is there a special way to remove my HSF

[edub2006]

hey guys i just bought some arctic 5 thermal paste. I want to put in on my cpu. Right now it just has the stuff that came stock. Now my freind tried to remove his a couple of months ago and bent some pins. Is there a way to safely remove it? is the old paste stuck to the heatsink and cpu? (like glue?) thanks guys

 

[Gronich]

I had the same problem the other week - swapping motherboards and cpus.

The first cpu popped out with the heatsink attached and was a pain to remove - I used Arctic Thermal Material cleaner around the edges of the CPU and a small screwdriver to prise it off!

The second one - having learnt my lesson - I left the PC together, ran the CPU under load for about 10 minutes, shut down and while the HSF and CPU were still warm I removed the heatsink no problem - the paste was still malleable.

Hope this helps.

 

[edub2006]

that heating u the paste sounds like th winner

 

[iRONic]

Originally posted by: edub2006
that heating u the paste sounds like th winner

That, or a claw hammer.

j/k

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Use a screw driver. If you have a loose HSF lying around, inspect it to figure out the locking mechanism. Also, you COULD uncrew the base since you're prob gonna have to change it anyway. Did that back in the days when I was a newbie.

 

[chilled]

Don't lift - gently twist!

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: chilled
Don't lift - gently twist!

QFT...

Twist backand forth very slightly and this will help to break the suction effect happening....I have done the heat up method and that only really works for the stock TIM pads...It made little to NO difference if I had already been using an AS product...

AS products from AS3 and AS2 never really had this problem, but back when I used those as much we had exposed cores and not really these IHS plates now.

 

[loafbred]

Gently twisting and pulling on one top edge will eventually break it loose. I will try heating it next time.

 

[edub2006]

how to i know if im pulling to hard? wont the pins bend if i twist?

 

[robertk2012]

Use a hair dryer to heat it.

 

[lestat0521]

I work in a tech department and we always gently twist the cpu until it comes off, however be very careful after a few twists it will fall off! Believe me I bent a few pins the first time I tried that.(it hit the floor) HEH

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: edub2006
how to i know if im pulling to hard? wont the pins bend if i twist?

No because the socket will hold it in place. That's why it's important to NOT PULL UP when you're gently twisting, because some chips become stuck to heatsinks, so if you pull up first, then twist, you may inadvertantly have pulled the chip out of the socket by pulling up, and the twisting action will just make a mess of the pins.

But if the HSF is in place, and then you simply gently twist left and right, you should be able to get the HS to come off no problem...