Remove The Heatsink; Replace The Thermal Interface Material - Silicon Graphics Altix XE250 User Manual

Remove the Heatsink

Replace the Thermal Interface Material

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SGI does not recommend that the CPU or the heatsink be removed from the node board. However,
if you do need to remove the heatsink, use the instructions below to prevent damage to the CPU
or the CPU socket.
1. Unscrew and remove the heatsink screws from the node board in the sequence as shown in
Figure 3-7.
Caution: Do not use excessive force when loosening the heatsink. Using excessive force
!
can damage the heatsink, CPU, or node board.
2. Grasp the heatsink and gently loosen it from the CPU.
3. When the heatsink is loose, remove it from the CPU.
4. Clean the surface of the CPU and the heatsink to remove the old thermal grease.
Refer to section "Replace the Thermal Interface Material" on page
5. Apply a small amount of thermal interface material (TIM) on the surface of the CPU before
you install the heatsink.
The Intel Xeon processors used in your server require a thermal interface material (TIM) between
the processors and heatsinks to properly dissipate the heat that is generated by the processors. If
you replace a processor and/or heatsink, you will need to remove the existing TIM from the
processor and heatsink. Then, you will need to apply new TIM to the processor before you install
the heatsink.
The TIM application instructions accompany the new TIM. The following subsections describe
how to remove the existing TIM:
• "Removing TIM from a Processor" on page 42
• "Removing TIM from a Heatsink" on page 45
Processor and Heatsink Installation and Removal
41.
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