What now? Cooler sticks to CPU surface

[Six Of One]

OK, i just got a Slot A Athlon 750 from a friend of mine and i wanted to use it to replace my own Athlon 600, but i would like to keep my super-duper cooler.

No problem here, i thought - but the no name cooler of the 750 is apparently glued to the surface of the CPU! I removed all clamps etc, i even went so far to unscrew the 2 fans on top of the cooler to take a look at what is under them but to no avail.

Now i wonder if somebody has ever heard of a glue/conductive paste combo that might have been used here or what else might cause the strange behaviour of this item. Do you even have some suggestions what to do to remove the cooler from the CPU?

Not only is the cooler extremely uneffecient (CPU is around 42° C on average) but it is also very loud -> anoying.

So, i am looking forward to any ideas and comments.
Regards

[Topha]

yep, i just dug out an old mainboard of mine and wanted to see what cpu is on there, but the fan was glued to it (i think it was a p233MMX though).

as for you problem: isnt there a passive cooler between the fan and the cpu?? thats the case on my 750 athlon slot A. i can replace the fans without replacing the passive cooler by unscrewing them if i want to.

and since the slot versions usually have a big casing around the actual cpu, it should be possible to remove the cooling device without destroying the cpu

good luck

[Guru]

Try runing the cooler without the fan that should worm up the glue so you can remove the HS!

[Rags]

I have found the best way to remove the glued heatsinks of any type is to throw it into the freezer for a while, then use a butter knife to pry up a corner, and it should just snap off.

Rags

[Greebe]

Freezing it is important to removal.

Takes Rags advice, but be very careful!

The bond you're experiencing is due to the thermal wax on the HS pad used. In it's unused state these won't stick (bond) to the cpu, but once the cpu is run, the heat generated causes this material to melt down and (somewhat) permanently bond. Once the bond takes place the thermal joint cooling characteristics (C/W rating) improve.

[ALBPM]

So, freezing would be the equivalent to de-worming....LOL

Sorry Guru

Paul

[Six Of One]

Thanks guys,

regarding the simple replacement of the fans: definetly a way but the last resort nontheless. The cooler i intend to use is much bigger and seems to be more efficient. The 600@700 was running at aprox. 30 °C all the time. The fans have the same size so i conclude that the cooler body must be the decisive part.

So, off it goes, the cooler goes into the freezer. Let's see what happens. If i don't report back in a day or two i fumbled and broke the damn thing.

Thanks again.

[omegaRED]

Six ... a bit off topic here ... your sig should say " ... i want you to ... "

(No pun intended)

[Six Of One]

Still stuck but not broken

Hey, so here i am again. I have had the CPU plus heatsink in the freezer for about 2 days now and i tried to get it off: no result.

At one point i was forcing a screwdriver between the CPU and the sink and i thought it would give in but it didn't instead i chipped a good chunk of the heatsink off... that teaches me to use high grade industrial screwdrivers on cheap no-name heatsinks. But then, maybe it's just me.

I am now turning to the heat solution and i am currently running the CPU without a fan. Mobo probe reports 48°C just now and i will start a DVD after this. BTW, the system is sooo quite... is there a way to keep it that way? Without overheating, i mean. Probe is now at 50°C and i think i better finish this post.

And OmegaRed, "will" is perfectly right....

[omegaRED]

Ok Six, sorry for not getting it ... i still dont BTW ... nevermind

[Björn]

Grand Finale

I don't know why my "6 of 1" account isn't working but since i found my older nick again i thought i will give you the last bits of my Remove-the-Heatsink-from-the-CPU adventure.

As you might recall (well, read it above ) i tried to remove the heatsink by heating it up after the cooling idea didn't work. Actually this worked. At around 80°C i decided to switch off the PC (a man can only take so much...) and try my luck. The heatsink gave in! A little. But after skillful appliance of a hairdryer i managed to remove the heatsink.

Apparently some dork glued it to the CPU with some kind of plastic glue. Smart move. Well, i cleaned the CPU surface with Terpentine and a small brush. After that i washed it thouroughly (carefully observing the guidelines and rules for working with hazardous material and obeying the environmental laws of waste disposal over here) and reapplied some thermal conduit and a sink.

Voila, running perfectly since 2 days. Thakn you guys for your patience, have to go.