Delidded Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition Now Available for $1,403

Thermal Grizzly has started selling its delidded version of AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition, a processor that is already considered excessive. The delidded version is priced at $1,402.83, which is $500 more expensive than the regular version.

The company thoroughly cleans and tests each processor after delidding, records its measured operating temperature, and includes a USB stick containing the test results and a microscope image of the exposed processor. This is a welcome addition, as delidding the processor naturally voids AMD's own warranty. Thermal Grizzly also provides a 24-month worldwide warranty, which is a meaningful bit of insurance when you've just spent more than $1,400 on a processor that AMD won't touch with a ten-foot pole.

Under German law, the burden of proof normally shifts after the first 12 months of a purchase, but Thermal Grizzly's warranty explicitly states that this reversal does not apply to its TG Delid CPUs. This means that the company continues to take responsibility for the product throughout the full 24-month warranty period.

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition is AMD's halo desktop processor, with 16 Zen 5 cores, 32 threads, and a whopping 192MB of L3 cache thanks to its unusual dual-CCD 3D V-Cache configuration. It also carries a 200W TDP and can consume considerably more power under heavy workloads; AMD itself recommends liquid cooling for optimal performance.

For someone who insists on having the biggest, baddest AM5 processor possible, a factory-tested direct-die version with a warranty is certainly a more attractive proposition than buying a retail chip and breaking out the delidding tools yourself. Delidding a CPU and cooling the silicon directly can reduce the thermal resistance between the processor and cooler, which is all but guaranteed to help the CPU sustain its normal boost behavior with less aggressive fan speeds, making an extremely powerful system somewhat quieter. However, this won't help with performance.

Thermal Grizzly's warranty is surprisingly restrictive about what you're actually allowed to do with all that newfound thermal headroom. The warranty covers normal operation as well as "overclocking according to manufacturer specifications," but excludes operation outside AMD's specified values. Thermal Grizzly specifically warns that CPU and memory clock speeds beyond those specifications aren't covered. So, in practical terms, you're probably looking at AMD-sanctioned tuning such as PBO and EXPO rather than taking your naked Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 and seeing how far you can push it before the magic blue smoke comes out.

If you're looking to do some serious overclocking, DIY might be a more attractive route (warranty details notwithstanding). However, for the price, you get a cooler-running, quieter system, and as long as you don't go ham on the overclocking, Thermal Grizzly has your back for 2 years.

| Feature | Regular Version | Delidded Version | | --- | --- | --- | | Price | $902.83 | $1,402.83 | | Warranty | 1 year | 2 years | | Cooling | Socket AM5 cooling hardware | Delidded CPU requires special cooling equipment |

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition is AMD's halo product, with the extra 3D V-Cache providing meaningful benefits in certain workloads that can take advantage of the enormous amount of cache across both CCDs. However, the gains aren't remotely proportional to the price premium over a Ryzen 9 9950X3D. Gaming performance, in particular, is generally exactly in line with the cheaper chip, and both typically run behind the Ryzen 9 9850X3D.

For the average consumer, the extra $500 might not be a deal-breaker. However, for the average consumer, it simply doesn't make sense. The concept of "worth" is an opinion, not an objective fact. It fundamentally depends on an individual's disposable income and the economic law of diminishing returns. Getting the absolute best-that final 10% of quality-requires an exponential price increase rather than a linear one. For someone with limitless funds, paying that premium makes sense; for the average consumer, it simply doesn't.