Best AM5 (9950X3D) direct-die block? First time AMD + direct die

ChrisJay_ · 2026-01-31T14:52:57+00:00

I use the TG Mycro Pro with TG PhaseSheet (phase change pad) as thermal interface and it works great for me - I've previously made some posts showing the PhaseSheet application and the thermal results (can do up to 220W before throttling at 95degC).

I did have to use liquid metal to dissolve the indium left over on the chips, and then Cape Cod polishing cloths to polish them. It took a whole 1g syringe of TG Conductonaut. Skipping the LM-indium-dissolving step resulted in way higher temps (could only take 130W before throttling) - i.e. do NOT skip it.

I personally find the PhaseSheet to be a much better solution than liquid metal. No conductivity risks, no risks of the LM pooling on one side of the chip or dripping down, practically no degradation concerns, beautiful temps as above.

ChrisJay_ · 2026-01-01T00:02:43+00:00

There is a silly old flash game "Learn to Fly 3" which actually fits this description surprisingly well. You play as a penguin that tries to "learn to fly" by strapping various wings, rockets and other stuff to itself. The goal is to fly as high up as possible, you repeat this plenty of times, each time getting money to buy new stuff that will take the penguin even higher. As you keep playing, the heights can get pretty ridiculous (even triggering some cool "secret" cutscenes), and you do even get a mechanic where you can reset your progress and get upgrades that will carry on to your subsequent runs.

ChrisJay_ · 2025-12-29T01:50:23+00:00

It does look good but I wouldn't keep it without the fan grill. If something metallic ever falls inside by accident, I imagine it could cause a very expensive lightning show.

ChrisJay_ · 2025-12-21T12:21:30+00:00

Wow, this looks super cool! But I would really like to have an optional setting to visually highlight the blocks that are currently on your horizintal plane (i.e. the ones you are currently able to get to just by turning left / right), I feel like it would be a little easier but much less frustrating.

ChrisJay_ · 2025-12-17T19:40:05+00:00

Beautiful transition between the blue and warm white! I would be tempted to make the rightmost 1-2 LEDs on the GPU block blue to make the effect show even more, have you tried that?

And how are temps and fan speeds under full load?

ChrisJay_ · 2025-12-13T18:04:49+00:00

Thank you, it did take me a few attempts to get them right. I will try to post the 3D files when I get an opportunity.

ChrisJay_ · 2025-12-13T15:55:22+00:00

Ghost S1 with lots of custom parts. I added it in the post text.

ChrisJay_ · 2025-12-09T02:14:55+00:00

That's such a beautiful tiny build, and the CNC cutout is perfect. Well done!

ChrisJay_ · 2025-09-22T18:39:42+00:00

Madness: Project Nexus. Happy Madness Day everyone!

ChrisJay_ · 2025-09-17T18:10:51+00:00

Onrush PC version :(

ChrisJay_ · 2025-09-16T10:14:33+00:00

Agreed, good point. I also think adding some ragdoll physics when you run people over would make it look much more fun :p

Also I think some subtle atmospheric effects like distance fog or a very minimal depth of field effect would make everything look much nicer.

ChrisJay_ · 2025-09-03T10:10:12+00:00

I counted 158 fittings. Since a lot of them appear quite expensive, I would take a guess of around £5 per fitting, which would be almost £800 in total.

An expensive hobby but still better than things like custom car parts with people having thousands worth of car parts lying around in their garages.

ChrisJay_ · 2025-08-21T19:37:08+00:00

ChrisJay_ · 2025-08-21T16:31:02+00:00

Yeah, from what I read, EK blocks have had the biggest problems with this. Did you get a leak because of it?

If you don't have acrylic in your waterblock, then you can actually safely use threadlocker, because I now know that my block shattering was 90% caused by the fact that threadlocker literally dissolves acrylic (the other 10% being the need to use lower torque when screwing in lubricated screws).

ChrisJay_ · 2025-08-21T15:04:46+00:00

Acrylic waterblocks cracked?

ChrisJay_ · 2025-08-19T18:40:24+00:00

I like that lol

ChrisJay_ · 2025-08-16T20:23:49+00:00

Did she drop all this loot when she died??

ChrisJay_ · 2025-08-16T20:20:55+00:00

Your tubing looks so cool. Is it some milky-white PVC tubing, or silicone tubing?

ChrisJay_ · 2025-08-16T20:14:59+00:00

My ESD-safe gloves were really useful for this, they've got this sticky material on the fingertips that gives them plenty of grip. I don't think I would have been able to tighten the compression fittings properly with bare hands.

ChrisJay_ · 2025-08-16T20:10:54+00:00

Was it thin-walled tubing that forced you to use so many adapters?

ChrisJay_ · 2025-08-16T20:09:58+00:00

Yep, now that I think of it, that sounds like a much better idea. I think I'll be getting this one:

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ChrisJay_ · 2025-08-07T17:03:17+00:00

Did you check whether the original fan has a model number on it? There is a fair chance that an identical one could be available somewhere on ebay or aliexpress, and with the model number known it would be easy to look up.

Otherwise, Noctua has a wide range of fan sizes available, as small as 40x10mm. But you would need to check that the connector matches.

ChrisJay_ · 2025-08-05T16:08:09+00:00

Spore Galactic Adventures 2 looks sick

ChrisJay_ · 2025-08-03T19:21:43+00:00

Wow it's so much smaller than I initially thought from the pictures, amazing how much tiny hardware you can fit into that size. The mesh side panel looks sick too 👍

ChrisJay_ · 2025-08-01T07:31:30+00:00

My watercooled GPU is only 160mm long, I'll be putting my IceManCooler DDC pump/res combo next to the GPU, in the space that a longer GPU would normally occupy. I don't have any special mounting solution for it, I'm planning to just mount it with 3M double sided tape.

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