I’ve had some pretty serious issues with my pc of late and decided to do a bit of routine maintenance. First, I cleaned all the fans, vents, etc of dust using a cool little hand vacuum. Second, I installed a new PSU of 500w. All well and good.
Still receiving loads of error messages in World of Warcraft (Error 132, but that’s another thread entirely). Sims 2 also crashes for my gf every so often. CPU temp is up in the late 60’s. Also, the pc sounds like a 747 about to land. Now that’s fine in one way, as I know my cpu fan is working ;P, (tested by holding the blades still on a boot, and no sound), but I figure a new fan is required. So, bought a new one (socket A) and went to install.
My point is, it looks scary!
I need some advice as to how to install this fan. The socket A’s seem to just clip in on two sides. How hard is it to unclip these things? By hand? Or do I need a gadget? The reason I’m asking is because I have a real fear of applying too much pressure and cracking the board.
Can I not just swap the fans by disconnecting from the heatsinks? They do appear to be differing sizes though…… I’ll do some googling but thought someone here may have some experience to impart.
Thanks for any advice.
Cleaning OK but why a new 500W PS? Unless you have added new boards etc. to the original PC configuration this was unnecessary.
CPU cooling is a real issue. A new fan (new bearings) is reasonable after 2 or 3 years of running. Unless you have to remove the heat sink from the CPU it is a simple matter to remove 4 screws or pry/pull off the retaining clips, replace the fan, replace the screws/clips. A carefull inspection will reveal the way to go.
A small flat-blade screwdriver can be useful to push the retaining clips off.
If the fan and heatsink are separate units, then the tricky part is to make sure you don’t pull the heatsink off of the CPU. If you do pull off the heatsink then you’ll need to scrape off the old thermal paste (the very thin layer of goop between the heatsink and the CPU), and put a new layer on before you reattach the heatsink.
If the fan and heatsink are one unit, then check the replacement to see if it already has a layer of goop. If not you’ll need to buy some goop and put a thin, thin, thin layer on before attaching it.
I’m sure there’s some good illustrations on the web somewhere (Sorry, I don’t have time to search for you right now).
I have had the same problem with all my AMD processors - the heat build-up was way too much with the crummy fans they sell off the shelf. I would end up opening the case and pointing a fan directly at the internals. Fixed the problem, but there are better ways.
I have put too much pressure on a flathead screwdriver on the end of one of those ‘socket A’ chip coolers and driven it into several motherboards, only once resulting in motherboard death. The motherboard didn’t crack, but I usually drive the point of the flat end into it (if you look around the ZIF (zero insertion force) socket, you’ll see a thin piece of plastic - I think it’s specifically designed to prevent this, but I can’t read Taiwanese so I’ll just have to assume I’m right.
My advice: WAIT UNITL you are in a reasonable to good mood and have no distractions. Move your computer to an area where you have room to move around it and a lot of light. Take your time! Make sure you have a good fitting screwdriver - don’t use on that kind of works, or whatever you can find - it will prevent it from slipping out of the notch. Don’t use a magnetized screwdriver; don’t use one of those screwdrivers with the removable heads. And if you can - the best advice is to put the fan on the chip with the motherboard removed - but you may not be comfortable with this.
I’ve learned all this on the job and through constant, constant mistakes. Hope it helps.
Thanks guys, thats the kind of stuff I was after. I’ll wait until I’m in a good mood before I stack up on the frustration 
Cheers