IHS Removal on an A64

lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
edited January 2005 in Hardware
I spent some time trying to remove the IHS from my A64. The thing appears to be on there REALLY tightly. I used an exacto knife to cut the gum around the sides of the IHS, however the IHS is so close to the proc PCB that everything I have tried cannot cut deeper than 1mm into the glue, under the IHS. I scratched up the PCB surface a bit trying to remove it already, so I wanted to ask if anyone had any special tricks for removing it?. I have found one guide to remove a Pee4 IHS, however nothing much for the A64.

I have already pried it a bit, and I'm a bit worried that the IHS may not be making perfect contact with the core any more, so instead of giving up, it probably makes sense for me to keep going with it. :eek:

I know that most people recommend against removing the IHS, but I'm feeling spicy :mullet: . The chip was not expensive (2800+ newcastle), so I dont mind taking a bit of a chance on it.

Does anyone have any special tricks up their sleves for removing the IHS? Also, are there any special tools that make the job easier?

Comments

  • JimboraeJimborae Newbury, Berks, UK New
    edited January 2005
    Speak to Mackanz :)
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited January 2005
    I hope they aren't using the same process as Intel is on the m0 Northwoods and the pressies; they started using an epoxy type tim and it's damn hard to remove the IHS of the new P4's without ripping the slug off. :eek:

    Good luck with removing it and let us know how it comes out. :)
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    Freeze it! It may come off more easily.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    This is how it looks when it's off. As you can see, you need the thinnest razorblade you can find and gently cut around where the rubber is. There's always a little hole where there are no rubber (peeps woth phasechange cooling uses some sort of seal at this hole to prevent condensation if the IHS is still on), try and pry the ihs off gently when you have cutted a few rounds. Putting the cpu in the freezer works as well ,but you need to cut it first.
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited January 2005
    Well, after several frustrating hours, I got nowhere. I'm sure I could have gotten it off if I had some more patience and better razor blades, but I scratched up the pcb quite a bit, and broke off a blade under the IHS :eek: Luckily I was able to get it out. I didnt want to total my chip before getting it into the mainboard :)

    I have probably the worst stepping of newcastle on the face of the earth. I was supremely disappointed when I started her up this afternoon. It'll barely do 2.3GHz at 1.7+ volts. It is a week 0404 newcastle. I've seen clawhammer C0's do better, and at least you get the extra cache. I guess it was a 2800+ for a reason :( Probably going to throw it on ebay and try my luck with another chip. This was all done with high end H2o as well.. Load temps were in the mid-30s. Good thing I didn't waste my time with the IHS any longer.

    I originally thought I may have messed with the seating of the IHS in my attempts to remove it, but once I looked around, everyone had really poor overclocks with this stepping. I guess the moral of the story is that not all newcastles are created equal. There are a lot of people making blanket statements about newcastle overclocking, but the fact of the matter is that not all newcastles will hit the somewhat common 2.55GHz ceiling. So be weary of stepping codes :thumbsup:
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