yay, i broke my graphic card's heat spreader

so in my attempt to pull off the heat sink to clear the 1329481038102cm of dust accumulated, i broke one of the spring-loaded pins that holds it down. so now, the heatsink won't stay on.

the card itself is otherwise fine (even better, since there's no more dust and i have new thermal paste). the question now is how to fix it.

i still have the broken pin, and without the spring, i can insert it fully. it's just that there's nothing on the other side of the card to hold it in place.

so here's what i'm thinking:

option 1: get a few thin strips of duck tape, and tape around the pin on the other side to hold it in place.

option 2: get a screw+nut that can fit the hole, and screw it down.

option 3: um... go to The Source/radioshack and buy a new pin.

so, how should i go about this?

thanks in advance.

I personally would go with number 3 if they have it available. It's what is rated for your card and won't void warranty if installed correctly. Number 2 only if 3 isn't available and duct tape is a big no-no in this case, it doesn't mesh well with computer components.

3, of course. 2 seems like a good idea but it's not easy to find a screw+bolt of the right size.

option 4: build time machine.

... or if you have decent glue, glue it back together just make sure it's strong enough to hold the heatsink.

Hmm I think you were the one with the 5500/5900 right? I have like four or five heatsinks around here that would fit on yours, what a shame.

I'd try to buy a new pin if I was you though, "Jerry Rigging'' computer parts isn't exactly the best idea, something could go wrong and make a mess.

I would check out newegg and grab an aftermarket heatsink for that card - they're cheap and work much better than stock, anyway. what kind of card do you have?

brianna was right: i have a fx5500 PCI

this thing's worth $0.01 right now, and i would not spend any money (or any significant amount of money) on it. as such, a new heatsink is out of the question.

from what i've seen, the only reason why the heatsink is popping out is because the remaining pin is spring-loaded, and will force the broken side up. i'm kinda tempted to break the other pin as well, and just tape both sides so the pressure is even. the natural bonding between the heatsink and my thermal paste is just about enough to hold the heatsink in place, if the other pin is not spring-loaded.

Moriz the thermall paste won't hold the heatsink for long trust me on my experience there on my 5900 ultra in my other pc is watercooling and the small heatsinks which are attached by special thermal paste even come loose so in you're case i would say go for option 3 how unlucky it sounds

what about thermal adhesive? could probably find it for a few dollars... and it's advertised as "permanent"

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...l_adhesive.htm

thanks for everyone's help. i've visited a neighborhood computer store, and found the pin i needed for free.

anyways, i'll be using my tube of Nexxtech(sp?) thermal paste. hopefully this will give me a better overclock.

Moriz try Artic silver 5 it's expensive but i've gotten the best overclock results on it the thermal paste actually drops you're temp by +- 10° c don't ask how much that is in fahrenheit

nah, there's no point in spending ANY money on this POS. the thermal paste i'm using seems to be working, so that's good enough (strangely enough, while i can overclock it higher, any overclock above what i had it at before will LOWER performance with no artifacts).

i'll definately be using artic silver on my next computer build, but for something as crappy as what i have right now, i simply cannot justify spending any money.