Fan clipping

I've been building computers since I was 6, and I'm almost 23 now. That said, there's one thing I still haven't mastered that irritates me.

Does anyone have any tips on clipping those damned processor fan clips to the processor mount? Every time I do it I hear that scraping sound when the processor meets the fan core and my heart stops, and it takes me 15 minutes just to get the fan clip to catch on the nubs on both sides of the mount. Once I've even managed to cut off a nub with the metal tab of the clip in the attempt, effectively ruining the mount itself.

I'm beginning to think that the person that invented the processor fan clipping mount system is the same person that invented the Wonderbra and/or one-way roads.

Sorry. One heatsink I have is called DR. Thermal, or thermal integration. It clips on very loosely and wobbles, but is incredibly easy to put on and remove. Then you have a lever you push down on the side of the sink, and it tightens it so hard you can't take it off. It's a good design, but the fan on it broke down. I couldn't find replacement 70mm fans, so I had to do a mod with a styrafoam cup and electrical tape to put an 80mm fan on there.

I always used a flathead screwdriver and have had no problems.

Just take you time, and make sure you case is always flat on the ground, it'll make it a lot easier!

Adam

My old cooler master HSF had a thumbclip. Hehehe. However, my athlon has the screwdriver style sink. I've had it on and off twice, and it scared the crap outa me both times. I really don't like screwdrivers that close to my mobo where a slip = dead mobo or dead CPU.

i find in most cases i've worked on that it helps to remove the power supply.

other than that i can only say that i've chipped a couple cores in my day. cpus still run fine just a few degrees hotter.

OMG, I jsut thought of the best tool!! a fuse puller!! it's got the angled head and the right size of head. I'll need to try it sometime.

you need to find something with an angle on it's head so you can bend the clip away from the socket to slip over the nubbies.

Its usually easiest to install a heatsink to just take the whole motherboard out of the case (yeah, overal, its not easier, having to take it out, and put it back in, but the installation of the heatsink is easier.)

I did this today to get rid of my stock HSF and put on a Aero 7 Lite (0.1V core more, and it still runs 10* cooler!) and scared myself half to death. My board wouldn't post. Taking it apart again, I discovered I had moved the CMOS jumper to clear at some point without realizing it.

In any case, for the next case you buy, get a removable motherboard tray. That way you only have to disconnect a minimal number of things, and can easily install heatsinks.

Yeah, I'm glad I've got a mobo tray, it makes it much easier. Although that didn't stop me from cracking my Tbird.