Inno3D iChill cooler - how to remove the fans?

[Buttoneer]

Hi all, I have an Inno3D iChill x3 1080Ti and would like to remove the fan shroud and fans from the card to expose the heatsink. Unfortunately I can't work out how to remove any part of it.

You can see some good pics of the card here;

http://www.inno3d.com/products_detail.php?refid=282

The shroud comprises two metal panels at the top and bottom of the card (it's the bit which has 'Geforce GTX' written on it) and then a plastic shroud under that which holds the three fans. I assume that I need to pull the metal bits off somehow which will expose whatever screws or bolts are keeping the plastic in place.

Note that the shroud doesn't appear to be bolted to the PCB anywhere. It's possible that I need to access the bolts/screws for the shroud from the PCB side. i.e. remove the entire assembly in order to get to the back of the heatsink and remove the fans, but this seem unduly complicated.

I know 100% that this isn't necessary for the metal parts of the shroud because there's a massively unhelpful video on Youtube where someone is preparing this card for a waterblock and he starts with 'I've already removed the metal parts'...!

Before I start pulling everything apart, I'd be grateful for advice from anyone who has dismantled one of these before. The iChill cooler is in use across a number of cards from 980 up so hopefully there is someone who can help.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Kardonxt]

I would start by taking the backplate off to get a better view. It's hard to tell from the pictures but it looks like there are 6 black screws going through the PCB to hold the backplate on. The heatsink pictures don't show a place for these to attach so I assume they screw into the plastic shroud and sandwich everything together.

I wouldn't be shocked if the entire thing needs to come off to get the shroud off as you fear. They aren't designed with user serviceability in mind. Having everything connected to the metal heatsink from the underside is aesthetically pleasing and has the asian slaves handling the expensive PCB less.

 

[Buttoneer]

Having everything connected to the metal heatsink from the underside is aesthetically pleasing and has the asian slaves handling the expensive PCB less.

Ha! I like your cynicism.

The teardown video I referenced found that the backplate can only be removed by taking out the six screws plus the four sprung screws around the GPU chip so it's a full dismantling if I go that far. I suppose I could then take the opportunity to upgrade the thermal paste when I put the heatsink back, but I still only want to do this if it will get me to where I need to be - i.e.with a bare heatsink.