The first autopsy of the AMD Ryzen 9000 processor ended in failure: the I/O crystal was destroyed
ASUS China manager Tony Yu was the first to attempt to open the AMD Ryzen 9000 "Zen 5" series processor, and the experiment ended in complete failure. During delidding (the process of removing the integrated heat spreader to replace the thermal paste with a more efficient one), he discovered that the I/O crystal was literally destroyed into pieces.
Delidding is usually done to reduce CPU temperatures under high loads, but in Tony's case, it was done more out of curiosity about the new Zen 5 processors. However, the lack of a suitable tool to open the Ryzen 9000 series led to disastrous results. Remnants of the crystal were found both on the heat spreader and on the chip itself, which made the processor unsuitable for further use.
While this was a failure, it also highlights the risk of delidding, especially on new equipment without the appropriate tools. Going forward, with new Zen 5 processors hitting the market, it is expected that overclockers will continue to experiment with delidding, perhaps with more successful results.