I guess its my turn for the daily amd cpu stuck to heatsink post.
This thing just wont come off.
I ran my system for 30 mins before dissasembly, wiggled it and it still came off with the cpu, no pins bent(thankfully).
But it wont come off no matter how much heat, twisting, alcohol, dental floss or razor blades i try to get under it.
I now read that maybe putting it in the freezer might make the paste shrink, is this a thing?
I swear theres only an atom of space for anything to go between heatsink and cpu.
35 Comments
The usual tip is to reheat it (for multiple mins Ik Ik you said u did it already many times but just do it once again) and then try to twist the CPU back and forth until it hopefully comes off.
Floss
Apply some alcohol around the part where the CPU meets the heat sink and let it sit and see what happens.
When your computer was on, did you use prime95 to stress the CPU causing it to heat up?
Got a heat gun?
Must be someone taking my advice and using JB Weld as thermal paste
Wd 40?
Use floss. Your welcome
the one time this happened to me I feel like I ended up getting it off by using incredibly stupid and dangerous techniques, like putting the edge of the CPU against the edge of a desk with the heatsink hanging out the side then punching downwards on the heatsink, but it was 5 years ago and I honestly can’t remember how I did it
alcohol, flat screwdriver as a lever and voila. worked for me and my 2600x
I use a very thin but firm plastic card
looks like your cpu is melted onto it?
What kind of paste did you use? It wasn’t adhesive, was it?
Stress test it, Prime95. If that doesn’t work well shieet. Maybe off the cooler for 1min and let it run without cooler? I don’t know how safe is that tho
Rotate it.
lever it from a corner, really careful, on a table and dont let it fall more than 20cm
Use small long screwdriver and lever against you finger and the ihs.
pliers and twist
When this happened to me on my 3600 I tried everything to get it off. I bent a pin trying to pry it off. Finally got my channel locks and barely gripped the CPU and gave it a clockwise twist and it twisted a 16th of a turn and popped off the heatsink with almost no effort. No additional damage to the CPU or pins. I back the pin and it worked fine.
I don’t know what it was but it rotated way easier than trying to pry it off.
Put a flat screwdriver against the ihs on one side or the other. Tap the screwdriver with a hammer (lightly) and then change sides and do it again. Use the concussive force to rotate the cpu on the heatsink.
Be gentle, and only make contact with the IHS, not the pcb. Also, it should be known that there is some risk when using a hammer on a CPU.
Hail Mary but put that back in your case and stress the fuck out of it. Bring it to 100c and then take it out 🤷♀️
Normally I give the cooler a little twist while the cpu is still socketed and it typically comes off no issue.
Metal paint scraper should peel that off.
https://preview.redd.it/s7ljf0bb2xac1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7141080ea3f9518bee5b5fdcbbbb2d6171cb3122
Yes recently pulled my cpu from mobo,shit myself almost they slowly removed it from the cooler and installed new one, it was just 2 days old cpu and mobo install
Safely try a heat gun and floss? And by safely I mean heat it up but keep that gun far enough away that it doesn’t fry the thing.
Or maybe put it back and run it a bit to heat it up.
Just heat it until the paste starts to flow with a hair dryer or heat gun.
Wiggle? I try to get at least a 15 degree spin on it before pulling. I also like to twist as I am pulling on it.
did you rotate and push?
Yeah this happened to me a couple times. Never messed up the CPU tho. I definitely recommend finding a good method tho. My adrenaline skyrocketed when it happened
I managed to wedge an ifixit guitar pick under it, slid a metal ruler into the lil gap, then pushed the ruler up while clamping down the heatsink.
Please for the love of god, have 2 extra hands in the event it launches off as it nearly gave me a heart attack last time i tried it for the first time.
Also yes the ruler now is noticeably bent.
Serious:
Get a high E guitar string.
Clamp the cooler with a vice grip or between your legs with the CPU facing away from you.
Wrap the string around your fingers or two sticks, and slide the wire from the bottom of the cooler towards the top. See saw motion at stops.
Shit on it.
You said you tried flossing, have you tried using only a few strands of the floss and being patient with it? You might be able to gradually wear the paste out if you continue to floss it. What other people suggest using can be ok, brute force can come with a hefty price because where will that force go right after you successfully remove it? Worst case scenario is you fling the CPU across the room. Not so worst case scenario is you accidentally nick the edge pins and bend them.
Yeah, tough. I would stress test it then use a guitar string (thinnest one)
Try putting it in the freezer, thermal contraction may help. Could also try a razor blade scraper if you have one, looks like there’s just the ever so slightest gap you may be able to weasle a very thin blade into.