How To Remove Heatsink On X1900GT?

[Fidelis K]

I want to replace the stock fan & heatsink with a Zalman fan and have a few
questions. I never replaced a GPU fan before, so a help would be greatly
appreciated!

1. Which screws should I unscrew? Should I unscrew the screws on the
X-shaped bracket, too?
2. I see thermal tapes between the heatsink and the card. Does it mean that
the heatsink will be still atached to the card after I unscrew necessary
screws? If so, how do I safely remove the heatsink?
3. After removing the heatsink, I guess I should clean the chips, right? How
should I clean them?

Thanks.

 

[First of One]

I want to replace the stock fan & heatsink with a Zalman fan and have a few
questions. I never replaced a GPU fan before, so a help would be greatly
appreciated!

1. Which screws should I unscrew? Should I unscrew the screws on the
X-shaped bracket, too?

All the screws visible from the bottom of the card including those securing
the X-brace should be removed.

2. I see thermal tapes between the heatsink and the card. Does it mean
that the heatsink will be still atached to the card after I unscrew
necessary screws?

Yes. How strong the adhesive is will depend on the board manufacturer, batch
of card, etc. Since the screws are the primary means of attaching the heat
sink, the tape is usually just there to pad up any gaps between the heat
sink and the RAM chips.

If so, how do I safely remove the heatsink?

You may be able to just pull it off with moderate force. If that doesn't
work, slice through the tape with a razor blade.

3. After removing the heatsink, I guess I should clean the chips, right?
How should I clean them?

Rubbing alcohol works wonders, and it evaporates quickly. Alternatives (if
you are in an industrial setting) include Loctite aerosol primer and Xerox
photoreceptor solvent, both of which are essentially alcohol.

 

[Clint]

When I replaced my HS on my ATI X1800GTO, I ran the ATI Tray Tools Artifact
Tester to "warm things up". The HS pulled off easily. I don't know that
heating it up helped a bunch, but there you go. I did the same thing when I
replaced the HS on my CPU as well.

Clint

 

[First of One]

Last time I ran the artifact checker, the temps fell back within 10 seconds.
I think your HS would've pulled off easily anyway without the "pre-heating".


Besides, the artifact checker is more apt at burning-in the CPU than the
RAM. Those sticky pads are on the RAM.