Delidding An Intel Core i9-14900K Can Drop Temperatures By 12°C

The Intel Core i9-14900K may have recently launched but since its availability, we’ve seen enthusiasts and overclockers push the chipmaker’s top-tier CPU past breaking point with liquid nitrogen (LN2), with some managing to push the KF variant of said CPU past the 8GHz mark and having it run Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) at average frames as high as 1,300 fps.

For Roman Hartung or as we all know him by his alias, Der8auer, the principal authority focused on the process of delidding the 14900K and showcase that by doing so, he was able to reduce the overall operating temperatures of the CPU by as much as 12°C. In a video posted by the Thermal Grizzly CEO, Roman basically gave a step-by-step breakdown on the delidding process, the application of liquid metal – a must-have and do for overclocking enthusiasts these days, especially if they’re going the route of the barenaked silicon – connecting a 360mm AIO from Corsair, tweaking the fan speeds and CPU core frequencies. The latter being set at a 56 ratio and a fixed voltage of 1.39V.

When all was said and done, Der8auer’s labour showed a reduction of 10W in power consumption, with the delidded 14900K peaking at 294W. Not only that, but the overall operating temperature of the CPU registered a peak of 81.5°C, which again, is a 12°C reduction from 93.1°C, when the processor was running with the lid still on.

Of course, as impressive as it is to see Der8auer achieve the temperature reduction with the 14900K, it is important to remember that the process of delidding is not something for the faint of heart. Do it wrong, and you may end up cracking the lid or worse, damaging the chip itself. We’d tell you that you’ll also void the warranty but let’s be real here: by attempting to delid the CPU, that warranty was already long voided.

You can check out our review of the 14900K that we published last week and found that while it is a powerful CPU, it isn’t that big of a leap from the previous generation 13th Gen powerhouse, the 13900K.