Question How do I remove the MSI Raider GE77HX heatsink safely? It won’t budge.

[DamnMsiLaptop]

I bought a like-new GE77HX off eBay. You could tell it sat in the box in a closet and wasn’t used at all. Mint condition.

I started it up, setup Windows, and temps were around 65c when idle and thermal throttling at 100c under normal gaming load. I figured it was time for a repaste and didn’t want to wait 3 weeks for MSI to RMA it, so I opened it up.

I cannot get the heat sink off. It feels like I’m missing a screw but I’ve gone over it 20 times and can’t find any. The only thing I can think of is that there is a screw from the other side, requiring me to take out the entire motherboard to search and unscrew it from the back. It seems unreasonable but it’s the only thought I have at the moment.

I thought maybe the paste had dried and is gluing the CPU to the heat sink, so I had a blow dryer on it and to no effect.

I don’t want to damage the unit. Does anyone have any experience on the GE77HX that could steer me straight? I can’t find anything else online and YouTube is no help. It’s mostly GE66 or GE78, etc. but no 77.

I want this machine to last a long time and if it’s thermal throttling already under normal load something needs to be done. I assume it’s bad, generic, stock paste since it was clearly never used by the guy I bought it from. If all else fails I’ll RMA it but I need this for work, and so that is a last resort.

Any and all help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[Eximo]

Not sure on that exact model, make sure to look under any tape around where you feel the pressure. Sometimes screws get put underneath other things as part of the assembly process.

From what I can see, there are six main screws holding contact to the GPU and CPU, and presumably some around the fans/shrouds keeping things from shifting too much.

 

[DamnMsiLaptop]

Not sure on that exact model, make sure to look under any tape around where you feel the pressure. Sometimes screws get put underneath other things as part of the assembly process.

From what I can see, there are six main screws holding contact to the GPU and CPU, and presumably some around the fans/shrouds keeping things from shifting too much.

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

I contacted live-chat MSI support and they said there were only 10 screws and they were only mounting the motherboard from that one side. 3 (CPU) + 3 (GPU) + 2 (Left Fan) + 2 (Right Fan) = 10 screws. They asked me if the other user I bought it from on eBay may have used thermal adhesive. I said no, since the "warranty" sticker on the back of the unit that covers the last screw wasn't voided. When I opened it up it was clean as hell, so I'm 99% sure it was never opened.

I mean, I have gone over this thing at least 50 times now. There are no visible screws, even under other things (like cables) that you suggested, so I guess I'm just left with heatgunning the shit out of it and then trying to pry it off? It just feels so tight it's like a screw is still holding it.

I've lost patience with this so now it's do or die. I'll report back tonight with either catastrophic failure or success. Temps are so wildly out of control something must be done. I can still RMA it till 4.18.2024 when the warranty is up, but I can't be without this thing for 3-4 weeks since I'm traveling and using this for work.

Again, thanks for your input. I'll report back with results when I have them.

 

[DamnMsiLaptop]

I figured it out. The screw was initially placed on a slight angle, causing the board to become stuck even though it was unscrewed. I was essentially pulling against a tilted screw. Jiggling the assembly a bit and pulling caused it to come right off.