Wednesday May 23, 2012 3:11 PM AEST

GTX295 Disassembly Guide

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GTX295 Disassembly Guide
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Once you've removed this shroud, place it out of your way. Take a look at the photo below to identify the thirteen larger screws on the top of the card (the part just uncovered), and screwdriver them out. Be careful with these screws, as they have springs attached to their underside, and are want to bounce around if you're not mindful - a lost screw is a very bad thing here.


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The thirteen screws removed, you'll be left with a ring of eight smaller screws around the core. Remove these, and place them with the first thirteen screws removed. Move those screws to an area on your workspace and don't mix them with any others - we need to keep them separate to know what goes where.


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16 Comments
orcone
Jan 30, 2009 4:54 PM
You brave bastards.
LordBug
Jan 30, 2009 5:14 PM
Having an irritating bastard like me pipe up about the Alienware photos must've motivated the cameraman to do better :D
nesquick
Jan 30, 2009 6:09 PM
The GPU die size on the gt200 cores even at 55nm is so large, it makes me appreciate ATI's rv770 die much more.
TheFrunj
Jan 30, 2009 6:26 PM
LB, sure did :)

-JR
V1RUS
Jan 30, 2009 7:04 PM
hmmm you are brave very brave wish i had the money to do that
emccat
Jan 30, 2009 7:21 PM
poor GTX295 i bet it has to go to a psychiatrist every day for the rest of its life ;)
Sxio
Jan 31, 2009 4:09 PM
Wow, so brave. I have a 9800GX2 and I would NEVER do this.

Reason? It works fine now.

But nice job guys. Really interesting to see how they actually fit the 2 pcbs together like that.
SNAKE_1337
Feb 1, 2009 12:56 PM
:O i wont even take off my heatpipe heatsink on my 8600gt
very brave but whats the reason for taking it apart
index680i
Feb 1, 2009 8:22 PM
You guys have way to much fun in the labs :P
V1RUS
Feb 1, 2009 9:20 PM
hahah they have to much fun period lol i thing they do it because they want to and its how they have fun thats my opinon oh were can i make a suggestiona botu a game to test graphics and fps on
Hawkeye
Feb 2, 2009 11:07 AM
Snake: There are a lot of reasons we love getting into the guts of stuff. For one thing, it's fun, and for another, we figure (correctly, it seems) that this is something we are able to do that a lot of people would not feel at all comfortable doing, but may well be very curious about.

The other reason, and this only became apparent after we took the thing apart, was that factory applied thermal paste is damn sloppy! Just adding better paste, and applying it well, kept card temps down a few degrees. It may not sound like much, but in an overclocked, enthusiast-grade system, we think every degree counts.

V1RUS: Check out the Atomic Feedback section of the forum - always glad to hear suggestions and comment there :)

- DH
xtort
Feb 3, 2009 4:07 PM
what no lapping? lol
toru173
Feb 5, 2009 1:50 PM
Well done! I must admit, it's always a first step of mine (after making sure it works) to disassemble and reapply thermal compound where possible. Just makes the project feel a lot more personal, and the extra few degrees are often worth it
tictac2
Feb 6, 2009 1:49 PM
Impressive piece of tech. Be fascinating to see how the factory assembles these things. Any chance of some sneak peeks from the Jolly Green Giant?
tictac2
Feb 6, 2009 1:52 PM
Oh, the second and third pics are the same too - the 3rd pic should be the one showing the 13 screws on top of the card.
PS. Can't edit the post? Am I missing something?
Dazzler
May 10, 2011 12:57 AM
Great guide, i would have run into strife without it. Interestingly, on my reference model card (inno), temps dropped 10 deg C across the board after a disassembly, dust and new thermal compound. quite a dramatic change and worth the time...
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Atomic Magazine

Issue: 137 | June, 2012

Atomic is a magazine aimed squarely at computer enthusiasts, gamers, and serious PC upgraders.

Every month we bring you the latest reviews of new technology and PC components, in depth features on everything from overclocking to console hacking, and gaming previews and interviews.
 
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