Best way to remove ram heatsinks

[xxrabid93]

Like the title says, what is the best way to remove ram heatsinks? I have a kit of ddr2 Ballistix, 16fd5, and 16fd# is supposed to be Micron d9. My kit though seems pretty weak. I wanna take the heatsinks off to see if they are actually d9's (i guess it is me being paranoid because all 16fd#'s should be d9s).

Since they are 16fd5, they have the heatsinks attached by adhesive, not the clips. Ex:



So what would be the best way to go about removing the heatsinks?

 

[Automata]

If you are looking for the insanely fast ones, they are double sided. Meaning, if you look down from the top, if there are chips on both sides, it is the really good stuff. If it is only one sided, then it was the "fixed" D9 that wasn't as good.

 

[xxrabid93]

If you are looking for the insanely fast ones, they are double sided. Meaning, if you look down from the top, if there are chips on both sides, it is the really good stuff. If it is only one sided, then it was the "fixed" D9 that wasn't as good.

Ya, i know double sided are better. I have a kit of 16fd3's which are double sided. They do 650 5-5-5-15 2t. (but i think they may be degrading). I am currently looking for more kits of ddr2 d9's and i have been looking for double sided. I'm not a total noob with ram. I think i'm actually turning into a ram addict (at least d9 ram); i have 2 kits of ddr2 d9, 1 more coming, and looking for more, and 4 kits of ddr3 d9 ram with 1 more coming. That'll be 8 kits of d9 ram and i still want more.

The 16fd3's are usually better clockers, as in my case, but there have been some 16fd5's that are killer kits; it's just luck of the draw really with Ballistix, because Crucial didn't bin their kits iirc.

 

[Automata]

Gotcha, wasn't sure what you were looking for exactly.

I've heard that putting them in the freezer makes it easier to remove, but I've never tried it myself. May want to research before trying it.

 

[Bobnova]

If your sticks look just like those, they are not D9s. Only the ballistix with clips are D9.

Pretty sure those are baked on and will tear the ram chips off the PCB before they let go of the ram chips.

 

[xxrabid93]

Gotcha, wasn't sure what you were looking for exactly.

I've heard that putting them in the freezer makes it easier to remove, but I've never tried it myself. May want to research before trying it.

I have heard that before somewhere, thanks. I figured i wanted to see if anyone here had a super awesome trick to get them off every time.

If your sticks look just like those, they are not D9s. Only the ballistix with clips are D9.

Pretty sure those are baked on and will tear the ram chips off the PCB before they let go of the ram chips.

They are 16fd5's. They should be d9's according to that. That is why i am confused. The ones with clips i know are d9's, those are all 16fd3 or 16fd2 i think. But, all 16fd# should be d9's, and 16fd5's don't use the clips. I guess that is why i want to take the hs off, since i am so confused if they are actually d9's now.

 

[Bobnova]

If they don't clock for beans, does it actually matter?

 

[xxrabid93]

If they don't clock for beans, does it actually matter?

Touche. But i got them for like $20, so it's not like they were a big investment. It's more my curiosity to see if they actually are d9's or something else.

Anyways, i'll probably test them again; i only tested them really quickly on one of my boards. I should test them on my UD3P though, to give a fair comparison to my 16fd3's, which i have mainly run on that.

Edit: And actually, to answer your question, if they are d9's, even if they don't clock well, i could probably still sell them on fleebay for a decent price (read: more than the $20 i paid, haha) if i mention they are d9's.

 

[Bobnova]

Give 'em some volts.
If they scale like zomg, they're D9s. Mine did 1200-4-4-4-4 at 2.6v.
Keep 'em cool, though.

Any D9s should be able to do 1000ish at 4-4-4-4 and 2.1 to 2.2v.

 

[MattNo5ss]

A set of 16fd3 that I recent bought had "clips" which are basically useless since there is double-sided thermal tape on the heat spreaders...lol. I just pulled the spreaders off, not in one jerking motion though, just gradually applying more force until they started to peel off. The tape left some sticky residue on the chips which was easy to rub off. Then I put some Thermalright HR-07 heatsinks on them.

Also, the "D9xxx" isn't printed on the RAM chips, it just has "Ballistix" printed on the chips. So, you may not be able to tell if they're D9 by the chips, only the model number.

 

[TsunamiJuan]

If you decide to use something to pry use something thats a softer plastic, so that it breaks before the PCB or chips, I like to use 1mm to 1.5mm guitar picks, same thing I use for pulling apart plastic cases and laptops.

For pry removal of adhesives, apply pressure gradually and the adhesives should slowly start to give, as more gives the faster the process should become. Sometimes a drop or two of mineral oil can help the process some. or something else thats a none conductive none corrosive thats a adhesive removal agent.

 

[xxrabid93]

Give 'em some volts.
If they scale like zomg, they're D9s. Mine did 1200-4-4-4-4 at 2.6v.
Keep 'em cool, though.

Any D9s should be able to do 1000ish at 4-4-4-4 and 2.1 to 2.2v.

600 c4, damn that's really good. My 16fd3 that do 650 c5 take like 2.5v for that, i doubt that kit of mine would do 600 c4 unless i gave them like 2.7-2.8v.

Ya, i will probably retest them (the 16fd5). I barely gave them any time because the day i was gonna test them i was helping someone else with their rig subzero, more than i was working on mine.

A set of 16fd3 that I recent bought had "clips" which are basically useless since there is double-sided thermal tape on the heat spreaders...lol. I just pulled the spreaders off, not in one jerking motion though, just gradually applying more force until they started to peel off. The tape left some sticky residue on the chips which was easy to rub off. Then I put some Thermalright HR-07 heatsinks on them.

Also, the "D9xxx" isn't printed on the RAM chips, it just has "Ballistix" printed on the chips. So, you may not be able to tell if they're D9 by the chips, only the model number.

I have heard/seen that the ones with clips are usually easier to take off, because the clips hold more than the adhesive, where as the kit of mine in question, like Bob mentioned earlier, might be baked on because there are no clips to hold it.

As for the printing on the chips, i didn't know that. I guess it would be worthless to take the heatsinks off then?

 

[xxrabid93]

If you decide to use something to pry use something thats a softer plastic, so that it breaks before the PCB or chips, I like to use 1mm to 1.5mm guitar picks, same thing I use for pulling apart plastic cases and laptops.

For pry removal of adhesives, apply pressure gradually and the adhesives should slowly start to give, as more gives the faster the process should become. Sometimes a drop or two of mineral oil can help the process some. or something else thats a none conductive none corrosive thats a adhesive removal agent.

Well i have tried removing ram heatsinks once before, and i ripped off a few chips. I was just slowly prying it off, granted with a screwdriver, lol. I will remember that guitar pick tip though, that is really smart, using something that would break before the chips, haha.

As for removal, would pouring acetone on the ram sticks be bad? (in my mind it sounds like a bad idea, but i am actually asking it because i don't know what'll happen. Would it eat the plastic of the ram chips?)

How about isopropyl alcohol?

 

[MattNo5ss]

I have heard/seen that the ones with clips are usually easier to take off, because the clips hold more than the adhesive, where as the kit of mine in question, like Bob mentioned earlier, might be baked on because there are no clips to hold it.

The clips on mine weren't holding them on, it was all thermal tape. If there wasn't any thermal tape then the gap between the heat spreaders would be too big and the RAM would freely move between them. I had to remove the clips before taking the heat spreaders off, and there's no way those spreaders were going to come off with the clips removed unless I pulled them off, which I did. I had to pull a lot harder than I expected too, the spreaders were almost cutting my fingers...lol. They must use the best thermal tape in existence...

Can you look between the spreaders and the RAM to tell if there's tape?

As for the printing on the chips, i didn't know that. I guess it would be worthless to take the heatsinks off then?

I dunno, I just know "D9xxx" isn't print on my Ballistix. Maybe yours are different

 

[xxrabid93]

The clips on mine weren't holding them on, it was all thermal tape. If there wasn't any thermal tape then the gap between the heat spreaders would be too big and the RAM would freely move between them. I had to remove the clips before taking the heat spreaders off, and there's no way those spreaders were going to come off with the clips removed unless I pulled them off, which I did. I had to pull a lot harder than I expected too, the spreaders were almost cutting my fingers...lol. They must use the best thermal tape in existence...

Can you look between the spreaders and the RAM to tell if there's tape?



I dunno, I just know "D9xxx" isn't print on my Ballistix. Maybe yours are different

Whoops, i meant that the clips give it some pressure. The thermal tape is adhesive of course, so it will hold the heatsink on, the clips just give some pressure and i guess also make sure they don't fall off the tape gets old or something, lol.

Which ram, the 16fd5? I will go check in a sec, i would assume it would though, it needs something to have the heatsink hold onto the chips.

 

[hokiealumnus]

I think an important question is - why? What benefit are you going for by removing them?

EDIT - Ok, so you want to see what the chips are. I'd see if the clock like D9's and go from there. Removing adhesive-stuck sinks is one of the few things that still makes me weary about hardware. I'd hate for you to kill your RAM for no reason other than to see what IC's are on there.

I'd bench them and see how far they can go, then be done and sell them or use them if they clock like you need.

 

[xxrabid93]

I think an important question is - why? What benefit are you going for by removing them?

EDIT - Ok, so you want to see what the chips are. I'd see if the clock like D9's and go from there. Removing adhesive-stuck sinks is one of the few things that still makes me weary about hardware. I'd hate for you to kill your RAM for no reason other than to see what IC's are on there.

I'd bench them and see how far they can go, then be done and sell them or use them if they clock like you need.

Ya, i said a few posts ago that i will retest them, and properly give them some time. And if Matt is right and there is no indication on the chips, then it would be worthless anyways. I probably won't take the heatsinks off, and even if they clock like crap, i guess i could always resell them for cheap, and try and break even.

 

[xxrabid93]

Oh, another question regarding ram chips. Would all double sided sticks be d9, or were other chip types used on double sided too?

 

[cold.nut]

give them a little more testing with volts and maybe different boards etc.. if you find you don't like the set, sell them for an even price of another matching set!

 

[bennoculus]

I have a set of those exact sticks and a pair of Ballistix D9s coming to me. My regular Ballistix are only single sided. But, like Ed said, the Ballistix D9s have clips.