VGA Silencer Problem: Can't remove heatsink

  • Thread starter Thread starter Paul Moloney
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Paul Moloney

I have Radeon 9800 Pro 128Mb (Brand unknown) which I'm trying
to install an Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer onto. However, I'm
_really_ stuck.

According to the instructions, the barbs on the back of the board
for the original heatsink should be easy to squash enough so they
can be forced back through the holes in the boards. Not mine.
The barbs seem almost solid, so squeezing with a pliers has only
succeeded in mangling them without squashing them enough to fit
through the holes. I've tried to cut the bards, but can't get enough
leverage, and the plastic they're made from is pretty tough.
It's definitely not the heatsink itself that is stuck by adhesive,
as it now moves around quite a bit.

Please help :(

P.
 
I had the problem, too. The barbs were designed to be tough, to provide
consistent heat sink contact pressure. You need a good pair of needle-nose
pliers to remove them cleanly. I didn't have a pair on hand so I just cut
the barbs with snips... To use the OEM cooler again, I can always use a
couple of M4 screws padded by plastic washers.

Just be careful to not damage any surface-mount components near the holes.
 
I had the problem, too. The barbs were designed to be tough, to provide
consistent heat sink contact pressure. You need a good pair of needle-nose
pliers to remove them cleanly. I didn't have a pair on hand so I just cut
the barbs with snips... To use the OEM cooler again, I can always use a
couple of M4 screws padded by plastic washers.

Just be careful to not damage any surface-mount components near the holes.
Click to expand...
I need a good pair of needle-nose pliers just to get through the day.
 
First of One said:
I had the problem, too. The barbs were designed to be tough, to provide
consistent heat sink contact pressure. You need a good pair of needle-nose
pliers to remove them cleanly. I didn't have a pair on hand so I just cut
the barbs with snips... To use the OEM cooler again, I can always use a
couple of M4 screws padded by plastic washers.

Just be careful to not damage any surface-mount components near the holes.
Click to expand...

After leaving the problem aside for an hour or two,
I managed to cut the barbs in the end. Rather than trying
to cut across them, I cut at a slight diagonal from the center
of the barb, down and outwards, narrowing each barb so I could
push them back through the holes. I slightly scored each hole,
which worried me, since circuits come _very_ near those holes.
The card subsequently worked fine, however. But it's a warning
to anyone who thinks it's an easy task; depending on your particular
brand of card, it may not be.

P.
 
Paul Moloney said:
"First of One" <[email protected]> wrote in message holes.

After leaving the problem aside for an hour or two,
I managed to cut the barbs in the end. Rather than trying
to cut across them, I cut at a slight diagonal from the center
of the barb, down and outwards, narrowing each barb so I could
push them back through the holes. I slightly scored each hole,
which worried me, since circuits come _very_ near those holes.
The card subsequently worked fine, however. But it's a warning
to anyone who thinks it's an easy task; depending on your particular
brand of card, it may not be.
Click to expand...

Uhm... you did pull the middle pins out from the top before trying to
squeeze the barbs, right?
 
Paul said:
I have Radeon 9800 Pro 128Mb (Brand unknown) which I'm trying
to install an Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer onto. However, I'm
_really_ stuck.

According to the instructions, the barbs on the back of the board
for the original heatsink should be easy to squash enough so they
can be forced back through the holes in the boards. Not mine.
The barbs seem almost solid, so squeezing with a pliers has only
succeeded in mangling them without squashing them enough to fit
through the holes. I've tried to cut the bards, but can't get enough
leverage, and the plastic they're made from is pretty tough.
It's definitely not the heatsink itself that is stuck by adhesive,
as it now moves around quite a bit.

Please help :(

P.
Click to expand...

you just squash em, and they middle bit pops down, so it can fit thru
 
Noozer said:
Uhm... you did pull the middle pins out from the top before trying to
squeeze the barbs, right?
Click to expand...

No, I didn't; I'm not familiar with graphic card heatsinks,
and none of VGA Silencer's instructions (either with the cooler or
on their web site) mentioned the pin. It just says:

"On the reverse side of the graphic board the barb must be squeezed
together with pliers in such a way that afterwards it can be pressed
through the hole."

Their instructions are rather terse and rather poorly translated
from the German original, and really should be updated (putting my
tech writer's hat on for a moment).

P.
 
Worked for me, must be you.
Click to expand...

If you have nothing nice to say to help this poor chap......don't say
anything, kid. Didn't your parents raise you semi-decently?
Damn teenagers, these days...
 
hi
if its a ati or copy heatsink you need to pull the 2 pins out of the top
of the clips then you can squeeze bottoms together

smiffy
 
I have Radeon 9800 Pro 128Mb (Brand unknown) which I'm trying
to install an Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer onto. However, I'm
_really_ stuck.

According to the instructions, the barbs on the back of the board
for the original heatsink should be easy to squash enough so they
can be forced back through the holes in the boards. Not mine.
The barbs seem almost solid, so squeezing with a pliers has only
succeeded in mangling them without squashing them enough to fit
through the holes. I've tried to cut the bards, but can't get enough
leverage, and the plastic they're made from is pretty tough.
It's definitely not the heatsink itself that is stuck by adhesive,
as it now moves around quite a bit.

Please help :(

P.
Click to expand...

The thing is, pull UP the pins on the top side of the card, maybe
1/8"/3mm, and then flip and squeeze, poke them out while squeezing. Once
you pull the pins up, squeeze just a little to get them started, then
poke them thru, shouldn't be a problem.

I too, had this problem until I discovered the pin pull-up trick!!
 
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