Removing heatsink pads from Intel fansinks

Hi guys,
A few of you might have heard about the 15-month-old ASUS P5N72T-Premium I RMA'd back in January. Well it turned up on the doorstep yesterday morning. Now I'd like to know if it works (I expect it should, though the fact it's got four different serial number stickers stuck on top of each other is worrying to say the least).

Problem is, I don't have any "spare" (i.e. "lying around") parts to test with: my only spares are an AMD 3200+ S939 CPU and an ASUS A8V-Deluxe motherboard.

What I do have is the Intel fansink that came with the Q6600, and removing the Q6600 wouldn't be (too) difficult -- two screws and a clip. Problem is, said Intel fansink has one of those REALLY annoying thermal pads on it -- the sort that melts into the heatsink and CPU and makes it really difficult to use ASilv and a "proper" fansink later on. Obviously I'd rather like to go back to using the HSF I'm using now (a Zalman CNPS9500AT) with a fresh coating of ASilv.

Does anyone know of a good way to get rid of the Intel thermal pad while causing as little damage as possible to the fansink (preferably no damage at all)?

Also, if it turns out this thing does work, I'm left with a choice: stick with the Asus Rampage Formula m/b that I originally bought to replace the dead P5N72T, or switch back to the (now-"replaced") P5N72T?
Essentially the difference is that the P5N72T is nForce based, and the first one I had managed to run four sticks of Corsair XMS2/Dominator DDR2 at 1066MHz. The Rampage Formula is an Intel-based thing and won't run the RAM beyond 800MHz.
... or I could just sell the thing on Ebay and be done with it. But what's the going rate for a P5N72T Deluxe these days? Would I even make back the £25 it cost me to RMA it in the first place?

Thanks,
Phil.

Isopropyl alchohol, acetone or nail varnish remover (either or both of the previous). Should sort of dissolve the pad into a mushy mess and eventually remove it.

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Originally Posted by kalniel

Isopropyl alchohol, acetone or nail varnish remover (either or both of the previous). Should sort of dissolve the pad into a mushy mess and eventually remove it.

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Wouldn't that just melt the pad into the metalwork?

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Originally Posted by philpem

Wouldn't that just melt the pad into the metalwork?

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The metalwork is impervious to those solvents. It will dissolve/suspend the pad material but then prevent it from entering the metal.

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Originally Posted by kalniel

The metalwork is impervious to those solvents. It will dissolve/suspend the pad material but then prevent it from entering the metal.

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Fair enough.

So am I right in my assumption that the Intel heatsink follows the rules of just about every other PC CPU heatsink, and thus will work fine with ASilv?

There isn't a groove or cutout machined into the heatsink for the pad?

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Originally Posted by philpem

Fair enough.

So am I right in my assumption that the Intel heatsink follows the rules of just about every other PC CPU heatsink, and thus will work fine with ASilv?

There isn't a groove or cutout machined into the heatsink for the pad?

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I've not seen the HSF for that particular model, but I've seen a dual conroe and it was flat and perfectly suitable for the thermal grease of your choice.

Don't get acetone on plastic though mind!

Not sure from the post if you can power up the cpu/motherboard and stress it for a little bit getting it nice and warm. quickly powerdown and see if you can remove it then. Maybe a bit of heat will mobilise it.

I wouldn't use acetone or nail varnish remover. Acetone is an agressive plastic solvent, nail varnish remover contains acetone, and oils designed to protect nails - and will leave a residue on any parts. IPA is fine (thats Isopropyl Alcohol - not India Pale Ale. You can drink the latter, not the former!)

I this turns into another 10-page thread on the best way of removing thermal compound I swear I'm going to kill everyone in the world ever. With a spoon.

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Originally Posted by peterb

nail varnish remover contains acetone, and oils designed to protect nails - and will leave a residue on any parts.

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Quit yer whinging - it's always worked fine for me, and I've tried a variety with no residue left ;) I think you've been using posh stuff, not superdrug special :p

(PS remover doesn't always contain acetone - some do, some contain IPA instead, and some contain both, likewise they don't always have oils - they can have glycerin or linalool instead)

*hands Fraz a spoon*

Well, lanolin is a fatty acid, so I wouldn't want that spread over my nice expensive CPU! :)

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- from Wikipaedia

Chemically, lanolin is a wax, that is a mixture of esters of fatty acids with high molecular weight alcohols. There are more than 180 different acids and 80 alcohols identified[citation needed]. The melting point is about 40 °C (104 °F). It is insoluble in water but forms very stable emulsions with it. At one point, the name Lanolin was trademarked as the name of a preparation of sheep and pig fat and water

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Pig and sheep fat.. eeeeyuch! Not on my heatsink thank you very much! :)

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Originally Posted by peterb

Well, lanolin is a fatty acid

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Linalool and lanolin are quite different!

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Originally Posted by Fraz

Linalool and lanolin are quite different!

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True, but he was probably sub?conciously correcting me as lanolin is often found in removers as well.

Found a can of Akasa TIM-Clean in the cupboard -- I figure I'll use that instead, given that it says on the can it's designed for removing "thermal pads and residue"...

Which leaves the remaining question: if by some miracle the RMA'd P5N72T works, is it worth swapping it with the Rampage, just on the grounds that the P5N72T has SLI and an nVidia chipset and will run the RAM at the same rate as the CPU frontside bus (1066MHz on this chip)?

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Originally Posted by philpem

Found a can of Akasa TIM-Clean in the cupboard -- I figure I'll use that instead, given that it says on the can it's designed for removing "thermal pads and residue"...

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Well the trouble you caused.... Just jokeing.

On a side note I would have used a sharp wood chistle and a bit of IPA, or just left the little bit left behind.

If you clean the metal surface with and its not dry, ie oil etc left from nail remover it will be so little

IMHO its not worth thinking about if you rub the surface with a kitchen paper.