Question Risks of removing heatsink from wifi card?

[akam06]

I recently changed my pc case to a much smaller and compact one (SAMA IM01). The issue with this case is that i dont have any space to use a wifi card since it cannot fit because of the case fan i use. I use a slim case fan but there is still not enough space to install the wifi card into the slot. If i was to remove the heatsink from the wifi card, i would have enough space to put it into the slot. Is this too risky to do? The fan is only 1cm away from the wificard so it will be blowing cold air constantly into the card. Without the heatsink, the card has some sort of sticky thermal pad (im not too familiar with hardware) and on the heatsink it has another black thermal pad. I have also tried using a usb wifi adapter, i purchased the archer tx20u plus but it has loads of lag spikes and is not as good as the card i was using before(i have searched everywhere how to fix the lag spikes).

https://imgur.com/a/FxjgdEc

View: https://imgur.com/a/FxjgdEc

 

[Ralston18]

I would not do so.

The adapter was designed to have a heatsink and using a fan to blow cold air on the adapter is likely to have minimal effect and could simply allow the adapter to overheat anyway.

My thought would be to completely remove that adapter and change to an external USB adapter.

Noted that you tried the Archer - was it simply plugged into a USB connector on the case or I/O panel?

Use a USB extension cable to move the USB adapter up and away from the case for cooler air and likely improved transmission and reception.

Try a 6 foot (2 meter) extension cable to start with. Just a few inches can make a difference....

 

[COLGeek]

Does the new case have room to reposition the wifi adapter via a riser cable?

That removed heatsink looks very thin, compared to some. You must have almost no space there.