removing the HSF

[MrMaN383]

well I finally got my parts and started assembling today and I wanted to take the stock HSF's off my northbridge and GPU to maybe attempt to lap or add some artic silver. I took the screws out of the fans, disconnected the heatsinks from the PCB and found them to be stuck on. Now I dont want to break my new hardware by pulling too hard or prying so can anyone tell me how rough I must be or if there is any secret to doing this. Thanks.

Justin

 

[Hoot]

I worked a single edge razor blade under mine until it was partly in and then pried slightly, slowly, for a long time. It slowly came up without stressing the solder junctions. Kind of like getting some stickers off. A long, constant pressure. Still had to clean off the residue though.

Hoot

 

[roc]

I had to remove 2 heatsinks epoxyed to my Voodoo 5500 cpu's. I called T-Max for the best removal method. They told me simply to use a pair a pliers to grab the HS and twist, not pull. Sure enough, very little pressure and the little suckers popped right off.

 

[MrMaN383]

hey hoot, thanks man that worked good. I already have the heatsink off. Although i did hear a couple little "cracks" while i was taking it off, the GPU doesn't have any marks on it. Was the white gooey substance (not unlike rubber cement) some kind of thermal epoxy or just thermal grease? Should i expect this much work taking off any heatsink that had thermal grease on it? Sorry for following up one newbie question with another...

Justin

 

[Hoot]

Some thermal greases get downright stiff as they dry out. It bothers me when you say you heard cracking sounds though. Hopefully, they were just from the razor blade micro-edge cracking as you pried. That's not uncommon. Do let us know when you get the new heatsink on. I won't sleep well until then.

Hoot