get that crap off. AS5 will do just fine. go nuts. Its cleaner to apply to the cpu die.

AS5 will be far better than any thermal pad. It will make proper contact 😀

I'd rather use something like MX-3 compared to AS5 as AS5 is harder to clean.

Hmmmmm...

Seems to make good contact?

(I cleaned it off and re-applied it before closing it up for good)

Tetrium wrote:

I'd rather use something like MX-3 compared to AS5 as AS5 is harder to clean.

Too late! 😀

Second problem...

I have some PIII processors (also SECC2) that are fully welded to the heat sink, and just won't budge. Should I borrow my mate's heat gun to try and soften the TIM, or just cut my losses and leave them alone?
My normal 'twist off' method for removing stuck heat sinks won't work in this case, as the four heat sink mounting pins prevent that. I'm also not keen on straight up prying the board off, in case I rip the processor right off the PCB.

Thoughts?

phosgene wrote:

Second problem... […]
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Second problem...

I have some PIII processors (also SECC2) that are fully welded to the heat sink, and just won't budge. Should I borrow my mate's heat gun to try and soften the TIM, or just cut my losses and leave them alone?
My normal 'twist off' method for removing stuck heat sinks won't work in this case, as the four heat sink mounting pins prevent that. I'm also not keen on straight up prying the board off, in case I rip the processor right off the PCB.

Thoughts?

You could try heating it up to ~80°C and just pull the heat sink. However, while heating the TIM definitely softens it, you might still have to use considerable force to break it. Ran into a few old Nvidia cards with yellowish TIM that was completely hopeless, had to heat them up to well over 100°C before I could twist the heat sink loose.

If you can get some wedge shaped tool in between the CPU and the heat sink, preferably one from each side, you might be able to pry it loose without subjecting the CPU's solder joints to excessive force. Or if there's at least some clearance, maybe you can twist the heat sink just enough to break the TIM interface, and then pull it?

But might be best to just leave them alone after all, at least if it they don't overheat. If you fail to completely break the interface and remove the heatsink, but still damage it, you'll be even worse off than now.

kaputnik wrote:

But might be best to just leave them alone after all, at least if it they don't overheat.

Yeah I think I'm just going to leave them alone for the moment, the TIM does have a yellow/orange look to it when I shine a flashlight down inside. Maybe it's the horror TIM that you speak of? I'll only attempt it if the processors overheat.