Intel do not do it to save money. They do it because dies so tiny are prone to cracking when you heat them up to solder melting temps. I don't know how many times we need to go over this, but yeah, do some research man.
Now they do skimp on the actual TIM, but like GPU manus they just play it safe, using something that will and is known to last.
This is a rather stupid comment.
The pictures clearly show one of two things.
1). The article is as described, and the TIM is a LM, and not solder.
2). This is a hoax, and dude was applying CLP himself to make it look as if AMD is using a LM.
Yes, thermal cycling causes cracks and chip failure when small chips are soldered.
Solder does not apply with a cotton swab. CLP and other Ga-based TIM that are non-pasty do.
We also see what appears to be LET (Liquid Electric Tape) around the row of surface mount components closest to the die. This means that either AMD put it there, or dude did. This also points directly to the use of a LM as the TIM, in that this is a necessary step. I personally used clear nail polish on my 4790K, but either method works to protect the FIVR on intel chips
Your comment shows that honestly, you don't understand the subject matter fully, even though you understand a part of it, and you are showing a lack of attention to detail, while making comments that you are an expert and being rude about it "I don't know how many times..."...
The normal practice here is to clean up the black IHS glue before applying anything, but if you were trying to do a hoax, that would make it look more hoax-like. The question here is if there is video of the dude doing this. The pictures look quite well done. I am fairly certain that anyone taking the time to take such nice pictures would also have done video.
Was the picture with a swab him demonstrating that it is a LM, or was it a picture of him applying LM?
My question on this is pretty valid, as I would like to know how they automated the application of the TIM. This stuff is pretty hard to actually get past the oxide layer and begin the wetting of the Si. Once it wets, things go a lot easier, but doing the initial wetting takes a bit of labor. Also, this is pretty detailed, and requires that all balls be kept on the die. Granted, that one picture shows it all sludged off the die, but was that done during delidding or manufacture?
In a way, it's like soldering to an aluminum chassis (anyone here ever repair old radios or televisions or build anything using such a chassis?). Because of the oxidation layer that forms, you have to scrape the iron and solder ball to literally get under the oxidation layer to wet the aluminum. Initially getting Ga-based TIM to wet to Si is a similar thing, just without the heat.
It could be possible in a heated Hydrogen atmosphere that they could apply without any difficulty. I'm just guessing here, but Hydrogen really cleans up metals. Does it do the same with Si?
If they have perfected an automated manufacturing process to apply Ga-based TIM in liquid (not pasty) form, they have a serious cash cow there, and truth be told, I want to invest in the process because it is the future.
The pictures clearly show that this isn't solder.
(To those wondering about the question of it being a hoax, a hoax would benefit intel by making people think that they didn't have to delid, and thus leaving a thermal barrier in place until someone got around to proving a hoax. Face it, this is cutthroat between such companies).