u/LanceSergeant

As you can see on No.1, the screw has been stripped because I thought I was using the correct screw, but instead stripped it. I tried the rubber band method and then it still didn't work, and now it has this stripped look to it.

I need to reopen the heatsink because the Liquid Metal seemingly had moved and I was considering replacing it with PTM, but I managed to lock myself out.

Are there any tools that help get this open? The rubber band trick won't work, and I am considering getting screw extractors but they seem dangerous and, I cannot remove the screws no matter how much I untighten them, meaning I need to stick with these screws and use the pliers everytime I want in/out. Also, they seem to be dug in and getting a grip for it may be a nightmare.

Edit: I *promise* I know how to handle repairing an electronics device. Choosing a screw against a Phillips head is ALWAYS my biggest weakness here.
Edit 2: I'm probably going to add this here since I am considering *not* doing this: The reason as to why I wanna open this is because in CPU limited games, the CPU is frequently thermal-throttling (50% or so). Cinebench and CPU-only scenarios don't induce frequent thermal throttling (they're less than 5%) and perform in expected parameters (give or take 5% deviation). During normal use, it's pretty fine actually.

u/LanceSergeant — 16 days ago