Tips for replacing chip cooler

Hello,
I want to replace a standard chip cooler heatsink with a all cooper fan heatsink (NOT THE CPU) I was wondering if you could give me some guidence in removing the heatsink (cleaning procedures) and recommendations on how much thermal paste to apply (articsilver 5) This standard heatsink is held on by the nylon type tabs F.Y.I
I appreciate any feedback you guys might have!

 

i would like to know the same thing lol

 

The plastic tabs have to be pushed and turned 180 degrees untill the clips line up and the whole thing will pop off,you should use as little as possible compound,scrape it as thin as possible with a razor blade and once its on dont lift it off to check its spread out right,this lets air underneath and you will have to start over.

This will also void your warranty if you rma it and they find foreign heatpaste on the chip,it will get sent back to you with an improper use note,so if theres some paste left on the old sink keep it safe and if you have to send it back,clean your paste off COMPLETELY with alchohol and put the old one back on.In my mind it isn't worth it unless your tryin to push a few more mhz out of a monster Fsb overclock.

 

A lot of them have a thermal paste that contains an adhesive. If it doesn't fall right off after removing the retainers, I like to use a piece of nylon fishing line. The thinnest you can find. Cut about a foot long piece, and wrap it around the heat sink once, where it meets with the chip. Like you are using it to choke someone to death with. LOL Cross over the ends of the line, and choke the damn thing. There will be no pulling pressure on the chip like if you simply pried it off, and the line will help cut thru the adhesive paste. Clean remaining paste off chip with PLASTIC knife, spoon, or credit card. Then clean off remaining with a rag dampened with rubbing alcohol. Remember not to go sick with applying new thermal paste. The last thing you want is for the paste to squish out, and go onto the chips conductors.

 

Oh yeah......and let me add a note on removing the plastic retainers. If it has the kind with light springs under them, that go thru holes in the board, and expand in the holes........work them out of the holes by grabbing the TOP side of the plastic retainer, and pulling on them while rocking them back and fourth. DO NOT EVEN THINK of trying to squeeze the underside of the clips, to get them to go out of the cards holes. I've seen that done by using needle-nose pliers before, and a slip of the pliers scratched thru a printed circuit conductor on the board. And thats not something you want to have to attempt to repair!!!

 

thanks! I was wondering if I can use artic silver 5 ? Would this be ok?

 

Sure. Just go easy with it. Arctic silver has a website. If you go there, you'll get an idea on how much compound to use.

 

Thanks for the tips! You guys were very helpful!!

 

I was wondering if the heatsink could be heated up after the nylon pegs were removed to "loosen up" the old thermal paste, say with a hair dryer on low heat?

 

I wouldnt suggest that, when I replaced my original hs with the zalman all copper, I used a little rubbing alcohol and a q-tip, believe me, it ate right the the original compound and cleaned it right off.

One other thing, if you use ARTIC SILVER 5, (which is what I used and suggest), follow the instructions from their site
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions_big2.htm

The drop of paste should be the size of a grain of rice, do not try to spread it, it wont work, and do not remove the HS once installed, just leave it, once the machine has ran for some time, the heat will break down the paste and it will flow, covering the hs and chip.

One other suggestion, once you have cleaned the bottom of your new HS with alcohol, rub some paste on it, like they describe in their instructions, for applying the earlier versions of artic silver. I spoke with them thru email about it, and they suggest doing it.

GL

 

So using a hairdryer to heat up the heatsink on the chipset would not be recommended if it were still stuck on there after I removed the plastic pegs?
(I am signed in under my son's handle....sorry)

 

undo the tabs for the hs and fan, and slightly twist it clockwise and counter clockwise, that should be enough to break it loose.

 

thanks! and if not use the wire trick Brian C mentioned?

 

getting the chip off really shouldnt be too much trouble.. u could just play a game, and then shut down quickly and try to remove it as fast as possible while its still warm... just be carefull when u do get it off.. once it flipped off my heatsink and flew into my case and some of the chips' pins got bent... took me for ever to get them all straight again...
it isnt very difficult changeing the heatsink, just dont be in too much of a hurry or stuff might go wrong... good luck!

 

NYLON fishing line. NOT wire !! I want to stress that. We don't want any static sparks jumping to any chips. I do a lot of cooling mods for people(mostly for gamers graphics cards). Some sinks may come off easy, some may not. While twisting a sink off "might" work, I don't like to chance it. You know the senario........"seems like it's coming loose, maybe if I just twist it a little harder". The last thing I want to do is crack a solder joint on one of the chips pins. Especially if it's somebody elses $500 graphics card. The nylon fishing line works every time. Since you're inserting the line between the sink and the chip, you're creating NO upward, downward, or twisting force of any kind on the chip. There's no risk of cracking a solder joint that may not be up to par. If you have no fishing line handy......use a piece of thread. Most people have thread in their house, or hanging off a pair of "around the house pants". If the thread breaks while trying my procedeure, you'll know it was on tight enough, that you shouldn't have tried twisting it off anyway.