First post, by athlon-power
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I just got a nVidia RIVA TNT2 (Not an M64, an actual one!) in the mail, and put it in my 1999 build. It works.
Here's the thing: I could theoretically change the thermal paste out on this one, but it uses those garbage little plastic inserts that go through the heatsink and board, and have two little prongs poking out of the back of the board. The only way I've found to successfully remove these sorts of pins is to use a pair of needle-nose pliers and sweat bullets as I try to press the prongs together to be able to push the little plastic insert out from the back of the board.
Not only is this normally dangerous, it's even more dangerous when the prongs are very tiny, like the ones on this card:
Compare that to the prongs of my TNT2 M64, which I did successfully replace the thermal paste on:
The question is, is replacing the thermal paste really worth the risk of scratching/damaging the PCB? And is there a better way to remove the heatsinks (without special tools)?
Where am I?
