Hi everyone,

A client returned a computer with a dead motherboard; the southbridge had erupted. So I set about taking it out for warranty return. It's a dual xeon, Tyan motherboard. So i loosen the heatsink screws and go to remove the heatsinks but they seem stuck in there. A bit of firm lifting and the heatsink comes out with the cpu attached!
Whoever built the machine put half a tube of heat paste on the cpus (both are now like this) and it's bonded the cpu to the heatsink.
I have to separate them or I wont be able to put them back into the replacement motherboard.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to separate them? I thought of freezing, or heating. We have a freezer which would do; or i could put them in a warm oven (80C?) and that _should_ do it.

What do you think?

Errrrr.... unforch, these days, heatsink compound can (apart from the conventional white grease) also be a glue which bonds in anerobic conditions (under a heatsink). You may be knackered as it's based on Superglue.

Yeah. It happens quite frequently. Usually it is because the thermal pad material that comes with the heatsink is cold and therefore hard. Warm it up a bit and it should come off fairly easily.

I've been told for years that too much thermal paste actually insulates the heat into the processor. And if this machine was built after heatsinks came with their own postage stamp of thermal paste (which doesn't sound likely), then the builder must have been way overzealous to add more paste.

I thought this thread would link to some article about new CPU design reverting to Slot A/1 style.

Slightly OT I guess:
AMD
P4

Wow, was that hole in the desk there before? Or did it just punch a hile in the Mobo?

Shear strength is generally poor for such a bond. If you can negotiate it mechanically, it should "twist off" relatively easily. Good luck!

that vid's awesome. I'll try it when the replacement board comes back.

Um, I don't think so. Take a look at the video from a more trusted source.

Not quite so dramatic, is it? They were probably using squibs or some other small explosive.

Also, as I recall, AMD has since fixed this problem with the introduction of "Cool n' Quiet" and now scales itself back much like the P4 does. The video and processors used in it is about 4 years old.