Overclockers UK Selling Pre-Lidded, Pre-Binned 7700K

If you're a PC gamer, you probably want to get the absolute best out of your system. There's a number of ways to do this, but often the most serious speed demons will turn to overclocking. With Intel's latest Kaby Lake processors, that's not an overly difficult task, but for maximum output, a little bit of chip surgery is required.

In case you weren't aware, Intel changed the thermal compound that transfers heat from the die to the lid of their latest range of processors, and a lot of users are finding it to be below par. The only way around this is to remove the lid with a razor blade or a vice and replace the cheap compound with a higher-end alternative. This isn't a process for the faint hearted, nor those who want to keep their warranty valid. To aid those people, Overclockers UK have started selling the flagship i7-7700k with the operation already done.

Not all CPUs from the same batch are equal either, with some being easier to overclock than others. Testing and selecting the best of the best is known as "binning" and that has been done here as well. As a result all of the CPUs are guaranteed to support 4000mhz DDR as well as clock speeds of at least 5GHz at CPU voltages <1.35v.

Of course, there's a lot of work that goes into doing something like this, so it doesn't come cheap. Costing £449.99, these premium chips are £115 more expensive than their unmodified brethren. They do come with a years warranty from Overclockers and a free pack of Thermal Grizzly TIM though, so you'll be getting what you pay for.