Hit Deity on 1/6/2010 at 20:09
What am I missing?
I've got a dead Northbridge fan on an MSI motherboard, and it's got two black rubber topped pins that depress slightly, but I can't get the thing off. Do I need to remove the motherboard? I want to replace the pos with a new Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II that I bought ages ago. It's got to be a much better cooling solution than a stock NB fan.
If it requires motherboard removal, then I think I'll undertake that when I upgrade the graphics card in it.
Faxfane on 1/6/2010 at 20:30
Yeah, you're going to have to pull the motherboard to access the backside, unless you have a case which allows such natively. Some pushpins can be a real pain, as the ends have to be squeezed together so they can be pushed back through the motherboard. In comparison, installing pushpins is about the simplest thing one can do.
Also, you'll want to ensure orientation and hole alignment. If nothing else, one can always set up an 80 or 120mm fan to blow across the NB, standing upright on the graphics card if the NB does not allow for a 40mm replacement fan. Not the prettiest solution, but one which has worked for me.
If you have need of TIM, I'd recommend Arctic Silver's Ceramique, since it's not electrically conductive, a good thing just in case some of the thermal material gets on other components.
Al_B on 1/6/2010 at 20:32
I suspect you'll find that the pins are compressible on the rear-side of the motherboard and you'll need to squeeze them together (very carefully so you don't damage the motherboard) with a pair of tweezers or needle nose pliars to remove them.
Hit Deity on 9/6/2010 at 23:41
Ah, cool, I was afraid of that. Well, when I get up a couple of upgrades to do at the same time and get the components in hand, I will proceed with caution. Thanks, guys, that helps a lot.
Faxfane on 15/6/2010 at 06:20
Personally, I'd forgo the tweezers and just use fingernails to squeeze those plastic bits together. Once you get the orientation right where you can see little bits of space between the anchors, it's fairly cake. It may feel unpleasant, or even a touch painful, but that to me is preferable to metal tweezers skittering off very slick plastic to gouge a trench into my motherboard.
If you've a deft and steady hand though, needlenose pliers are probably the best bet. My hands have just enough shake to create problems there, hence the fingernail squeeze.
Hit Deity on 17/6/2010 at 04:39
Quote Posted by Faxfane
but that to me is preferable to metal tweezers skittering off very slick plastic to gouge a trench into my motherboard.
:rolleyes: Umm, been there, done that!! :eww:
Cost me $100 on a previous system. Except for the occasional screwdriver to remove a motherboard screw or two, nothing metal gets next to my PCBs, no more, no how. It's amazing one little slip like that can wreak such havoc!! It was a painful 7 days waiting on a replacement. :(
Thanks for the advice.
Somebody later said I could have "repaired" the "scratch" myself, but I don't know...after tools, materials, etc, I thought I'd done enough damage the first fuckin' time and said, "I'll gladly spend that $100 and keep the flathead screwdriver in the bag next time!"
baeuchlein on 24/6/2010 at 13:46
Quote Posted by Hit Deity
Except for the occasional screwdriver to remove a motherboard screw or two, nothing metal gets next to my PCBs, no more, no how. It's amazing one little slip like that can wreak such havoc!! [...]
Somebody later said I could have "repaired" the "scratch" myself, but I don't know...
Maybe you could, and maybe not. Depends on several things.
If you are good enough at soldering, you could have bridged the defective connections with wires (cables). I have done that for several pieces of hardware which got damaged in various ways. If there are only some circuits cut, either by screwdriver damage or from falling, etc., it is usually possible to get the thing up and running again.
However, mainboards are special. Some of the conductive traces on the PCB must have a certain length (no joke!), and if one bridges the trace with a wire, the length varies. This could lead to strange and unexpected errors.
Anyway... the only time when I had a "screwdriver accident", it was immediately clear that it could not be repaired. The traces on the board were okay, but three of the tiny legs of one of the onboard chips were destroyed, and it was not possible to solder anything to the remains.
Rest in Pieces.