got the answers I was looking for - thanks all

[Gogeta4832]

*edit*
thanks for the input
got the answers I was looking for
ended up not worrying about it for now
*end edit*

 

[drsaari]

if you heat it up with a blow dryer or a heat gun it should loosen up and come off easier, but there is always a chance of ruining your card.
please dont hold me responsible if it breaks

 

[Gogeta4832]

don't plan holding you responsible drsaari

thanks for the info though - I thought that was one way of doing it

 

[Wedge1]

I have a GF2 Ultra OEM made by Visiontek (been a stellar card, still is) and that sucker is epoxied on there I'm assuming. I heated it with a hairdryer but still it required more force than I was willing to provide. My solution was to mount an 80mm Panaflo L1A with plastic ties that run through holes found at the edge of the card. It hangs at an angle and sweeps across the heatsink (the tiny fan on the card is unplugged), then exits out the case bottom because I have removed the slot guards. Better cooling and quieter even.

Good luck with whatever you try.

 

[VTrider]

I use to remove epoxied heatsinks by throwing the whole card in the freezer for a while, the epoxy becomes brittle then usually the heatsink pops right off with a little effort.

 

[HomerSapien]

I second the freezer deal. I did that to a tnt2 where the fan broke. At the time i could only find combo heatsink/fans so i put it in a bag in the freezer for about 30 minutes and it popped right off immediately.

 

[Gogeta4832]

okay, one real quick question in regards to the freezer idea
how much risk is there that any other part will be damaged while doing that?

if not, that sounds like the best bet

 

[Nyati13]

Originally posted by: Gogeta4832
okay, one real quick question in regards to the freezer idea
how much risk is there that any other part will be damaged while doing that?

if not, that sounds like the best bet

Make sure it is securely ziplocked in a dry bag. It is the possible moisture in the freezer that can damage things, the cold is not going to hurt anything except the glue/epoxy. Unless the card has some sort of rubber/soft plastic part on it (unlikely, but....)

Jeremy

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: Nyati13

Originally posted by: Gogeta4832
okay, one real quick question in regards to the freezer idea
how much risk is there that any other part will be damaged while doing that?

if not, that sounds like the best bet

Make sure it is securely ziplocked in a dry bag. It is the possible moisture in the freezer that can damage things, the cold is not going to hurt anything except the glue/epoxy. Unless the card has some sort of rubber/soft plastic part on it (unlikely, but....)

Jeremy

Yup yup, also let your card sit out for a while in a warm room before using it just to be certain.


I always find that wiggling it like it is a loose tooth helps. Just kinda jiggle it at first for a few minutes to get it loosened up, then just make tiny twists to it and work your way up to twisting it completely off.


As far as the heating it idea goes, I thought that most thermal pastes and epoxies for CPUs and GPUs uses heat to make it bond BETTER, so I don't know that heat would be as effective as making it brittle from the cold.

 

[cheapgoose]

all i did was grab a small, thin flat screw driver, stuck it under he heatsink and twist, the heatsink came off real easy.

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: cheapgoose
all i did was grab a small, thin flat screw driver, stuck it under he heatsink and twist, the heatsink came off real easy.

You gotta be careful when you do this because I've heard horror stories of people ripping out their entre GPU doing it this way.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: Wedge1
I have a GF2 Ultra OEM made by Visiontek (been a stellar card, still is) and that sucker is epoxied on there I'm assuming. I heated it with a hairdryer but still it required more force than I was willing to provide. My solution was to mount an 80mm Panaflo L1A with plastic ties that run through holes found at the edge of the card. It hangs at an angle and sweeps across the heatsink (the tiny fan on the card is unplugged), then exits out the case bottom because I have removed the slot guards. Better cooling and quieter even.

Good luck with whatever you try.

Wedge1 has your answer. Just remove the old fan and mount something nearby. Said ELSA (Visiontek) card is still running fine today, jury-rigged and all.

 

[bootoo]

You can also use heavier threaded screws and screw the fan into your hs; that is what I do on thermalrights and it seems a lot more secure than tying the fan or those nasty tiny wire things thermalright uses on your cpu hs's.

Just get some screws a tinier bit bigger than your fins and screw 'em in; they won't distort things much and they're in tight.