Will i destroy my cpu

Slayer32163

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Mar 30, 2009
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i have an amd phenom II x4 955be and the other day i was unistalling my cpu cooler to install a new one and i had to kinda pull hard to get the cpu cooler off and boom, out comes the cpu stuck to the bottom of the cooler. This has happened to me twice now and i am afraid my cpu or motherboard will eventually become ruined.
 

justaguywithagun

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Dec 14, 2009
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ive had this happen many time before because i wasnt careful. brute force doesnt play well with electronics most of the time :D

next time try heating the heatsink up with a blow dryer, then carefully twisting the heatsink left-right while GENTLY pulling up. it'll come off.

and yes, you can bend/break the contact points off
 
Look at the bottom of the cpu and the socket on the motherboard. If both look undamaged, I think you are OK.

In the future, as others said, run the pc a bit to heat things up before removing the heat sink.

Also, what kind of thermal compound did you use? Some are epoxy based and are really a glue.
AS-5 and MX-2 should be OK.
 
You can break pins, break the mechanism that locks the pins in place (controlled by the little gray level on the side), damage the socket, or damage the leads around the socket. If you only do it once, it usually won't break anything, but multiple times is just asking for it. Anyway, you can use a blow dryer to heat up the heat sink a little. I also try to slide it in one direction or another rather first than pulling straight up. If the compound is applied properly it can be like a vacuum seal.