Removing videocard heatsinks

[MIDIman]

Anyone have any links to reviews / information on removing heatsinks from video cards? I just bought a chaintech ti4600 GT60 and want to slap on one of the Zalman fanless coolers, but the memory heatsinks look like they might be tough to get off and I just wanted to read as much as possible before I pull out the vice 😉

Thx




EDIT - Yikes...probably should've looked around a bit more eh?

 

[overclock]

You can try to heat the card with a hair dryer. Heat is a great way to remove stuck on stuff.

 

[Jeff7]

If it's epoxy (not likely) then...I've found that freezing it, and then setting the videocard upright on a block of wood, putting a screwdriver against the heatsink, and hitting it with a hammer usually does the trick. This can tear the top off of the chip though, if the epoxy is really strong. That's never happened to me though.
Or, I've used a razor blade, and worked it under the heatsink until it popped off. Just make sure to protect the PCB, or else you can pop components off in addition to the heatsink.
More likely is that it uses thermal (crappy) tape. Then, I can usually just twist the heatsink back and forth, until it loosens up a bit, and then just give it a real good twist, and it should pop off.