8 / USE HAIRDRYER
Occasionally, the core’s thermal paste can act like glue and prevent
you from removing the cooler, and you don’t want to force it and risk
damaging your card. A simple trick if you’re finding this part difficult is to
warm the rear of the PCB using a hairdryer. This will soften the paste and
make removing the cooler much easier.4 / TEST STOCK CARD
Before you fit the waterblock, test your graphics card works. If it’s a rare,
faulty sample, it’s infuriating to go through the hassle of installing the
waterblock and adding it to your loop, only to find it doesn’t work.
5 / REMOVE BACKPLATE SCREWS
Start by removing the screws on the rear of the card that hold the
backplate in place. Use a small container to keep the screws safe, as it’s
easy to lose them.
7 / REMOVE STOCK COOLER SCREWS
Now do the same for the stock cooler screws, starting with the
lone screws and finishing with the four screws located in the four-
pronged metal plate, which sits behind the GPU core. Face the cooler
downwards while you do this part, and once you remove it refit the
screws in the cooler for safekeeping.6 / REMOVE BACKPLATE
The backplate should lift off easily, but some use thermal pads, so lift
it gently. Place it to one side, as you can reattach the backplate to your
old cooler later. If there are thermal pads and they get stuck on the
PCB, remove them and replace them on the backplate where they’re
supposed to sit.
9 / LIFT COOLER
Carefully lift the PCB from one end, so the entire PCB raises a
centimetre or two away from the cooler. Don’t lift it right off, as there
will be several cables that need to be detached.