Glueing Heatsinks onto ram

Puer Aeternus · Feb 3, 2003

This is a double post I know but I am not getting any hits on video card thread and you folks here know your heat sinks!

I have a old AMDk6 heat sink(alluminum and big) that I would like to cut up and put on my video cards ram modules. I cut one piece already and it fits nice, I would like to know the best ways to attach them?
I was thinking AS-Thermal adhesive..Rottys-R-Us said to use a dab of super glue and AS3.

I would also like to know how smooth or tight the fight needs to be between the ram and the HS...my Dremel is leaving lots of bur's after the cut.
Also, is there potential for harm? I cannot afford to replace my GF4ti4200 if there is risk of damaging the modules....to save space could you pot replies here:
http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1445963#post1445963

Sonny · Feb 3, 2003

I think the super glue on the corners & thermal compound in the middle doesn’t work. Like with all the heat sinks you use you need a certain clamp force for them to work at their best or a solid junction. I would go the extra distance & use thermal epoxy to stick them on & if you need them to be detachable in the future just mix equal amounts of thermal compound to your thermal epoxy.

I.M.O.G. · Feb 3, 2003

there was a thread in the past month where someone was asking how to remove sinks that were installed using thermal epoxy - im sure it could be relatively easily found through a forum search. Someone had a trick they had used for this purpose that had worked well for them - put the card in a static protectant bag, inside a ziploc, put that in the freezer so the epoxy gets brittle, take it out, put a credit card next to the heatsink you are trying to remove to protect the pcb and what not, wedge a screw driver between the credit card and the heatsink and carefully pop it off.

So that makes just using plain thermal epoxy an option even if you may remove the sinks sometime. Of course i dont think i would want to try it.

Anyways, you want the fit to be very good between ram and sink for good heatsink performance. You will want to sand down the burrs and any imperfections on the surface of the heatsink. There are threads on how to appropriately lap (sand) everywhere on here to show you how to get it just right if you arent familiar with lapping.

JasonKosi · Feb 3, 2003

I have the superglue corners/thermal grease in the center work well on one card and awful on another. it's hit and miss and depends on the flatness of the sink and ram chips as well as bond strength of the glue.

slater3333uk · Feb 3, 2003

well i use the super glue method it can hold my huge (and i mean huge) ram sinks on fine i think it depends on alot of factors the glue has to be good and you have to apply alot of pressure

Puer Aeternus · Feb 3, 2003

This helps alot..thanks guys, I appreciate the tips!
I have some AS thermal Adhesive here I wil use once I finish cutting up the HS.
I am also going to cut a hole in the side panel for a 80mm fan and duct directed to my GF4....I hope to get some high O/C's on my card w/ out removing the stock fan/HS on the MSI card.

Puer Aeternus · Feb 3, 2003

I just glued 5 (3 more to go)on my vid card right now...makes for one ugly Mutha but I hope for higher O/C's..thanks again guys!

I.M.O.G. · Feb 3, 2003

did you sand those ugly muthas smooth on the interface between ram and sink? you won't want burrs or imperfections there, they wont matter much anywhere else though.

Puer Aeternus · Feb 4, 2003

I gave a quick lap w/ 3 diff grades of sand paper...but i will admit i was not overly anal about it...could have been smoother. Basically some deep scratches from the dremel that would not come out unless I spent all night sanding..but more or less the surface was smooth. After a few runs of 3dmark2001 i can feel the HS's getting warm..that means they are working

I will try to make the next 3 smoother...it is all new for me and practice makes perfect!

I.M.O.G. · Feb 4, 2003

ya if they are getting warm that is good, it really isnt that important for the bottoms to be exactly perfect on these for ramchips i guess. not as crucial as it is for the cpu atleast.

cool project.

i'm tempted to do this on my 9700pro, just for something to do... any excuse to bring out the dremel.

CrashOveride · Feb 4, 2003

i just have some really thick past from radio shack and mine kinda just stay on lol

supapuffy · Feb 5, 2003

i see that most people recommend using epoxy to secure heatsinks to the surface....

is thermal tape really bad in transferring heat compared to epoxy/thermal paste?

the reason i'm asking this is... i'm attempting my first cooling mod... i plan to cut and add heatsinks to an ati aiw radeon (first radeon)'s gpu and memory chips.. i will probably follow the methods mentioned here on making ram sinks as it seems like a fairly cheap and effective method

since i have some thermal tape available right now... i was thinking of using it to attach the heatsinks.. there are no mounting holes on the aiw... so my only alternative is to use epoxy or maybe thermal paste+glue (?)

the radeon doesn't generate much heat, and the stock hsf was fairly small... so.... would thermal tape be sufficient?

thanks in advance!

CrashOveride · Feb 5, 2003

i have HEARD of people useing super glue in very small ammounts w/ mostly thermal past... i think that using thermal tape would be ok but it would have to be extra thin because the heat isnt really enough to melt ti the way it dose when it is pout on a CPU so if it is too thick i think it will hinder preformance... thermal epoxy is a sure bet though...

DumpALump · Feb 5, 2003

Where can you find cheap epoxy? With cheap shipping?

I.M.O.G. · Feb 5, 2003

dumpalump - i dont know about cheap, but often the same places carry epoxy that carry thermal grease.

supapuffy - dont kid yourself, the radeon 9700 pro does create a lot of heat, i own one. anyways, thermal tape may not be a good option, im not sure how strongly it bonds, and it is important to get good solid contact - i would go with thermal epoxy. CrashOveride may not have noticed that you mentioned using thermal tape on your radeon gpu also, not only your ram - the gpu will melt the tape, but the ram very likely may not.

glue/thermal paste - it is important to note that it is not a good idea to actually mix glue with the thermal transfer material you are using. i have heard of people using glue at the corners of the heatsink, outside of the heat exchanging interfaces, to hold it down and just using thermal transfer material in the interface. i have not heard of people actually mixing them at the heat interface, but if they do this, it is safe to say its not a good idea.

Neofate · Feb 5, 2003

---:Supapuffy

i plan to cut and add heatsinks to an ati aiw radeon (first radeon)'s gpu and memory chips.

----:IMOG

supapuffy - dont kid yourself, the radeon 9700 pro does create a lot of heat, i own one.

Hmmm is an ATI First Generation GPU, All In Wonder an ATI Radeon 9700 Pro?

oz2cpu · Feb 5, 2003

I have added heat sinks to many chips, I have just used two component glue called araldite (fast type), use as much as you like, then press the heatsink as close as possible to the chip you want to cool, hold it for 5 min and you are ready to enjoy.
See my page if you like for details, I have also added heat sinks to the switch mode powersupply in my motherboard you know the one for core and bus voltages, it was really running HOT
after installing watercooling all over, I have no more fans to cool that parts

I.M.O.G. · Feb 5, 2003

neofate -> from 4th line of supapuffy sig >ATI AIW 9700 Pro + Sony 17" 200ES

i dont know what you mean by first generation All in wonder... the AIW is the same card with more features and a better software bundle from my understanding of it.

supapuffy · Feb 5, 2003

sorry about the confusion

i am currently using a ati aiw 9700 pro in my system

but the card that i plan on adding heatsinks to is the first ati aiw radeon (no numbering, 32mb, came out about 2 yrs ago)... this card died on me a while ago (beeps from post indicating no video card)... so i went and got a aiw 9700 pro (half price hehe)... but now this aiw radeon works again in the same setup... go figure

I.M.O.G:

you mention about the thermal tape melting on the gpu but not the rams (due to lower heat generation)... does the tape need to melt in order to have maximum effect? or does the tape fail if it melts? i was thinking that since the tape is adhesive... it will be able to hold the heatsinks onto the ram even if the card is turned facing down

thanks!

f00t · Feb 5, 2003

Sonny said:
I think the super glue on the corners & thermal compound in the middle doesn't

That's exactly what I did and it got me an extra 15mhz on r8500le

Glueing Heatsinks onto ram

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