Best way to...

Td_nw · Post by **Td_nw** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 4:01 pm

OK, I am going to show my age / ignorance here. I have never had to remove a heatsink. Never had to use those things back in the day before I switched to laptops. What is the best way to do it?

Stock heatsink on a ATI 9700 AIW Graphic card? (Slide an old cd between the card and heatsink and slip a screwdriver in and twist?)

While I am asking how about also a heatsink on a AMD CPU? (Unscrew / unclip heatsink - then slowly twist and pull?)

Do not suppose anyone has a good link to a "how to guide" or something?

Thanks.

Zhentar · Post by **Zhentar** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 8:10 pm

for the video card, put it in a freezer for about an hour before hand; it weakens the glue.

for the CPU heatsink, unclip/unscrew it however the heatsink is hooked on, and then pick it up. there's no sort of glue between the two; its just the clip and nothing else, unless you've got weird thermal paste, which still shouldn't have any real stick.

Td_nw · Post by **Td_nw** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 11:12 pm

thanks - it goes in the freezer this evening.

HadroLepton · Post by **HadroLepton** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 4:59 am

Td_nw here is a quite thorough tutorial on installing heatsinks and stuff. it doesn't mention removing the heatsink but you will get some idea how the heatsink is attached to the cpu
http://www.extremetech.com/print_articl ... 485,00.asp
note that thats the print version of the article so it's all in one long page instead of many small pages
scroll down for the heatsink part
i don't know how experienced you are in this stuff so this might be a little to n00b for you.

generally if you read reviews about heatsinks there are lots of pictures about installing and removing heatsinks from cpus. just search around hardware pages for heatsinks reviews.

Td_nw · Post by **Td_nw** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 5:11 pm

HL,

Thanks. That guide is actually pretty good. The last system I built I used a Cyrix chip, if that tells you anything about what "experience" I have left in my head. I was using this and that and a few others to help bring me back up to speed.

In all my searching around I could not find anything on taking OFF the heatsinks, especially the GPU. I did not want to trash a brand new ATI AIW 9700 by "guessing".

Freezer worked great last night. Thanks all. Now I just have to get the goop off. Rubbing alcohal will have to work as I do not feel like going out and buying naphtha lighter fluid.

Post by **MikeC** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 5:55 pm

Rubbing alcohol is not recommended -- unless it is 99% isopropynol. The rubbing stuff contains oil which naturally leaves a residue and hinders cooling. The 99% isopropynol can be had at drugstores cheap -- $2~3 for a 1/2 liter bottle.

kogi · Post by **kogi** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 6:20 pm

crimson wrote:Try everything but putting it in the freezer. Trust me.

Arrg. Put it in a airtight zip-lok bag and expell all the air before putting it in the freezer. condensation will kill your card.

kogi

Post by **Rusty075** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 6:37 pm

Condensation will only kill your card it you turn it on while it's still wet. Let it dry for awhile first.

Mirar · Post by **Mirar** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 11:49 am

The usual R300 (GPU on the 9700 pro) heatsink is just stuck with two plastic "bolts". Press them through the board and the heatsink will loosen. At least it worked fine on my Hercules 9700 pro (now watercooled).

You mean the AIW had a glued on heatsink, no holes through the board? That means you'll have to glue on the next heatsink...

pingu666 · Post by **pingu666** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 5:24 pm

yeah, mine has push pins
tho its not a aiw tho

Td_nw · Post by **Td_nw** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 9:26 pm

OK. Sorry for causing the confusion. Here we go…

1) The AIW 9700 has push pins with springs and barbs in the plastic tip to stop from going back thru the mount holes in the card. I was being overly cautious by asking just to re-assure my actions. (I got the freezer idea that I was un-aware of so, all is good.)
2) I already used the freezer – no bag, just sitting on a piece of Volara foam.

But, I have plenty of time for it to dry, as my PSU is DOA and I will have to return it.

(Mail takes about 28 days to get here by boat, unless I pay air, then 7 days)
3) Store was out of Alcohol so… I remember reading somewhere [H]? that fingernail polish remover works and the store had that. It worked real good as the yellow crap was all around the chip only… now there is a slight white residue near the little ( h#ll, I do not even now what they are) metal points sticking up thru the green pcb around the chip.

And that is where things are now. Thanks to all for the help.

Do not suppose anyone knows how to get rid of the residue around those metal things?

Mirar · Post by **Mirar** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 10:30 pm

If it isn't glue, any rag or paper napkin or whatever will due to get rid of the compound. It should still be semi-fluid.

White residue? Doesn't sound good. Might be leftover cooling compound that is conductive.

Can you get hold of pressurised air? It's like a spray can, with just air. I would apply some cleaning alcohol (ethanol- now we're there again) and blow it away, I think. Look for a car parts/tool shop, they have this kind of stuff. There might even be a cleaning spray, but it's uncommon (a spray that you spray on and flush away any dirt, where the fluid both dissolves dirt and then vapours).

If you have a multimeter, you could of course check if the white residue is conductive to see if you have to do anything...

Mirar · Post by **Mirar** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 10:31 pm

Be careful with solvants like nail polish remover, nafta, aceton, thinner. You might dissolve the card.