Question Pulling CPU Heatsink off rips out the cpu?

[chrisjames61]

If you don't want to use thermal paste then something like Thermal Grizzly Carbonaut is an alternative. It doesn't beat paste but it's simple to use.

Agreed, but I think his aim is to use nothing between heatspreader and heatsink.

 

[H T C]

I'm on one leg of my transition to Vermeer and I picked up a Chromax Black for my game rig to replace the chrome one I bought a year ago. Upon pulling off the heatsink the CPU ripped right out of the motherboard along with the heatsink. The locking bar on the motherboard was still in the locked position, and now is loose. I don't see any pins ruined but my eyesight isn't as good as it was 15yrs ago. I've tried zooming in with my camera on my phone but that isn't helping.


Am I in big trouble with this?

You're not alone.

When i got my 1st Zen CPU, i had to use the stock cooler until the AM4 kit i asked Noctua to arrive so that i could use my NH-C14 with it. When i finally got it and tried to remove the stock cooler, the same thing happened to me. I made a post @ TPU @ the time:

CPU stuck to the cooler? - Solved

Got myself an AM4 mounting kit for my NH-C14 cooler and finally proceeded to pull the board out to swap the stock cooler ... but the cooler was firmly stuck, even with the screws taken off, which i found quite odd. Applied a little more force and, to my disbelief, the CPU got yanked right out...

www.techpowerup.com

Fortunately, there were zero problems with both board and CPU.

 

[chrisjames61]

You can't muscle a heatsink off. Turn the pc on. Warm up the thermal interface material. Then some light back and forth twists and light tugs will usually break the vacuum/adhesion. You can also get a flathead blade screwdriver out in a pinch if you know what you are doing. You twist the blade carefully to remove the hsf. But you have to be real careful.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Use a piece of dental floss, try to "cut" between the corner of the CPU package and the heatsink, to loosen CPU packages / heatspreaders "glued" to the heatsink with the AMD stock paste.

Edit: Actually, the "CPU heatspreader" connected via paste to the heatsink, sorry for not making that fully clear when I said "CPU package".

 

[Ranulf]

Yeah, no. What I'm thinking of is just for temporary purposes like several hours. Not for 10+ years like my X58 rig

You want a re-usable thermal pad.

Like this: https://www.amazon.com/Innovation-Cooling-Graphite-Thermal-Pad/dp/B07CKVW18G/

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Sorry if I misled you on my intentions. I don't plan on not using paste, I have been planning on testing my 5800X in my new X570 system rather than dropping it in my X570 gaming rig and worry about it crashing and corrupting the system. I've been thinking, install it in the new build and if it's stable, no WHEA errors like a lot of these 5950X are showing, take it out and then drop it into the gaming build and swap over the 3800X (or just get another Vermeer chip) into the new build. I've been seeing lots of users having issues with these chips so I'm kinda taking precaution.

 

[knght990]

I did notice tiny, what looked like, gold shavings. Only 2. I took a vacuum hose and hovered it over the socket. I'm about 20 passes on TM5 and I think it's solid. Tank like, if you will.

My rig isn't pretty but it stacks frags
View attachment 35855View attachment 35856

I'm curious about the fans not being attached, is that for testing, ease of removal? Or did you test the sink and trying to get more air through a hotspot?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I'm curious about the fans not being attached, is that for testing, ease of removal? Or did you test the sink and trying to get more air through a hotspot?

I've always thought directing the fan towards the base of the heatsink made more sense. While doing so it's also cooling the pipes. For the most part fans aren't directed at the base where the heat starts. Plus I have one of the fans cooling my RAM sticks which are pulling 1.52v for 3800 cl15.15.15 I'm getting 62ns memory reads

 

[knght990]

I've always thought directing the fan towards the base of the heatsink made more sense. While doing so it's also cooling the pipes. For the most part fans aren't directed at the base where the heat starts. Plus I have one of the fans cooling my RAM sticks which are pulling 1.52v for 3800 cl15.15.15 I'm getting 62ns memory reads

I saw that it was angled onto the ram and through the sink. I have this little ram fan that I'm sure was useless when it was new but was a neat idea. I know there have been a few versions since, but can't imagine how they fit with the nice cpu coolers. I don't know enough about overclocking to worry about ram temps, but I hope to at some point.
I'm surprised there aren't magnetic or adhesive mount kits so you can just place fans anywhere. Like a erector set for the inside of a case.

Ram Fan

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Yeah, no. What I'm thinking of is just for temporary purposes like several hours. Not for 10+ years like my X58 rig

I use graphite thermal pads for test bench stuff. While not as effective as high end t.i.m. it is more than enough for testing clients CPUs or for builds I am messing around with for entertainment. No mess, no clean up, and reusable.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

You want a re-usable thermal pad.

Like this: https://www.amazon.com/Innovation-Cooling-Graphite-Thermal-Pad/dp/B07CKVW18G/

I should have read the whole thread first, you hit all the points I was going to make.

Sick minds think alike and all that.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

30mm or 40mm for AMD Ryzen chips? I'll be migrating to Vermeer in both rigs within 6 months

 

[Ranulf]

Either should be fine. If I remember right, 30mm is undersized on Ryzen and 40mm is just a bit oversized.

 

[mikeymikec]

I've done it with stock amd coolers as they use a lot of paste that sticks well. Best bet is to remember to run the system for 10-15 minutes to warm up the paste before twisting off the heatsink.

Ooh, I'll have to try that next time. I've had one or two OEM builds that left me honestly wondering if they used glue (and yes I've seen OEMs literally glueing storage drive ports and plugs together).

 

[lenjack]

Most likely will be OK.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Yeah it's 1000% fine. I've ran y-cruncher for more than 12 loops over the past week or so, and TM5 close to 10hrs since the it happened.

I just picked up another 5800X and I'm running y-cruncher again before pulling the 3800X and replacing it with the 5800X. Hopefully the paste won't stick like last time. y-cruncher can heat it up ~ 70-79*c with the cooling fans on low. Gonna do one loop then begin the CPU pull. Will report back on how it goes!

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Pulled off real easy. Just a little bit of wiggling and it came right off. Didn't use as much paste as last time but I think the trick was to heat the paste up with stress tests for a little bit before removing the CPU Heat-sink.

5800X installed.. fingers crossed

 

[SnooSnoo]

Yes, I've done that 2-3 times so far, with the stock Wraith Stealth or Wraith Spire heatsinks. The thing with those is, you real CAN'T just "twist" then, because the four legs are in the posts, and you have to pull the heatsink off to get them out of that position. Combine that with the stock paste that becomes a bit like glue, and yeah... RIP, out the CPU comes! Thankfully, none of the incidents have resulted in bad pins, and I didn't notice any damage to the socket longer-term either.

Sadly I don't have experience with socket AM4 systems. Would having the CPU upside-down (i.e. having the top of the legs facing the floor) help with that?