So I started out with the heat sink. I knew the top of the delidded CPU sits about 2mm lower than the stock heatspreader (actually it's 2.5 mm after measuring it but this measurement wasn't documented anywhere online) and the mounting kit for the Black Ridge (BR) doesn't allow for any adjustment. So I had to shorten the embedded nuts on the mounting kit by those millimeters. I used my bench grinder to do it and then finished everything of with a small keyhole file.Then I had a look at the board. The problem is that the BR doesn't work with the board to begin with (which I knew). It ever so slightly interferes with the VRM heat sink / IO cover and with the BR now sitting over 2 mm lower it's not slight anymore.So I took of the heat sink. It's easy to by just unscrewing 4 screws from the bottom of the board. Interestingly enough I found that the thermal pad was squishing the CMOS battery cable between the heat sink and the board.Now here begins the real fun part. I needed to cut the heat sink down to size so I marked it out with a pencil then took it to the basement to mutilate it. I first tried using a Dremel but the aluminium is quite thick an malleable which makes it hard to cut with a speed tool. So I went old school and used a vise and a small metal hand saw. Then I took it to the bench grinder to clean it up which took some time because it of course got very hot and I had to go slow. I then finished it of with a file and got a decent surface finish.Remounting it was even easier than unmounting it since there now were only two screws left after all.Now I tried the BR again but to my dismay I found that it now conflicted with the small caps next to the VRMs.So now what do we do? Of course we bring out the Dremel to cut it to size. I cut of everything a close to the screws as possible with a milling bit and then finished it of with some sandpaper.Trying it out that now it fits very tightly but it fits.Since I didn't know for sure if the case of those caps is actually connected to one of the poles I put a small piece of tape on them just as a precaution.Now there was still another problem to solve but this too could be taken care of by chopping up some hardware. The fan has almost no clearance to the VLP ram to begin with and now since the whole unit sits over 2mm lower... you know the drill. I marked it out then once again took to the basement.Fortunately plastic cuts pretty easily but it melts and stinks when using a speed tool. I took care to tape away the cable and fix the fan blades in place so that I wouldn't accidentally cut any of that. The corners where the hardest to cut so I took them out in chunks. One of the spokes that hold the motor in place had to go too. This time I used a knife and again a file to clean up the cut. This piece could be slightly cleaner I guess but it's going to be on the underside of the heat sink pressed up against the RAM anyway.Now everything was ready to begin assembly. Using the stock metal clip to mount the fan on the ram said wouldn't be possible for multiple reasons (one of them being that part of the fan wasn't there anymore) so I used some very thin wire to affix it.I then found out that you have to mount the board first before the PSU otherwise it isn't possible to get it in. Maybe on a board where the IO shield isn't fixed to the board it is possible in a different order and maybe reading the manual could have told me that sooner but ain't nobody got time for that. After reassembling everything I found out the hard way that it is basically impossible to connect the power button to the pin header with the CPU heat sink and fan in place so of course I disassemble and reassembled the whole thing again. Then I took to cable management which was going nicely thanks to the sleeved custom cables I bought from pslatecustoms.Now came the magic moment, turning it on for the first time. And... nothing. The fans spun up but I wasn't getting any picture. After some head scratching I looked at the board only to find it showing a CPU error. So after double checking that nothing was shorting anywhere and everything was connected I faced the facts and disassembled everything again. I took off the heat sink but everything looked fine. So I thought maybe the OC frame wasn't holding the CPU down properly or maybe one of the tiny springs in the socket is bent. I removed the frame and CPU and checked the springs but they looked completely fine even after a detailed inspection. I then remounted the stock Intel retention module and put the BR back on as an interim solution taking care not to tighten it down completely as that would be too much with the shortened standoffs. Testing the board outside of the case (which is easy since there is an internal GPU) still showed the same error.So that's where we are now. Something is broken. Either the board, the RAM or the CPU. The board is showing a CPU error and not RAM so the likelihood of it being that is lower. Now I might have killed the board but taking of and putting back on the VRM heat sink shouldn't have done that. Neither should changing out the retention module. So in all likelihood the CPU is actually broken.I bought the CPU from Caseking already delidded and including the OC frame. I chose not to delid it myself since I've had issues with broken DIEs in the past and it seems like a risky operation on a soldered CPU to me. Now that might sound funny since I've chopped up half of my hardware here but if you think about it that all was basically just some metal working on components that didn't even contain any electronics (aside from the fan motor). They sent it over in a small carton with foam but they put the heatspreader and the CPU on the same piece of foam with them rattling around in there. They should have put the heatspreader under the bottom piece of foam and used some tape to hold the CPU in place or something I think. My guess is that the edges of the heat sink bumped up against the DIE and chipped the edge. It is incredibly hard to tell but one corner at least seems ever so slightly chipped (bottom left).The packaging seemed sketchy to me to begin with which is why I took a picture of how it arrived originally.I've contacted them to get a replacement immediately and hope they will sort it out without blaming me. I would guess customers breaking delidded CPUs is pretty common so they might not be willing to replace it. However I have some experience with this stuff and took extra care not to damage anything so I am 99.9% sure I didn't. If they end up replacing it it could still be the board. In that case I will just buy another one and swap heat sinks. We will see how this story ends but for today it doesn't have a happy end.If you try to do this: Don't. If you still want to do it you should either like a challenge, be a masochist or be prepared to spend a couple hundred or even thousands on dead hardware, preferably all three. Now I knew what I was getting myself into and at least 2 of those attributes fit me so I am not going to be discouraged this easily but again do not try this at home.