How hard is it to cut a heatsink?

[The Pentium Guy]

The heatsink which I ordered (7700-AlCu) says that anything that's 2.68" inches or greater from the center of the cpu won't fit.

My PSU is basically... 2.8 inches away from the CPU, that's not a lot to cut but ... what should I use to cut this portion off?

-TPG

 

[shira]

Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
The heatsink which I ordered (7700-AlCu) says that anything that's 2.68" inches or greater from the center of the cpu won't fit.

My PSU is basically... 2.8 inches away from the CPU, that's not a lot to cut but ... what should I use to cut this portion off?

-TPG

Are you sure you don't mean anything CLOSER than 2.68 inches from CPU center won't fit? If something is farther, it will definitely fit. And what exactly are you planning on cutting to get the HSF to fit?

 

[zakee00]

that dosn't make sense. 2.68" or greater from the center of the CPU would basicly be your whole case...you mean anything WITHIN 2.68" from your CPU. it will fit fine.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Sorry, I meant within/closer. Typo.

 

[zakee00]

so it will fit then?

 

[akira34]

From what I'm seeing, your PSU is 2.8" from the center of the processor. The cooler needs 2.68" of area to work, right? That means you have .12" (or 1/8") of clearance between the cooler and your PSU. While that's a bit tight, you should be ok. Test fit the cooler before you commit to using it (pull the old heatsink off, and dry fit the new one). If it doesn't work, try returning it for one that will. Of course, before I did that, I'd contact the place that I purchased it from to check their return policy on that item. Explain to them that you're not 100% certain it will fit and make sure you can return it before you get into it. If you really want to cut the cooler, you could try a dremmel tool with a cutting wheel. Personally, I wouldn't do that since heatsink fins are rather thin.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Thanks,
the heatsink touching the CPU won't really... damage it.. will it? (Will it conduct heat TO the PSU?)

 

[SuperPickle]

Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
Thanks,
the heatsink touching the CPU won't really... damage it.. will it? (Will it conduct heat TO the PSU?)

It won't hurt it to touch the PSU and while it might conduct heat to the CPU if the housing of the PSU was hot, the transfer would be negligable. Don't worry about that.

If you find you have to trim the fins, a decent pair of beefy wire cutters would probably work - those blades are thin.

Oh yeah - if the HS does touch the PSU, make sure it isn't propping it up in any way preventing it from sitting flush on the chip.

 

[thelostjs]

i think a good pair of scissor would make the cleanest cut..
or you could bunch them up they are very flexible.. and then dremel a few at a time.. think of it like a hair cut

 

[lobadobadingdong]

Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
Thanks,
the heatsink touching the CPU won't really... damage it.. will it? (Will it conduct heat TO the PSU?)

lol, of course the heatsink should be touching the CPU `

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Oh god yet again another typo. I meant PSU .

 

[akira34]

Instead of wire cutters or scissors, use tin snips. Those are MADE to cut sheet metal. Neither scissors or wire cutters are meant to cut sheets of metal.

 

[CMar]

None-the-less good scissors will make a cleaner cut in thin aluminum or copper sheet, I often cut hard rolled stainless up to .010 and aluminum up to .040 cleanly with a good pair of scissors, but either would be hard to get into the space to cut the fins.

You might try a fine file. I assume you need to cut the outside edge.
Just push the file from the top to bottom or vise versa so you do not bend the finds.
A small emery board can be used to de-burr.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Yikes. This is a little more complicated than I thought.

 

[hondAS2ooo170]

u dont need to cut it.

 

[CMar]

if you need the clearence, you might me abble to move youtr PSU a little by looseng the mounting screws and moving it the .10 inch, then tighning it up again.

like it was said before, as long as your heat sink can lay down flat on your CPU you will be OK.