GoKawiilA tech channel that uses rather unconventional means to delid CPUs and expose the underlying silicon has caused a blip on our radar. In the episode below, you can witness the Hackinator delid an Intel Xeon Silver 4110 processor, remove the die, and etch away what remains to expose the beautiful shimmering silicon patterns. We’ve seen similar dies before, but the Hackinator’s special sauce is going through this process in a devil-may-care manner with tools like a butcher knife and a blowtorch.
Inside a CPU: Full Teardown of Intel Xeon Processor - YouTube Watch On
The helpless Xeon was placed on a wood chopping block at the start of the video. Then the process begins with washers around the screw heads driven into the wood, clamping the chip into place, making it impossible to escape.
Now the torture begins, with a hot air soldering gun brought into frame, held on a tripod. This will have eased the solder/glue bond that keeps the integrated heat spreader (IHS) in place. Now we see why the Hackinator is called the Hackinator, as they get busy with a Gerber hunting knife and a flat-edged screwdriver. The prying is pretty rough, as this isn’t a delid done for direct die cooling. At the end of this process, this Xeon isn’t going to do any calculating.
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With the IHS discarded, the Hackinator adds a metal frame and reapplies grip screws to the substrate before more heating and prying ensues. Eventually, we see the silicon sliver exposed, but it isn’t freed until after a blowtorch is used to decimate the substrate.
With the scorched die liberated, the next step is to clean soot and other residue away with a spray and a toothbrush. With this done, the Hackinator prepares some fine etching paste. This was applied and brushed onto the silicon die. It appears to have removed a protective and obfuscating layer protecting the underlying silicon chip structure.
Previous die shots we’ve seen are the product of far more clinical, precise, and measured machinations, with a meticulous and considered lapping stage ahead of the finished die shots. However, zooming in on this seemingly rough work using a powerful microscope does indeed reveal some intricate details of the Xeon Silver silicon die. Admittedly, there is evidence of some material that wasn’t removed cleanly, but the Hackinator’s results are probably far better than may have been expected for the brutal methodology applied.
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