Advetures In Noobage: I dont need no stinking IHS (part1: the tragedy) - Overclock.net

Poser · 02-22-07

Yup...I believed the hype and delidded my Dan Siego 3500+, I figured hey if I screw it up I'll only slip into a deep depressive coma and throw myself and my rig off cliff into a deep ravine....what do I got to lose.

Begin Disclaimer:

I am a noob. I am not even a particularly intelligent or technologically savvy noob. In fact popular sentiment is that I am a dolt/moron/idiot/half-wit what have you...and there is a fair body of evidence to support this claim. Should you follow any of the steps detailed below...than you too will be supporting similar claims regarding your intellectual prowess
End Disclaimer

A couple of things before you dive in:

1. If you have never done this before...but you have read it is frighteningly easy, YOU ARE BEING LIED TO. VICIOUS, VICIOUS LIARS...THE WHOLE LOT OF YOU!!!! (alright its not that bad...but still if you have a dead CPU lying around, I suggest practicing first)

2. If you have a newer production AMD processor...there is a good chance the core is soldered to the IHS...in which case I wouldnt

with it. SERIOUSLY

3. If you dont have a utility Knife lying around, get one...my worst decision was using my exacto. The only thing an exacto is in this procedure...is an exact pain in the ar$e.

W/O further ado and disclaimers and tip and tricks and bells and whistles, and circus midgets (cause they are scary...) I give you

POSER'S IHS BE-GONE:
1. Lets take a look inside:

Yes I know that is a picture of my Zalman9500led. I just want to suggest first removing your CPU cooler, as I am aware that a lot of you have been working on sub-atomic particle transmission...I have found that removing the IHS in this matter may in fact cause severe instability in the space-time continuum...resulting in the early 80's making a comeback...please exercise good judgment...and taste. Forget telekinetics and get a darned screwdriver (N/A version please...or actually both, might help

)

2. Your Friend and Mine, Dan Siego

Well hellllooooooo there. Yes, that is in fact our victim...er...object of modding, good ole Dan Siego. As you can see he is completely blinged out in the highest of fashion...SILVER. BOO-YAH. Thats how we roll!

3. The Setup:
What you see is what ya need...check it yo'. I'm crazy hard (...pressed to sound cool)

A. Articlean 1 (TIM emulsifier) and 2 (surface purifier). If these are not available, goof off and 99% isopropyl are decent substitutes

B. Exacto Knife (or....razor, or buck knife or machete...actually stay away from the machete). In fact...I STRONGLY urge you to get a utility knife aka. boxcutter. It makes the procedure infinitely easier and definitely safer

C. Foam cushioning for your CPU...we dont want to bend any of those pretty little pins.

D. Qtips and lint free cloths...for cleaning purposes

E. Definitions of Acronyms...just in case
TIM= Thermal Interface Material (i.e. AS5, Coolabs Liquid Metal, your neighbors old braces....)
IHS= Integrated Heat Spreader aka. heavy piece of metal slapped onto you core

STEPS TO PERMANENTLY DESTROY RMA/WARRANTY VALIDITY
1. Use emulsifiers to....um....well....uhhhh emulsify any TIM on the IHS, so you are not making a complete mess of yourself

2. Place your CPU on the foam used to protect the pins and place in the freezer for approximately 15 mins. (I am not really sure as to why this step is professed in so many guides, but if you knew you probably wouldnt be reading this...so there, just do it!)

3. We are now going to use our knife to remove the adhesive bonding the IHS to the CPU's Printed Circuit Board. THE NEXT COUPLE OF TIPS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT TO NOT COMPLETELY #%&ING YOUR CPU UP!!!!!
A. DO NOT EVER EVER EVER NEVER NEVER EVER NEVER EVER NEVER EVER NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER....EVER EVER EVER EVER NEVER insert the tip of your knife more than 6mm underneath the IHS. Doing so will significantly increase the risk of you changing your CPU from "mad overclocker" to "pretty keychain". The capacitor packs that surround the core are extremely fragile and can easily be sheared (I know cause I did it...more on that in part II).

B. Baring A. in mind, if you insist on using an exacto...measure out 6mm from the point and mark it with a sharpie...this will give you an idea when you are entering the danger zone.

C. the exacto! Seriously, just get a utilitly knife/box cutter for 3 bux and save yourself the anxiety. Any decent one of these will allow you to adjust just how much length you can use...and will help avoid accidents.

D. Gently insert your cutting implement into a corner and work down the side of PCB. DO NOT USE A SAWING MOTION. PERIOD. Just repeat this process until you feel the adhesive begin to yield

E. Do this gently and cautiously for each corner. You will feel the IHS begin to pry loose. When it is ready to pop...just remove it from the top of the PCB. It may take a LITTLE bit of force because of the TIM used during manufacture.

The result should look something like this:

Alright...the hard part is done, now for the fun.

Since you have now removed the IHS, when you replace your cooler...it will be teetering around on top of your naked core (sounds kind of kinky, actually). This is no good. You will need to "shim" the PCB to create an even plane so that your cooler doesnt pull in one direction (which will most likely be down thanks to gravity @ 9.38 m/s*2...and more importantly away from the core)

I used card stock...(folded paper) and that worked out pretty darned good for me...as can be seen below:

What you also will see is that I cleaned the core, with AC 1 & 2 and have put a tiny bit of AS5 on for my TIM

I find my preferred method for spreading TIM is the inside-out sandwich bag trick (which is also all the craze in London Late Nite Scene from what I hear). Take a gander:

Your Finished Product should look like this:

Remount your Cooler...fire that bad boy up and experience the utter coolness of running naked! (10*C drop for me on load temps)

But alas...this where my story differs from yours...because you will learn from my mistakes (hopefully).

Upon firing up my rig...not only did I get much cooler temps, but I was rewarded with complete instability at anything above stock. Thats right, my Rock Stable 2.8ghz OC was gone...bye-bye, CIAO, Shalom...c-ya.

I redirect you to the last picture (bottom left hand corner)...if you examine carefully what you will see is that I provided you with first-hand experience as to what happens when you clip one of the capacitor packs surrounding the core.

Thats right !!!!

OH %&^*^ !

Which leads me to part II of our guide: I $%^&ed up, now what!?!?!?!