Thermal Grizzly is now selling a delidded Ryzen 9950X3D2, AMD’s 16-core, 32-thread Zen 5 gaming flagship, with its own warranty replacing the one AMD voids the moment the heat spreader comes off.
What the delidded Ryzen 9950X3D2 changes
Delidding means removing the integrated heat spreader that AMD solders over the die, so a cooler sits directly on the silicon instead of on a slab of metal and thermal paste. That extra layer, however thin, is a real barrier to heat transfer, so stripping it out lowers load temperatures and gives overclockers more thermal headroom before the chip throttles. Thermal Grizzly does the delidding and validation itself, with its own technicians removing the IHS and testing each chip afterward rather than leaving buyers to do it with a razor blade and a lot of nerve.
The Ryzen 9950X3D2 is a 16-core, 32-thread Zen 5 part, so it already runs hot under sustained multi-core loads, which is exactly the scenario direct-die cooling helps with most. Thermal Grizzly backs the modified chip with its own 24-month warranty, since AMD’s cover is void the instant the IHS is removed, and each unit ships with a USB stick recording that specific chip’s test and validation results. The 9950X3D2 is the sixth CPU to get this treatment, joining the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, Ryzen 9 9850X3D, Ryzen 9 9950X3D, Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and Intel Core 7 270K Plus already in Thermal Grizzly’s delidded lineup.
Price, warranty and what’s in the box
The delidded Ryzen 9950X3D2 costs €1,199, only a little above the stock CPU’s price, which is a modest premium given the labour and testing involved. Unlike some of Thermal Grizzly’s earlier delidded parts, this one does not ship with the IHS installed at all: TechPowerUp reports that the original heat spreader is included loose in the box, and Thermal Grizzly recommends pairing the bare die with its own Mycro Direct-Die, Mycro Direct-Die Pro or High Performance Heatspreaders rather than reusing the stock cover.
That’s a niche audience, but a growing one: direct-die cooling blocks and direct-die-ready waterblocks have become common enough in the enthusiast market that a factory-delidded, warrantied chip is now a real alternative to attempting the job at home with a fixture and a heat gun, which risks cracking the die and voiding everything at once.
What’s changed since our last report
teqpost flagged this listing in an earlier report as it went live; see that piece for how Thermal Grizzly’s delidded programme got started. What’s confirmed now comes straight from Thermal Grizzly’s own product page: the €1,199 price, the 24-month warranty term, and the decision to ship the chip with its original IHS included in the box but not fitted, rather than leaving buyers to source a replacement heat spreader separately.
What to watch next
Thermal Grizzly has been adding CPUs to this delidded lineup steadily since starting the programme in 2025, working through both AMD’s and Intel’s current chips. The open question is which one is next: AMD’s X3D refresh and Intel’s own range both still have models Thermal Grizzly hasn’t touched, and the pace so far suggests another addition won’t be far behind.
