Removing video card coolers and replacing them

[brgrabs]

Hey everyone, I currently use a EVGA 8800 GTX 768MB card with the stock cooler. I was wondering if anybody could give me any tips on removing the cooler, and replacing it (not necessarily with a new video cooler, I actually just plan on putting new thermal paste on the heat sink.) Which sides of the card are safe to touch? Is it tough to remove? Any tips or things to do and not do would be greatly appreciated, as its a fairly expensive (~$650) card and this is my first time removing a cooler from a video card.

Thanks!

[Dia]

Difficulty can depend on the cooler. Make sure as your removing screws you know exactly which screw goes where, there are different types and sizes of screws on coolers. When you apply your thermal paste to the GPU if its conductive make sure it doesnt get on any of the transistors or anything on the card. Hold the card by its edges. Make sure to remove the old thermal compound from the heatsink or anywhere else it may have been applied. spread the new thermal compound thin and evenly. Reassemble and make sure you run quite a bit of cycles before concidering it done. Like dont go out and play crysis for 5 hours straight and not keep an eye on temps or let it cool.

[Cricket]

Why do you want to replace the thermal compound anyway?

:) Cricket

[brgrabs]

Thanks for the tips so far, and to answer Cricket's question: a little while back I ordered the DuOrb coolers from Tigerdirect.ca, not knowing (which is my own fault, I didn't do the research I should have) that they have a tendency to actually *raise* the temps of the 8800 GTX's under load; idle they lower it by a couple degrees, but nothing to make a significant difference.

So, I wasted $70 on a DuOrb that I will never use, and I also semi-removed my stock cooler from my video card (before I read about the DuOrbs being best for the GT and GTS) when I first got my DuOrb with the intention of installing it right away. So, I unscrewed all 12 or 13 screws on the top of my 8800 GTX and started trying to pull and maneuver the stock cooler off. Meanwhile of course in the back of my head I am thinking "Oh man, I am not supposed to touch that part of the card" and "uh oh, is it supposed to be on this tight?"

That is about the time that I stopped trying to remove the stock cooler and just screwed it back on. Then I went online and tried to find information about installing the DuOrb, which is when I learned that it was not very well suited for the GTX and Ultras. So now, although my stock cooler works fine (I have decent airflow, and keep the side of my case open with a house fan blowing in), I can't help but think during my attempts to remove the stock cooler, and twisting it, etc, that the thermal paste must be everywhere... Paranoid, but that is the whole long, boring story.

I am really new with computers, basically I built my own rig with no idea what I was doing, and it happens to work perfectly - but I don't know much.. and I am eager to learn! On a side note, I have applied to Digi Pen for the semester starting next Fall, so hopefully I get in - I love this stuff. Anyway, thanks again!

PS. Has anybody tried out the HR-03 Plus coolers for an 8800 GTX? After reading about the DuOrb, I immediately began searching for something that I *could* use on my card, and basically the best one I found was the HR-03 Plus.

[Ahura]

Thermalright hr-03 GT is pretty interesting from reviews