E6400 - Has anyone removed the IHS

hey .

was considering further molesting my already lapped E6400 by removing the IHS...

i've read a lot of success stories regarding AMD IHS removal ... but has anyone removed an IHS from a core 2 duo processor?

any tips?

I wouldn't advise it unless you want to buy a new cpu.

I found this thread by doing a search as well.

Arn't Intel's ones very well soldered on? That if you try removing them that they pull the core off with it?

Dunno i heard it from somewhere

definitely not worth the risk for a 3-5 deg drop...

Yeah from what I'm reading they're soldered on. His post got me curious so now I am researching it a bit. I have found a few success stories but it seems a lot of people wind up with dead cpus. :/

Soldered, just like this M0 Gallatin.

Mr. $T$ said:

Soldered, just like this M0 Gallatin.

Click to expand...

So... how's it clock now?

I was just going to ask this too...

Got my T7600 up and running on a 975 ydg AOpen board and now I'm bored. Looking at my spare X6800 and wondering if the top will come off. Looking at this post though made me change my mind.

inkfx said:

So... how's it clock now?

Click to expand...

Erm, I suspect it died...

Seriously tho, I wouldnt recomend anyone trying to remove the IHS of a modern intel chip...

Here is a guide of sorts for removing an IHS that is soldered on. It starts at the end of page 2 and continues on page 3. I also found a results thread here which has the guide and some other information. Both are from XS forums and again, I would not advise doing this unless you are prepared to purchase another cpu.

Protecting IHS-less Core !

I guess it is still quite safe for detaching the IHS in melting those solder since the melting point at 85C rather than using uncontrolled heat source like torch or flame, that method keep a constant temperature at boiling water at 100C.

Important thing is to protect the core once the IHS is removed, since there is a big chance it will be crushed by the heatsink based or heavy water block especially at those 4 corners.

Some olde-scool tips from Duron days,

Recipe :

- A thick glass (2-3 cm), don't use less than 1cm since they will bend "a bit" when under pressure

- High temp putty like this -> PC-Fahrenheit™ , don't substitute if you're not sure they wont crack or expand too much in high temp

- WD40, just borrow from neighbour since you'll only need one single small burst/spray of it.

- Thin paper like the one for cleaning oil/grease from the face, ask yer GF or mommy, they'll know what it is. or smooth camera lens paper. Don't substitute this like newspaper since they're too thick and will expand when they absorbed the WD40, and will make it a lot thicker during the putty curing process, which is bad.

1. Clean everything and spray thin and evenly the WD40 at the glass, no drips.
2. Prepare the putty and spread it like below pics and layer them with that thin paper.
3. Press the glass with the sprayed WD40 side on the CPU and clamp it and wait until the putty cured.

The purpose of that paper is to leave some "safe" gap for the putty to expand when heated, and the most important is it won't push of lift off the HSF or waterblock away from the core which is BAD !

Pardon for my rusty MS-paint job !


Just watch out for those tiny capacitors and don't let the putty touch them, I guess you'll have to do some artistic layout to avoid them.

Finally, it is better to practice it 1st at other media to see the putty curing process/behaviour or the WD40 or the putty sipping process through the paper, or at least you' want to make sure that big thick glass can be separated properly when the putty was cured !

Good luck !

bing said:

Well, if you still insist for a few degree or got a really bad curved IHS beyond lapping, look here -> XS:Intel IHS removal... Any reason boiling water couldn't be used? and the result

Click to expand...

looks like that guys attempt was successful; i don't think i'm going to risk it. really just fiending on another reason to take my cpu out and start sanding it or beating on it or something. (is their life after lapping?)

i've come to think that overclocking is somewhat akin to owning a very old harley that leaks a lot. it's all about the work you *want* to put into it ...

thanks for the tips though, it looks like that guy's method of AS5ing the IHS to the bottom of a pan is about the safest bet ...

If your nuts why not

BTW Cores are alot harder then you think they are. They can easily leave imprints/indents/transfer the writing on the core to the bottom side of the heatsink/waterblock!

More or less the trickier part is to properly mount it applying equal pressure all around to make sure your not hitting a corner with 100lbs of force but like 20 on the other.

deathman20 said:

More or less the trickier part is to properly mount it applying equal pressure all around to make sure your not hitting a corner with 100lbs of force but like 20 on the other.

Click to expand...

Totally agree, it is that short moment of mounting process that is so critical, since no one can be sure if it is really sure that both surfaces cpu and block are aligned when the mounting pressure begins.

bing said:

Totally agree, it is that short moment of mounting process that is so critical, since no one can be sure if it is really sure that both surfaces cpu and block are aligned when the mounting pressure begins.

Click to expand...

Indeed. Then again I was crazy with my Opty 170 and I was mounting a XP-120 ontop of it, in my case. And we all know how challenging that heatsink can be to get on let alone inside a case with a naked core.

I had to learn from really hard way years ago before I used that putty method, killed 3 durons within two weeks with customized evap head.