Heatsink removal...

[GreatBarracuda]

The fan on my stock P4 heatsink is a little noisy, therefore I wanted to clean my heatsink so the fan rpm would drop a little...but the problem is that I can't take it out. I posted this earlier too...someone suggested using compressed air and I did...but it doesn't seem to work so well, i mean all it's doing is pushing the dust deeper in the heatsink...I have tried from all angles. Furthermore, even if I wanted to replace the heatsink...I would have to remove it first. So, I have unlocked the two levers and tried lifting it off...but it doesn't budge...is there some sort of paste that's glued it down?

Heatsink Picture

Close-up (notice the dust)

 

[jhurst]

The thermal pad can get sticky after awhile. It's not glue though. I don't know how hard you are pulling.....you might try to wedge something hard (maybe with some tape over it to reduce scratching etc.) in between there.

If you do get it off...just remove the fan part and rinse the heatsink off under some water....make sure you blowdry when done. THEN....get rid of the thermal pad (whats left of it!), clean off the top of the CPU using some 70-90% alcohol, lap the heatsink to a smooth finish, and apply some Arctic Silver!

 

[GreatBarracuda]

I am pulling it pretty hard, I mean I can lift the whole case!! when I pull and it doesn't budge. Even the motherboard bends quite a lot when I do this. I don't know what kind of an idiot designed this thing!

 

[Anubis]

did you unhook it?

are you sure its not applied with thermal epoxy?

 

[LTC8K6]

Get the CPU nice and warm and the try to get the HS off. Try twisting it back and forth a few times to break the adhesion.

 

[GreatBarracuda]

Ok let me try Far Cry on max settings at 1280x960 for a while...that ought to make it hot!

 

[MichaelZ]

... hmm, try giving it a slight twist. that bracket doesn't give you much room to do this but you should be able to at least twist it slightly in both directions. don't use too much force though, or you may break pins.

them damn thermalpads always stick to the CPU. every intel CPU i've had to do the same thing to take the heatsink off because it's stuck :|

did you unhook it?

are you sure its not applied with thermal epoxy?

stock P4 coolers don't have epoxy.

 

[myocardia]

If all else fails, a hairdryer works great for that, especially since you can do it with the computer wherever you work on it. BTW, gaming doesn't get your processor anywhere near as hot as CpuBurn or Prime95's max heat torture test. But, if you use either of those, it's going to cool off quite a bit by the time you get it unhooked and taken into the kitchen (or wherever you work on your processor at).

 

[jagec]

In my experience P4 heatsinks stick to the proc really well, however the ZIF socket doesn't hold the proc in very well.

in other words, you end up ripping the proc out of the socket. This is very annoying, but not actually as bad as it sounds (still worked fine when I put it back.

 

[GreatBarracuda]

tried CPU BURN...got the temp to go up to 48C only (see screenshot) ... i get to 45 while gaming hardcore...so that's no good. Any other ideas...?

Screenshot

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

looking at the photos,you didn't even remove the brackets that hold it. those levers that hold the cpu into place snap out and the heatsink slides out. they snap out from the base close to the cpu. look,then never open your PC again

 

[Peter D]

Yea, looks like you didn't disengage the little lugs on the clip bracket . Gently pull them out then twist the heatsink back and forth and pull it off. Clean off all that dust Q), clean the fan with compressed air, clean the base with some Isoproply Alcohol and get a thin layer of TIM applied.

 

[GreatBarracuda]

WOW! Thanks for pointing that out AWhackWhiteBoy! A few more days and I would've ripped the damn thing right out of the mobo and probably broken it in half. And thanks for the picture Vegetto. It's much better now in terms of noise. I ran CPU Burn again and the CPU temp goes up to 44 max! That's a 4 C drop right there, nice! And I haven't even used any thermal pad yet. How good is Arctic Silver anyway? I think that's what I had on there (actually it's still there).

 

[superHARD]

Artic Silver is good!!

AS5 is the best right now I think.