Hardware guys/modders, advice please: 3 screws on cpu - heatsink?

Hi guys,

I'm not sure if this is the right subforum for my question, but it made most sense to me to post it here:

For ages I've had one stripped screw on the heatsink assembly above my CPU on my DELL XPS M1530 laptop. I've been wanting to clean out the fan and apply thermal grease on it for a long time .. but couldn't because of this one screw.

For reference, the stripped screw is the top left one next to the RAM in the picture below:

https://www.dan.me.uk/media/index.php/laptop2008/dell-xps-m1530-6

Then I recently thought of an idea - I should just use pliers and clip off the metal arm thingy that's holding the cooling assembly down (between the CPU and screw)!

My question is, if I do this and only have 3 screws holding the assembly down, would this be bad for the CPU? Would it be unstable, or would there not be enough contact between the assembly and CPU?

I know this seems pretty extreme, but I'm having problems starting the laptop due to the NVIDIA GPU overheating. Right now I've actually had to resort to using Power Saver mode to keep the temps down! I figure, if I don't do this I'm just gonna end up with a fried GPU anyway, so might as well!

I know its a pretty weird question, thanks in advance!

 

Don't clip!

However, what are your CPU and GPU temps according to HWMonitor or similar program?

 

Hey namaiki, well right now on Power Saver with fan running, SpeedFan tells me I'm at:
63C GPU, 40C HD, 54C Core 0, 52C Core 1
which for me is not too bad and is probably the lowest it's gonna go.

On High Performance, GPU temp goes up 70+ C and even 80+ C while doing simple things like watching HD youtube videos.

The high temp is a known issue on this XPS though, caused by a bad batch of NVIDIA GPUs. And the overheating is then causing it to not start up sometimes.

 

Hmm, have you already tried putting a thick rubber band between the screw and screwdriver?

That said, my previous laptop used to idle at 65C and load at 93C so I don't think your temps are terrible..

 

First remove the battery if you didn't do so already, then the RAM just to get it out of the way. It could easily get damaged.

I can't tell from the picture but it looks like the screw is phillips and it's recessed. A macro shot of the screwhead would be nice but anyways, try to file the head of the screw somehow (create a deep slot) just enough so you can use a small flat head screwdriver. And make sure this flathead screwdriver has a very sharp tip just like a really small chisel.

Whatever you do don't apply too much pressure on it and be careful so the screwdriver doesn't slip off the head somehow into the motherboard. Look at the spacer piece underneath that the screw goes into and make sure that doesn't turn along with the screw.

Finally if you're out of luck drill out the head of the screw but you have to be super careful with that drill and don't let any metal shavings fall onto the motherboard then try to remove the body of the screw a good set of small pliers.

You can't clip the arm. It's made out of stainless steel or silver or some other springy hard-to-cut material and it's not your best choice. You'll ruin the heatsink.

Best of luck!

 

I'd recommend not cutting it, but technically, if you don't have any other choice, 3 screws should hold it down pretty well. You'll get maybe a few degrees higher temps at most.

However, try everything to get that screw out! Have you tries a flat screwdriver, scissors, a knife ? That's what I try and it works most of the time.

 

Try using a saw to saw off a section on the screw so you can use a flat head screw driver to unscrew it off.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. Phew, couldn't start up my laptop in the morning today, finally managed to get it running after a bit of messing around .. I don't think I'll be turning it off in a while!

I'm actually not too worried about the temp nowadays, only problem is that it doesn't start sometimes because of the overheating!

Thanks TwiztidKidd for the detailed info. Yes its a recessed phillips screw (I've attached a pic below but its quite blurry). Still couldn't pry the screw off; I've tried using superglue and a rubber band. I've been trying to cut a channel in screwhead with a box cutter and then using a flathead but I can't get the flathead to grip the screw.

Hmm, I've might try a knife, I haven't tried that yet. How exactly do you use a saw on the screw?

I guess the next thing is to look for a hand drill. Do you guys have other ideas that I can try?

 

What I meant was saw a channel on the screw itself so it becomes "unstripped". That way, you can use a flat head to unscrew it.

 

tried just gripping the top of it with pliers and twisting to unscrew? sounds hopeless, but has surprisingly worked for me in the past. Just a decent needlenose with teeth of some sort.

 

They make bolt extractors that have a reverse thread. I'm not sure if they make them small enough for that screw though.

Or like jackluo923 said, try cutting a groove in and then using a staright head screw driver. A dremel would work, but be careful of the shavings.

 

Do they make an "Easy Out" that will work that small? Perhaps that is an option.

 

Looking at that photo, I can't help but think I could get that screw out in a jiffy . I used to unscrew this kind of screws on phones and laptops, usually I'd use a flat screwdriver or appropriately sized knife to make a groove, then unscrew the damn thing.

However, stainless steel may not be good enough - ideally, you'd use a CR-V (Chrome Vanadium) screwdriver or high carbon heat treated steel knife that will cut into the screw without getting blunt....

 

I've always just used a smaller flat head screw driver, or needle nosed pliers to removed stripped phillips head screws in the past.

 

Thanks everyone for all the tips! Sorry for the late reply, for some reason I didn't get any more email alerts so I thought no one posted any replies. Lucky I checked back!

Okay the the consensus seems to be that a flat head screwdriver should work. I've tried carving a channel with a blade, but the problem I've had so far is that the head is kind of like a round-ish hole now, so I can't really grip it with my flat head. Maybe my blade is not sharp enough. I'll try it with a knife and see how it goes..