The article mentions this, but this was before CPUs had lids. When delidding a CPU, you have to be very careful not to crack the silicon die that you are applying force directly to. In the case of this Athlon, even care wasn't enough.