A64/Opteron IHS Removal Guide

Tools

• Retractable blade (aka Stanley knife)
• A suitable beverage of your choice
• Isopropyl Alchohol
• Lint-free cloth or Q-tips (aka cotton buds)

The danger zones

A good idea is to print out a photo of a naked Athlon64 or Opteron to see what is underneath and what kind of distance you have to work with.

Opteron 146 (939)

A64 Venice 3500+

As you can see in the photo, the red lines mark out the edges of the small capacitor networks and the orange lines mark out the additional room you have at the corners. Note that, on the Opteron, along two sides the gap between the black adhesive and the capacitor networks is larger than along the adjacent sides. The Athlon64 seems to have fairly equidistant gaps on all sides. Make a mental note of these distances as well as keeping the printed photo at hand for reference.

Cutting Tool

Now, I used a retractable blade, also commonly known in the UK as a Stanley knife. I'm not sure what they're called elsewhere in the world, but I know they exist worldwide and pretty much every household should have one (shame on you if you don't have one!) A lot of other people have had success with bare razor blades, the type you put in an old-man razor, not a Gillette Mach3! The problem with that is that you have to either be extra careful with the razor, or tape up one side so you don't slice your fingers open. I don't have an old-man razor, and I have a Stanley knife, so the choice was obvious. You might have noticed there is a scalpel type knife in the Athlon 64 photo. This did NOT work because the blade was too thick to fit between the IHS and the cpu circuit board.