Quote:
Originally Posted by 59abbot  I won't take the chance of damaging the 7970 card. |
Not that it really matters anymore, since the OP hasn't come back since, but for the sake of argument, you can't really do too much damage by removing the heatsink from the video card, as long as you're careful. Basically just remove all the screws holding the heatsink to the card, then slowly wiggle the heatsink loose (it will be stuck to the GPU by the TIM) before carefully removing it, then unplugging the fan header(s). Once it's off, you can remove the screws holding the shroud to the heatsink. As far as damaging the card itself, you can't really do much harm
as long as you're careful. Make sure to use a soft cloth to clean the TIM off the heatsink and the GPU chip itself (I really like those cotton pads that girls use to take make-up off their faces). Make sure not to scratch the PCB or the silicon chip, and ensure that the thermal pads on the RAM chips stay intact. Try not to touch anything (except the sides of the card) with your oily fingers. Make sure to ground yourself often to reduce the chance of static shock.
The biggest problem with removing the heatsink from your card is it will probably void the warranty. Now, this is no guarantee that manufacturers will automatically reject a warranty claim, but you do take a chance that they won't fix/replace your card should they find out that the heatsink has been removed. There are a few ways they can find out, chief being the sticker over one of the screws (that says warranty void if removed - not all cards have this sticker) and the type of TIM being used (if their factory uses grey TIM and you've replaced it with white TIM, it's a dead giveaway).