View Full Version : I hate Factory Ramsink Thermaltape
Maviryk
03-05-07, 07:40 AM
For as long as I can remember now, I've always had problems with ramsink thermaltape.
Last night I was trying to apply the gazillion heatsinks on my 8800, about half of them fell off.
This was after cleaning and wiping down with 70% Isopropyl and a second go over with a vodka soaked qtip.
Upon closer inspection, it wasn't that the stock thermaltape wasn't sticking very well, but in addition to that the ramsinks are concave!
What do ya'll do to make ramsinks stick?
I'm tempted to use AL Thermal Epoxy... but I'd also like to one day be removed the ramsinks w/o the chip attached. Anyone use a less permanent epoxy?
Adragontattoo
03-05-07, 07:52 AM
What do ya'll do to make ramsinks stick?
I'm tempted to use AL Thermal Epoxy... but I'd also like to one day be removed the ramsinks w/o the chip attached. Anyone use a less permanent epoxy?
less permanent epoxy?? I dont think that such a thing exists..
I had no issues applying the mosfet sinks on my 9NPA. Hell A few took longer to apply just because of location then anything else.
striker85
03-05-07, 08:00 AM
Good old Elmer's glue. It works great and is easy to take off. Or if you feel a little more industrious, cover the sink with your TIM of choice and leave a little dot on the corners and use a few drops of superglue. But I prefer Elmer's as it is cheaper and easier.
Gillbot
03-05-07, 08:02 AM
Some of the thermal adhesives I've used weren't too difficult to remove with the hairdryer method.
Maviryk
03-05-07, 08:54 AM
Oh, I know about the blowdryer method. I tend to use a 1000w heatgun that would instantly burn your hair if you were ever inclined to point it in that general direction, it's used for shrinking stretch material on hobby aircraft and can even melt an entire PCB of soldered connections at once.
What brand do you use?
Elmers glue??? Is that very... thermal conductive?
The only brand of Thermal Epoxie I know of is Artic Lumina. Is there another one that is more... pliable when cured?
I got JB weld too but that takes 4 hours to set! and 15 to cure!
its wood glue =) water based so it would conduct well for a little while then dry out.
you could always just get new thermaltape which might better for the long term removability. Also, the little superglue on the corners of each chip meathod works well. all it takes to remove the ram sink without fuss is a love tap to break the glue bond.
Ive done this with older gpu cores that had the metal slug embedded in plastic. works pretty well.
Maviryk
03-05-07, 09:29 AM
Man... CA is like... a wonder chemical... heals cuts... joins wood... makes composite materials... melts rubber... comes in light, medium, and thick...
Too bad it doesn't blend.
Sorry... running on 45minutes of sleep and 3 nodoz.... stayed up all night painting and installing my water loop backwards.
dylskee
03-05-07, 11:16 AM
You could also use the 50% AL thermal epoxy and 50% AS5, haven't personally tried it yet but i've seen people use it. I just bought some of these http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/akshintherin.html because I was having the same problem with the ramsinks falling off. I've got two cards in SLI now and they are both going to be on water by this weekend so i'll let you know how the thermal tape works out.
Moto7451
03-05-07, 11:30 AM
JB Weld also comes in a Quick formula that takes ~5 minutes to dry ;).
I'd go for the superglue on the corners method. Superglue is brittle enough that it will snap off without taking the memory modules with them if you put the card in the freezer.
Maviryk
03-05-07, 11:32 AM
Hey cool! Thanks for the link I didn't even know Shin Etsu made thermal adhesive stuff... gotta have some potential..
I've done the half AL half AS5 before, with mixed results.
I just finished rerouting my loop in the proper order during lunch break. Now I just need to figure out where to mount my HDs and I'll be all set...
As long as the stupid ramsinks stop falling off... I dunno how ppl with regular ATX cases do it...
The best thing to use is Sekisui #5760 thermal adhesive tape. This stuff is kind of hard to come by but it works wonderfully. I have had it on my 6800 for over a year and is still was as sticky as ever when I took it off a few days ago to upgrade video cards. I had to twist and wrestle a bit to get them off. I can even handle the VC by the Ramsinks and they don't go anywhere.
I tried the 50/50 adhesive/as5 route once before and I ripped off the bga chips trying to take off the ramsinks. Forget adhesives.
Gillbot
03-05-07, 12:37 PM
I have no idea what the stuff I use is called anymore. I bought it LONG ago and still haven't used all of it.
SCORPIONlt1
03-05-07, 02:16 PM
You could also use the 50% AL thermal epoxy and 50% AS5, haven't personally tried it yet but i've seen people use it. I just bought some of these http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/akshintherin.html because I was having the same problem with the ramsinks falling off. I've got two cards in SLI now and they are both going to be on water by this weekend so i'll let you know how the thermal tape works out.
I used this method on my current motherboard mosfets and it works quite well. It sticks well but a good tap and they will pop off. I've accidentally popped one off before trying to re seat my XP 120 heatsink. only thing is you do need to be a little careful because there is AS5 in the mix. :beer:
Maviryk
03-05-07, 02:23 PM
Oh, mosfets you will never (well, I shouldn't say never, but it's highly unlikely) rip them off. The entire backside of the mosfet is soldered onto the motherboard, I've never heard of anyone ripping them out.
Ramchips, however... are a PITA. They're held on by tiny tiny traces and take much less force to rip off(although I've never ripped one off myself, I've seen it done... maybe I'm just lucky.)
Wow(I really like these parenthesis.)
SCORPIONlt1
03-05-07, 07:32 PM
Oh, mosfets you will never (well, I shouldn't say never, but it's highly unlikely) rip them off. The entire backside of the mosfet is soldered onto the motherboard, I've never heard of anyone ripping them out.
Ramchips, however... are a PITA. They're held on by tiny tiny traces and take much less force to rip off(although I've never ripped one off myself, I've seen it done... maybe I'm just lucky.)
Wow(I really like these parenthesis.)
If you have some old hardware you could practice with the ratio. the first time I tried it I was trying to make it stick less and used to much AS5(I wanted to make sure they could be taken off) and they popped off very easily. so I'm sure you could fined a happy medium. :D
MadMan007
03-05-07, 08:14 PM
You could also use the 50% AL thermal epoxy and 50% AS5, haven't personally tried it yet but i've seen people use it. I just bought some of these http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/akshintherin.html because I was having the same problem with the ramsinks falling off. I've got two cards in SLI now and they are both going to be on water by this weekend so i'll let you know how the thermal tape works out.
Those look interesting. So they're an adhesive TIM that works decently, has good adhesion for Ram-chip applicatoins and still come off easily? Sounds like an ideal solution :) Tell us how they work.
dylskee
03-05-07, 08:39 PM
Those look interesting. So they're an adhesive TIM that works decently, has good adhesion for Ram-chip applicatoins and still come off easily? Sounds like an ideal solution :) Tell us how they work.
Will do, should have them on by the weekend providing I get my second water block by then.
WonderingSoul
03-05-07, 08:43 PM
I had the same issue with my ram CHIPS on my video card... Only thing holding them on now is double sided tape.
MoreGooder
03-06-07, 06:11 AM
You could also use the 50% AL thermal epoxy and 50% AS5, haven't personally tried it yet but i've seen people use it. I just bought some of these http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/akshintherin.html because I was having the same problem with the ramsinks falling off. I've got two cards in SLI now and they are both going to be on water by this weekend so i'll let you know how the thermal tape works out.
I had to use the tape in the above link too. I placed each ramsink on an exposed surface of the tape, then traced around it with a razor blade.
I just had to remove mine in order to RMA my vid card. The tape was still holding strong after >6 months of use. I had to twist the ramsink first to pop it loose from the chip, then a slight pulling force for final removal. This is excellent tape.
One note: Remove the crap tape that these ramsinks come with BEFORE applying this replacement tape. The stock tape is not only NOT sticky, it's more in tune with post-it note glue. The stock tape really is absolutely worthless. I'm dissappointed to learn the Swiftech still uses the same junk after all of this time and after all of the complaints.
speed bump
03-06-07, 06:32 PM
I have always just used some super glue on the corners I never had a problem with that method. The stay on well and all it takes is alittle twist to get them off.
WonderingSoul
03-06-07, 07:18 PM
I'm dissappointed to learn the Swiftech still uses the same junk after all of this time and after all of the complaints.
Ugh, I know. The best ramsinks out there with the worse thermaltape. They stink without question...
dylskee
03-06-07, 08:15 PM
I had to use the tape in the above link too. I placed each ramsink on an exposed surface of the tape, then traced around it with a razor blade.
I just had to remove mine in order to RMA my vid card. The tape was still holding strong after >6 months of use. I had to twist the ramsink first to pop it loose from the chip, then a slight pulling force for final removal. This is excellent tape.
One note: Remove the crap tape that these ramsinks come with BEFORE applying this replacement tape. The stock tape is not only NOT sticky, it's more in tune with post-it note glue. The stock tape really is absolutely worthless. I'm dissappointed to learn the Swiftech still uses the same junk after all of this time and after all of the complaints.
Good to hear, I figured it was good stuff but haven't had a chance to try them out yet. Hopefully i'll have my other gpu block by friday.
how would you remove the thermaltape from the swiftech heatsinks? would the articlean stuff get it off?
dylskee
03-06-07, 08:47 PM
how would you remove the thermaltape from the swiftech heatsinks? would the articlean stuff get it off?
I scraped it off with a putty knife and then cleaned it with alcohol. I actually just peeled one of them off with my fingers, it comes off pretty easy.
WonderingSoul
03-06-07, 09:21 PM
how would you remove the thermaltape from the swiftech heatsinks? would the articlean stuff get it off?
I just let them soad in 91% iso alc for about 10 mins they just rubbed off.
SolidxSnake
03-07-07, 05:59 AM
I use lighter fluid to take off thermal tape, and then clean that off with alcohol
Maviryk
03-08-07, 07:44 AM
Well, lets just say the ramsinks are permanently attached to my 8800 now. I used a 50/50 mix of AS5 and AL Thermal Epoxy. No more problems with ramsinks falling off. Lets just hope I don't have to sell the card to a non w/cer when I upgrade.
BTW, anyone with an 8800 notice that the one ramsink next to the exhaust attached to the cpu looking chip (what is that btw?) gets really, really, hot? I think I'm going to put a NB cooler on it.
Also, have you seen these ripoff Swiftech ramsinks (but they added two rows of pins.) Enzotech BMR-C1 (http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/enbmfocobgar.html)
WonderingSoul
03-08-07, 07:49 AM
Also, have you seen these ripoff Swiftech ramsinks (but they added two rows of pins.) Enzotech BMR-C1 (http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/enbmfocobgar.html)
If they have better thermal tape on them, more power to them. I love my MCW60, I hate Swift for me spending $16 on crap sinks.
Stabbin
03-08-07, 03:33 PM
AS5+2 drops of super glue ftw!:)
nd4spdbh2
03-08-07, 03:42 PM
AS5+2 drops of super glue ftw!:)
this is what i did... i bought a VF900 wich comes with 8 ram sinks with pre applied tape for my 7900gt... when i did the step up to a 8800gts i took off the vf900 kit and put stock cooling back on so i could send it back to evga. About 2 weeks ago my uncle gave me a 7600gt KO which i put the vf900 on but seems as how the thermal tape is a 1 times use dealio i used a VERY small ammount of as5 and 2 VERY VERY tiny drops of crazy glue at opposite corners of the hs... works like a charm. Pluss you can get it off when you want.
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/akshintherin.html
does anybody know if that will work as thermaltape?
SolidxSnake
03-08-07, 08:42 PM
It is thermaltape
Knock your thermaltape self out :D
lol, i was just wondering because it didn't say anything and it had a link to "bulk quantities" which weren't thermaltape(i think)
MadMan007
03-20-07, 08:39 PM
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/akshintherin.html
does anybody know if that will work as thermaltape?
So has anyone used this as adhesive on Ramsinks yet? I know it says it works as an adhesive and I'd love to believe them but it also looks similar to the Shinetsu TIM designed for CPUs. It would be bad to get this and have your GPU Ramsinks fall off onto another expansion card :(
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