How Hard to Change Athlon Processor?

How hard/tricky is it to remove and replace an Athlon processor on a
2002 vintage SOHO motherboard?

-- jim

 

Usually not hard, but don't forget to clean and reapply new thermal grease
on the processor before installing it's fan.
Which board and which processors are you working with?
You may have to tweak the BIOS though and maybe change a jumper on the
board.

 

K7VTA Pro

-- jim

 

video here
http://soyotek.com/kb/kbdesc.php?id=302

manual here
http://soyotek.com/downloads/filedesc.php?id=2100

misc here
http://soyotek.com/search/?gosearch=1&query=K7VTA+Pro+

 

Thanks for your reply and help.

I may also upgrade the BIOS. I notice there's a K7VTA Pro and a
K7VTA Pro v1. How do I tell which I have?

-- jim

 

In the SOYO videos you link to it says not to use grease and to us a
thermal pad instead. The seem to say grease doesn't last.

-- jim

 

Good I am glad you saw that video.
I think that the grease is good if you are constantly taking the processor
fan and processor in and out while testing. Just remove the old grease and
reapply some new grease.
Pad is supposed to be better for the long run and it doesn't run when it
gets too hot like the grease will. The grease should last awhile though
before you might have to reapply it.

You should be able to set some safety measures in the BIOS so that if the
processor gets too hot the computer will shut down before any serious
damage. I had a test computer to try it out on and it works. I installed
the fan without any thermal aid and while running Windows the computer beep
and then shut down. After installing the grease the temp drop by maybe 30
degrees. 8^o

later,
dave
(One out of many daves)

 

Look carefully on the Board and it might show which one it is.

 

Hi again Dave

Thanks for all your help.

When I got to the point of changing the processor I realized these videos only
discuss changing the heatsink. They don't explain how to remove the processor?

Are there any special instructions for prying the processor out of its socket?

jim

 

NEVER pry a cpu out of its socket!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There is ALWAYS an easy way to get it in or out. Most of the time
there is a lever to one side of the chip. Gently push down o nthe
lever and move it SLIGHTLY away from the chip. It should life up and
then you can life the chip straight up and out. ALWAYS make sure you
are grounded before you play with anything inside the box.
To install the chip look VERY carefully at the arrangement of the
pins, you will see one corner that is not a perfect square. That and
the exact same place on the mb must be aligned and the cpu will slip
right into its place. Remember to lift the lever before inserting and
then lock the lever when the cpu is seated. BE GENTLE! If you bend a
pin the cpu will not work!!!!!!!!! Yes pins can be straigtened, but
again BE GENTLE!!!!!

 

You just lift up that little arm on the side of the socket which should
release the processor's pins and it should easily pull out of the socket.
That arm may have a slight catch on it locking it in the down position so
look carefully at it.
You will also note that the processor will/should only fit in the socket one
way. EASY!
(It used to be that it could be installed four different ways possibly
damaging the processor when you tried booting up the computer.)
Don't forget some thermal treatment on the processor you are installing!