White shroud and one other thing...

[imdyinhere]

Hello all,

New here and working on 3rd build ever. I am going to build a new pc for the wife and she asked for something all white to go with her office decor. I have done all my sleeving and just about every component is white save for the RAM and the motherboard. I have an HIS HD4670 IceQ that has a UV reactive plastic shroud and I would like to paint it white with accents to match the case design. The plastic itself is clear-ish and the fans in blue. Heres a link to the card: (HIS HD4670 IceQ)
Do I need to remove the shroud in order to paint it, or can I, If I tape off everything important, be able to paint it while still on the card. How devastating would it be if there was minimal overspray? If i do need to remove it, how hard is it to do? I have plenty of TIM. Is the application process similar to that of a CPU?

The other question is if i wanted to craft an acrylic cover for the rest of the card (ie, on top), are there any special things I need to think about when creating it?

 

[randomkid]

What a great husband. Kudos to you.

Does the case have acrylic window such that the components are visible from the outside & therefore need to be white too?

But in any case, I think the HIS 4670 looks nice as it is but if you wish to paint. I think it better to remove it from the PCB to avoid paint spill. It may be harmless enough but who can tell?

The shroud itself is usually just clipped to the heatsink (please do not paint the heatsink itself as it may affect heat conductivity) so you do not need to remove the heatsink itself unless you want to re-apply thermal paste while your at it.

Good luck.

 

[imdyinhere]

Yes there is a window. The will also be subtle lighting (white) to highlight the interior mods. I am creating a white acrylic cover for the PSU that will also hide the wiring harness and run up the side where the drive bays are. Also it will be lit with LEDS underneath to give it a nice glow.
Do you know of any tutorials or images that show how to remove the shroud. Everything I have seen so far only shows the removal of the heatsink.

 

[randomkid]

Fortunately I have a spare HIS heatsink. Not the same as yours but an HIS nevertheless:

Below you can see the backside of the heatsink where there is tiny screw ( farther right) which you probably need a jewelers screwdriver to remove & re-attach.

 

[imdyinhere]

Doesnt look like I will be able to access that screw (or one like it) without removing the heatsink completely.

 

[randomkid]

Doesnt look like I will be able to access that screw (or one like it) without removing the heatsink completely.

Unfortunately. There are some shroud that are just clipped to the heat sink, though.

 

[imdyinhere]

So then, if I have to remove the entire heatsink, is replacing it about the same as changing out a cpu cooler with regards to applying TIM and whatnot?

 

[randomkid]

So then, if I have to remove the entire heatsink, is replacing it about the same as changing out a cpu cooler with regards to applying TIM and whatnot?

Yes. Basically like that. In fact what you will do more because you still have to remove the shroud & put it back. You also need to consider that some VRAMs are also usually in contact with the heat sink & need to put back thermal tapes (these are like double tapes). It really depends on the electronic parts layout in the HIS PCB.

 

[imdyinhere]

The card I am going to use is in storage at the moment but I do have another of the exact same card installed in my htpc. I opened it up for a cleaning and looked at the card. It appears to have little clips around the outside of the shroud. I am hoping that I wont have to remove the entire heatsink. Ill take some pics of the process when I get it going and post here in case anyone else needs the info.

 

[randomkid]

If it does have a clip, then it saves a lot of trouble. Good luck!

 

[imdyinhere]

I have disassembled the card and cleaned it up. Looks like I will be painting over the weekend as well as the preliminary wiring. I will post more pics as they become available on how the card turned out. Thaks for the help.

 

[randomkid]

So the shroud is not attached by a clip after all. But in any case it does not seem you have any trouble. When you are done, please post your PC pictures here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/310222-31-hardware-member-system-gallery
I can look at these pictures all day.