Removing DELL CPU retention clips - HELP!

[shredisn@tdead]

Hi folks,

Anyone know how the hell you get the CPU retention clips off a DELL motherboard? (Precision 350 in this instance)

See where it says RETENTION BASE below - there are these big round white plastic things going through the motherboard and have the black cap things on the other end. I'm guessing these big white things are screw/clips but I can't figure out how to get them out or the black cap things off without destroying them? Is that the only way out?

[Jonny M]

You taken the board out and looked on the back?

[shredisn@tdead]

Yup - well, sort of. Got the tray out with the mobo on it. The mobo is help onto the tray with 4 hexagonal nuts (for which I don't have a wrench small enough so will have to be very careful with my long nose pliers).

Turning over the tray I see the white plastic pins with the black caps I mentioned. Looked like they're not actually caps but some kind of rawlplug type thing the white plastic pins have been pushed through.

[Agent]

Cant you squeeze them together ? - they then might / should pop out ?

Can you get pics of this ?

[petrefax]

Originally posted by Agent
Cant you squeeze them together ? - they then might / should pop out ?

s'what i was thinking mate

got a load of dells at work (..well...they're ALL dells tbh)
if i get a chance will dismantle a b0rked one tomorrow

[shredisn@tdead]

Would be nice to know what the correct way of doing this would be...

Couldn't get anywhere squeezing, unscrewing, twisting, turning etc. Just don't have the right touch I guess

BUT got there in the end in an unorthodox way, well voided warranty now I'm sure.

Sliced the top of the black cap off, exposing the rest of the which screw clip. Then placed a small allen key on the end of said white screw clip. Took hammer and knocked the screw clip out! The retention clips then came off with a good bit of tugging care of some long nose pliers.

Still, got the job done and machine now up and running with stock Intel HSF & 2 quiet case fans instead of the Dell passive HSF & 92 fan/shroud assembly.

Other problem was fitting the regular CPU retention mount as the Dell on fits to the mobo tray and has some mount-points extruded up from the mobo tray itself so the under-the-mobo retention mount wouldn't fit 'cos of these risers. Anyway, that problem was solved with a good bit of hammering...

Ah, and the other problem was the non-standard CPU fan connector on the mobo itself... had to rip this open to take the standard 3pin of the Intel HSF!

All in all loads of fun, plus some worry that I'd buggered up the system with all that "modding". Anyhows will have some pics to post tonight!

[s3v]

Ah - i know what ur problem is, its a dell.....