Motherboard standoffs behind cpu, cant take off?

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Enxity

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I'm trying to strip an old Dell case and removing the motherboard is an issue. The remaining metal standoffs used to hold the motherboard in place are located behind all 4 corners of the CPU heat sink and I have no idea how to remove it.
I have no power tools to cut it and I want to reuse the case (my little brother's first pc)
 
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M
Looks like those green levers at either end of the CPU heatsink should be the key to removing it.

I've worked on a Dell PC with something like that before (many years ago) but I can't remember for certain how the levers worked now. I think you have to push the "ear" that sticks out of the clip toward the gap next to it so it kind of slides the shorter end of the clip out of the retaining mechanism.

Once you've got both of those out, you should be able to remove the heatsink.

You may find that the CPU sticks to the bottom of it, though - the thermal paste could well have set solid after all this time. I always used to try and make sure the system was fairly hot before removing the heatsink (if it worked and could run a CPU burner for...
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molletts

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Looks like those green levers at either end of the CPU heatsink should be the key to removing it.

I've worked on a Dell PC with something like that before (many years ago) but I can't remember for certain how the levers worked now. I think you have to push the "ear" that sticks out of the clip toward the gap next to it so it kind of slides the shorter end of the clip out of the retaining mechanism.

Once you've got both of those out, you should be able to remove the heatsink.

You may find that the CPU sticks to the bottom of it, though - the thermal paste could well have set solid after all this time. I always used to try and make sure the system was fairly hot before removing the heatsink (if it worked and could run a CPU burner for a while) to soften up the paste. You could try twisting the heatsink a little in both directions repeatedly until it loosens up, if there's any slack in the mounting mechanism.
 
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

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You said that the that heatsink was blocking the screws, that's the thing you need to remove ... as above, these green levers are the way to do it.

The CPU is the thing under it thar\t the heat sink is cooling.

Again you are likely to have more difficulty getting modern parts in than getting proprietary parts out.



 
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Enxity

Enxity

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I managed to take it off, and i took the Mobo off successfully and replaced it. Turns out I only have DDR memory in my house, not DDR3. So 2 hours of work for nothing. Thanks anyway guys!
 
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