I wouldnt try to remove the heatsink. I also think its ok with just that front fan pulling air over the cpu.
I went through a similar investigation and i remember coming across opinions that thermal paste wasnt useful on ceramic.
Im runnng a amd dx4 at 133 mhz with a simple clip-on heatsink and fan now.
one of the bigger issue i had was the lack of a good way to hold the heat sink on. I attempted some 3d printed brackets that clamped around the cpu. So having the heatsink epoxied might be best in the end.

Pickle wrote on 2025-09-05, 15:42:

I wouldnt try to remove the heatsink. I also think its ok with just that front fan pulling air over the cpu. I went through a s […]
Show full quote

I wouldnt try to remove the heatsink. I also think its ok with just that front fan pulling air over the cpu.
I went through a similar investigation and i remember coming across opinions that thermal paste wasnt useful on ceramic.
Im runnng a amd dx4 at 133 mhz with a simple clip-on heatsink and fan now.
one of the bigger issue i had was the lack of a good way to hold the heat sink on. I attempted some 3d printed brackets that clamped around the cpu. So having the heatsink epoxied might be best in the end.

This was a concern I came up with that I forgot to mention as well... In my google searches I came across several aluminum fin heat sinks (with cheap Chinese fans on them) on eBay and I had seen brackets which looked like they clip on. The current heat sink definitely is not clipped on it looks as if it is glued on and I stopped there. I also forgot to mention I added a (previously blocked off) fan on the backside of the case separate from the PSU exhaust fan so there is a good amount of airflow in the case.

I would leave it alone, or at least buy a second 486DX2-66 to practice on and keep that one as is.

These CPUs are rated for 85 Celsius. Even Intel only put this heatsink on their retail CPUs: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/common … _2007_03_27.jpg

Here are the airflow ratings in the datasheet: https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_intelda … e/n219/mode/1up
and a past thread about it: 486DX2 heat sink debate

My avatar shows a fancy ATS heatsink I got from DigiKey with phase-change thermal interface material bonded onto the bottom, hooked to an Am5x86 via a 3d printed bracket. Note that the Am5x86 ADW CPUs are rated for 65C rather than 85C, so cooling is more important on them.

Tory4 wrote on 2025-09-05, 15:50:

Pickle wrote on 2025-09-05, 15:42:

I wouldnt try to remove the heatsink. I also think its ok with just that front fan pulling air over the cpu. I went through a s […]
Show full quote

I wouldnt try to remove the heatsink. I also think its ok with just that front fan pulling air over the cpu.
I went through a similar investigation and i remember coming across opinions that thermal paste wasnt useful on ceramic.
Im runnng a amd dx4 at 133 mhz with a simple clip-on heatsink and fan now.
one of the bigger issue i had was the lack of a good way to hold the heat sink on. I attempted some 3d printed brackets that clamped around the cpu. So having the heatsink epoxied might be best in the end.

This was a concern I came up with that I forgot to mention as well... In my google searches I came across several aluminum fin heat sinks (with cheap Chinese fans on them) on eBay and I had seen brackets which looked like they clip on. The current heat sink definitely is not clipped on it looks as if it is glued on and I stopped there. I also forgot to mention I added a (previously blocked off) fan on the backside of the case separate from the PSU exhaust fan so there is a good amount of airflow in the case.

It's an adhesive thermal paste not glue. You can remove the heatsink by using the freeze spray. But if you don't care about the original heatsink just add a 50x50mm fan on top.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124615822084?_skw= … ABk9SR_LMx6mjZg

jakethompson1 wrote on 2025-09-05, 15:59:

I would leave it alone, or at least buy a second 486DX2-66 to practice on and keep that one as is. […]
Show full quote

I would leave it alone, or at least buy a second 486DX2-66 to practice on and keep that one as is.

These CPUs are rated for 85 Celsius. Even Intel only put this heatsink on their retail CPUs: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/common … _2007_03_27.jpg

Here are the airflow ratings in the datasheet: https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_intelda … e/n219/mode/1up
and a past thread about it: 486DX2 heat sink debate

My avatar shows a fancy ATS heatsink I got from DigiKey with phase-change thermal interface material bonded onto the bottom, hooked to an Am5x86 via a 3d printed bracket. Note that the Am5x86 ADW CPUs are rated for 65C rather than 85C, so cooling is more important on them.

I didn't realize they were rated to 85 degrees. If thats the case I will probably leave the heat sink alone and maybe just add a fan to it if I can find one to cover it appropriately.

Appreciate it guys

That setup is just fine the way it is - I'd call it a "best case scenario". You could even probably get away with slowing that front case fan down some with like 9volts if you want it a little quieter.

Touch the Heatsink when you are playing a game. Is it hot? Does it burn your fingers? If it does slap a molex powered fan on it or near it. If it doesn't hurt when ya touch the passive glued on HSF then it's fine as is

ODwilly wrote on 2025-09-05, 17:44:

Touch the Heatsink when you are playing a game. Is it hot? Does it burn your fingers? If it does slap a molex powered fan on it or near it. If it doesn't hurt when ya touch the passive glued on HSF then it's fine as is

Its what i would call HIGHLY uncomfortable but I have a very high pain tolerance (working around race cars and hot exhaust all my life). So yeah that sounds advisable.

I use 40mm Noctua fans on heat sinks for 486 processors (DX2/66 or faster). Even though the processors are rated for higher temps, keeping them cool as possible doesn't hurt.

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-09-05, 21:18:

I use 40mm Noctua fans on heat sinks for 486 processors (DX2/66 or faster). Even though the processors are rated for higher temps, keeping them cool as possible doesn't hurt.

On stock Intel heat sinks? That's what I'm thinking I will do.

Tory4 wrote on 2025-09-06, 17:40:

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-09-05, 21:18:

I use 40mm Noctua fans on heat sinks for 486 processors (DX2/66 or faster). Even though the processors are rated for higher temps, keeping them cool as possible doesn't hurt.

On stock Intel heat sinks? That's what I'm thinking I will do.

Yup, I've put them on stock heatsinks. For example, here's a 40mm fan I rigged up on a DX4/100 overdrive processor.

It's a bit of a funky setup, but it works.

For what it's worth, my first PC had a 486DX2 66MHz and it ran without even a heatsink, let alone a fan, and it ran fine for the 4 years it was my main PC.

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-09-06, 19:38:

Tory4 wrote on 2025-09-06, 17:40:

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-09-05, 21:18:

I use 40mm Noctua fans on heat sinks for 486 processors (DX2/66 or faster). Even though the processors are rated for higher temps, keeping them cool as possible doesn't hurt.

On stock Intel heat sinks? That's what I'm thinking I will do.

Yup, I've put them on stock heatsinks. For example, here's a 40mm fan I rigged up on a DX4/100 overdrive processor.

It's a bit of a funky setup, but it works.

Is it stable? Doesn't the fan got loose?

If you're using plain DOS, you might look into its POWER.EXE driver to HLT the CPU when idle to help keep it cooler

Without it, the CPU spins in a busy loop when idle

dominusprog wrote on 2025-09-07, 19:52:

Is it stable? Doesn't the fan got loose?

Nope, it doesn't get loose. It's wedged on there quite well.