DANGER! Doing this voids your warranty and may lead to financial loss and personal injury!

Seen a lot more people removing the IHS these days (especially on X2s) so I thought I would repost this guide as I've seen a couple of people just today saying that they botched it.

So here it goes:-



All you really need is a sharp thin bladed knife and a piece of foam (I'm now using the square that comes with the CPU) to protect the pins. I use a mini-craft knife from Draper tools for the job as it's blade is thin enough just to slice through the sealant with ease. Also wetting the blade with isopropyl alcohol will lubricate it and making cutting easier.

For this example I've already removed the top just so I can demonstrate it one handed.



First step is to ease the knife in at the 4 corners as above. I do it by holding the CPU in one hand with the foam square on the bottom protecting the pins. Below shows how far in you can go:-



To gove you a sense of scale, the sealant is about 3-4mm thick.

Note the small surface mount chips (I've coated this chip in liquid tape to avoid condensation problems in phase change systems).

Once all four corners are done you can then take the knife down each side like so, again note how far in you can go with the knife:-



Jokester

Gently ease the blade through the rubber as you don't want to accidently hit any of the small chips at speed as you might damage them.

Once that's done take the knife all the way round just to cut any bits you've missed and then the IHS should just fall off. Don't try to pull it off as it can bend the CPU.



Be aware that removing the IHS also changes the height of the processor in the socket, if you using a clip on air cooler doing this is not advisable.

If your on water or phase then it can be fairly easy to adjust the height of the block/head to suit.

Also the core is below the level of the raised part of the socket, so if your cooler is oversized and previously overhanged this area it may now not allow full contact with the core.

Edit:- Compatible Coolers

Phase
Vapochill (Clamshell type mount) - requires modification (see below)

Water
DD TDX - may require sanding down the of back of the socket for best performance

Air
TT Silent Tower - may require sanding down of the back of the socket for best performance
Akasa EVO 120 - fits perfectly
Akasa EVO 33 - fits
Vapochill Micro - may require sanding down of the back socket for best performance
Thermaltake Big Typhoon - Revised:- This cooler overhangs the socket but fits the Asus A8N SLI Premium without issue BEST AIR COOLER I'VE TESTED
Scythe Ninja - Doesn't overhang, mount may need modification to make good contact

Jokester

Oh yeah, you do this at your own risk as it "might" void your warrranty!

Jokester

Might be a strange question, but what's the consistency of the black stuff?

I tried to take the IHS off a Venice before, but it felt like the blade was getting stuck under the IHS and wouldn't budge. Plus I was a bit of a wimp about it....

It's very much rubbery, if your blade is getting stuck then it's probably a bit too thick though I always get stuck at the breather hole for some reason (so I just cut in from both corners). Once it's off it's very bendy and it certainly cuts easily.

The main trick I guess is to increase the force but at the same time restrain yourself so if it does suddenly take off again you don't either hit something on the inside and break it off, or even worse cut yourself.

Jokester

Jokester said:

you don't either hit something on the inside and break it off, or even worse cut yourself.

Click to expand...

Bah, get your priorities right! CPUs can't heal themselves!

Be aware that removing the IHS also changes the height of the processor in the socket, if you using a clip on air cooler doing this is not advisable.

If your on water or phase then it can be fairly easy to adjust the height of the block/head to suit.

Jokester

What would you recommend to reapply the IHS?

Winston said:

What would you recommend to reapply the IHS?

Click to expand...

I wouldn't essentially, but I have seen it done by using some of that rubber sealant in a tube that builders use.

Basically just squirt it on round the outside of the CPU, bung the IHS on (with TIM on the core) and then put a big weight on top until it sets. Obviously it's a bit of a bodge job but it should work.

Jokester

Nice work Jokester, will be giving this a try tomorrow, thanks mate

yeah, i'm very tempted to give this a go. Great little guide jokester, thanks for taking the time to do it.

One question: when re-seating your cpu block after putting the chip back in, how tight should you screw it on? I'm presuming it's now quite easy to accidentally crack the core if you use too much force?

snow patrol said:

One question: when re-seating your cpu block after putting the chip back in, how tight should you screw it on? I'm presuming it's now quite easy to accidentally crack the core if you use too much force?

Click to expand...

I've been screwing down my Vapo head as hard as it goes without any issues so you should be ok doing the same. As far as I'm aware it's only if you're clipping on a HS that it becomes a real issue with chipping the core.

There's certainly a slight risk of damage though.

Jokester

Very tempted to try this myself. What's the best compound to use between the core and the water block? Is AS5 safe to use and if so then how much?

Normal compounds are safe to use, just add a small drop to the top of the core. I use a credit card to spread it out over the top, but just plonking the block on top probably works just as well.

Jokester

Ok, im going to stress the fact that you do not want to knock of any of the surface mount cache chips, as they are easy to knock off, and as you have just voided the warranty, could result in being very expensive.

Also, don't try this with Intel chips, as the IHS is glued on and requires a saw to remove, and quite often removal will damage the core.

might be a bit of a noob question, but what is the real benefit of doing this? Especially if working in very low temps with phase anyway?

The benefits, particularly with X2s is that removing the IHS allows you to cool the core directly. Temperature drops of about 10C are common and this can have a significant effect on overclocking.

Jokester

What's the point of the IHS if removing it drops the temp by so much? Is it just to make it easier to install?

i believe in many cases has also increase max stable overclock

btw - this is advisable for those of you who have opty's, as a lot of them have bad ihs contact


good guide!

as the ihs is much easier to get good contact witht han the bare core - so even a crappy cooler wont allow your core to overhreat (unlike on socket a) - also protects the core itself from damage whe mounting the cooler (unlike on skt a, whjere i killed a lot of cpu's)

Who put this as a sticky ?

Pointless IMHO
Little notice about

NO WARANTY if you remove the IHS.