To detach Scythe 1366/1156 Mounting Clips

[dirkw83]

Hi there,

At the moment I'm trying to detach my Scyther cooler from my quad core e6600. It is attached with the aforementioned mounting clips. As I don't want to rush things I was wondering if someone knew how this was best done.

The clips I'm talking about are these: http://www.scythe-eu.com/uploads/pics/4way-775-1366.jpg

Thanks in advance!

 

[Nils]

The easiest way to remove these is with a screw driver. As you can see in the picture, there are grooves on top of the pins. If you can reach these with a screw driver, just turn them a quarter turn in the direction indicated by the arrows.

If you do not have direct access to them with the screw driver, you might try sticking the driver between the heatsink fins (if it is a slim one however), and reach them like this.

What Scythe heatsink do you have? Will be easier to help you then.

Oh one important thing left. Unscrew the pins in a diagonal movement. For example start with the top right one, then the bottom left, then top left and bottom right. Always hold your hand on the cooler to prevent in from suddenly detaching as a lot of stress can be stored in the mounting system.

 

[dirkw83]

Thanks. You know I tried doing it by hand and it resulted in one bloody and another violated vinger. I'll see if I can get the screw driver in there.
Also, opening the case and taking a look at the mounting system, one pin appeared to be broken. I'm not quite sure about this but it's loose for sure, which probably explains the 100 degrees celcius that Core Temp displays. If this is the case then I'm probably going to need a new mounting device I guess.

Thanks for the help anyway, I'll see what I can do.

It's a Ninja2 sink btw.

 

[Nils]

With that cooler it should be possible to use a screw driver.

About the broken mounting system, you can get these in most larger computer shops.

Good luck!

 

[dirkw83]

Thanks again.

Just wondering, by the way - is re-attaching the sink as straightforward as reversing the process of attaching it?

Edit: So this is very weird. As I was trying to detach the cooler and was failing because it just seemed impossible to reach without a screwdriver, I just left it for what it was and called it quits. I rebooted my system and now the temperatures are below 60 celcius. No idea how this is possible, but it doesn't seem like a very stable situation...

 

[Nils]

While struggling to detach the cooler you might have reseated it in a better position then before giving more thermal contact. It doesn't happen too much though, but I guess you were lucky
However, I don't think it can be a 100% stable. It might get worse again when transporting the pc because of some shocks. Try removing it and if one of the clips is damaged like you mentioned, replace it.

And about the difficulty of removing it, well it depends. If you can reach the pins with a screw driver, like on a stock Intel cooler, removing it is definitely easier then installing it. I always think I'm gonna break the mobo because of the serious stress you sometimes need to apply to click the pins in.

Anyway, good luck with it and a good advise: if you ever plan on getting a new cpu cooler, get one without push-pins and get one with a backplate (much better for the mobo too) and a mounting system with screws.

 

[dirkw83]

Yeah. It's kind of a strange situation at the moment. The cooling still seems to hold up and the computer operates decently, well below critical temperatures. On the other hand, it isn't a very elegant solution - in fact, it's more like a fortunate workaround, if anything.
Sadly I can't get a screwdriver in there and the cooler is razorsharp (who on earth comes up with a design like that?) on all sides and edges. I've tried detaching the pins with my hands but it's not really workable. To get a decent result I'm probably going to have to unscrew the mainboard and assess the situation from there. Unfortunately my knowledge of computer hardware doesn't reach quite that far yet and at that point I'd be afraid of passing a point of no return. Since this is the only PC I have that functions, I'm not going to risk anything, especially since the system runs as it should, performance wise anyhow.

Still though, I'd really like to solve the problem adequately but yeah.

 

[Nils]

Ok, before removing the motherboard you might try using pincers to unscrew the pins. Maybe you can reach them with that?

 

[dirkw83]

That occured to me also. I've looked into it and the space is so narrow it'll have to be a very specific small tool to get that job done. Even then I doubt I would have any angle to work with as the pins are surrounded by other components. Therefore I believe unscrewing the mainboard and taking a look at things, also taking into account the one loose pin, will eventually be needed. As it stands I don't really dare to take that step, so I guess I'm just gonna see how things work out for now. Again, your help has been very useful. Thanks

 

[Nils]

OK. Removing the mobo isn't that hard at all. As long as you are very very careful with all the hardware, you should be fine. Also make sure not screws get lost in your case. If it gets under the mobo and you fire the system up again, you might get a real fire.
And when it comes to the plugs, you can't insert them wrong, they only fit where they belong.

Good luck !

 

[dirkw83]

Best answer selected by dirkw83.