Replacing the CPU fan on a Gateway XL

[jpj]

So I just bought a Zalman CNPS7000A CPU Cooler. I went to remove the old fan from the P4 in the Gateway XL box I have and when I pulled it out I pulled the P4 out with it. The fan was glued to the CPU. Eek. Anybody hit this before? Do I need to buy a new P4 now.

Also it looks like the Zalman isn't going to mount the way their instructions say. I think I just screwed my desktop. I tried pushing the CPU back in but it doesn't seem to want to go.

 

[simwiz2]

You have to open the socket (there should be a lever on one side of it) to get the CPU back in. Don't force it in, you might bend some of the pins.

 

[jpj]

Ah, therein lies the problem. They glued the heat sink to the chip after they installed it. The heat sink is wider than the chip socket I can't lift the lever up and put the chipheatsinkgluedtogetherblob back in the socket.

Oh well it was only a 2.53ghz chip, clearly time for an upgrade!

 

[pIII_Man]

well if you have the money to upgrade, why dont you either get a knife and try to pry the heatsink off the chip or...try to pry the heatspreader off of the cpu...

Since you are treating this as pretty much a dead chip i think it is worth the effort.


If it isn't a P6 then it isn't a procesor
110% BX fanboy

 

[pIII_Man]

<A HREF="http://www.pclincs.co.uk/Forums/showthread/t-2570.html" target="_new">IHS removal</A>


If it isn't a P6 then it isn't a procesor
110% BX fanboy

 

[jpj]

Well I tried that earlier but gave up with the amount of force I thought it was going to take. From those pics I think now that I just need a set of medical scalpels. I wonder if Frys sells them?

 

[pIII_Man]

if you have a thin knife (pocket knife possibly) you should be able to do it.


If it isn't a P6 then it isn't a procesor
110% BX fanboy

 

[jpj]

Thanks for the help. Got it working. Went to Lowes and bought a sharp carpet cutter. Used a hammer and separated the CPU from the heatsink with quite a bit of force. Next I had to replace the proprietary fan bracket from Gateway with a normal one from a dead old motherboard. That required using the screws from the old Gateway bracket to screw in the new bracket (after drilling out the clips from the new standard fan bracket).

Oh well now the machine is several db quieter. Next thing is to tackle the harddrives.