Thanks for the advice, SF.
I did remove all the glue already.
I believe the gap between the IHS and the die was not that big. Oh, well, if I can shave 8/10°C extra, I should be able to bench@5'ish GHz.
Need a new GPU as well, I might finally grab a 980. Sent the 7970 to RMA to Sapphire, but not sure they take it (broken fan , missing screws...)
I have to wait until saturday anyway, CLU arrived, but the new Mobo won't be here befor week-end.