Did I just broke my new motherboard?

[DannyCz20]

Hello, recently I decided to build my first PC and when I was placing my new motherboard (Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P) in the case I wasn't being gentle enough and pushed the middle part shown in the screen below, heard a pop sound and now this middle part is moving. I have no idea what that part is so I wanna know how serious it is.

Edit: It's heat sink and after the pop sound it's not only moving but its kinda loose and I'm afraid if I would remove the screws holding it together then it would like fall off. Thats pretty bad right?

Thanks for any answers.

 

[TheGoat Eater]

You likely didn't break it ... Was it screwed on or did it use a nylon push pin and spring? If it is just the push pin you can spread the gap at the end and push it back through - spreading so that it will be more secure after you push it through. I would also maybe check the TIM on the heatsink and chip and possibly replace it with a thin coat of TIM. Good luck

 

[.vodka]

No, you didn't break it. The thermal paste these motherboards use on these heatsinks is rock hard and melts with heat, then "glues" itself to both surfaces. You applying pressure on the heatsink resulted into that "glue" effect to break. I personally hate it, it's a mess to clean up when you do some maintenance on your motherboard. Only some drops of mineral spirits get easily rid of it. It's that annoying to get rid of.

The heatsink now moves because those two push pins holding it in place don't apply much downward pressure by themselves. If they did they would break, since they're made of plastic/nylon/whatever that is. If it were mounted with screws and nuts it wouldn't even budge.


As long as those two push pins are intact, and when turned on you feel the heatsink getting hot, then it's fine. A hot heatsink is a working heatsink.

 

[DannyCz20]

I was about to remove the heat sink to take a closer look but it seems firm again just like new so I guess the thermal paste isn't ruined. Thanks for your help guys