How to clean the main board and apply thermal paste to the CPU of the GMKtec NucBox K7 Plus mini PC.

I couldn't find any disassembly videos or maintenance/disassembly videos for this model online, but I managed to do it myself, so I'm uploading it. Actually, even if you remove the rubber on the back of the main unit, there are no screws there. In other words, you have no choice but to disassemble it from the inside.

Remove the front cover and unscrew the screws in the four corners. Then remove all the screws around the circuit board. Disconnect the connectors as well. Remove the memory, and then remove the two devices that are attached to the circuit board with screws. At the same time, be sure to disconnect the two communication modem connection cables from the lower device. Now you are ready to disassemble.

I actually forgot to take pictures, but I'll explain it in words. In this case, after completing all the above steps (of course, with the power cord unplugged), you can disassemble the PC by lifting the motherboard upwards and removing it from the case.

Specifically, I pulled the PC case upwards (being careful not to break it) at the interface section on the back of the PC case to remove the motherboard, and then removed the motherboard. After that, a gap will be created in the PC case, so lift the motherboard on the front side as well and completely isolate it from the PC case. At this time, be careful not to damage the two wires connecting the communication modem card. Secure them to the cover with tape.

The CPU cooler is also dirty, so I'll start cleaning it. It looks like the CPU cooler and CPU heat tank are connected to the main board with just a few screws.

There's a considerable amount of dust accumulated in the gaps of the CPU tank, which could be causing overheating. Could this be one of the reasons why the heat wasn't dissipating properly? I'll clean it with a cotton swab right away.

To remove the CPU cooler from the main board, the CPU fan and CPU heat tank are secured with tape. Pull on the CPU fan to remove the tape, which is hidden by the black tape, and the screws to remove will become visible.

Pull the black tape holding the CPU cooler in place in the opposite direction, and you're good to go.

The CPU mounted on the main board of this machine is now visible. We will clean and wipe away the existing thermal paste and apply new paste.

Please disconnect the connector for the CMOS battery at the top, as it may cause a malfunction.

Did I apply the thermal paste correctly? It was necessary for optimizing the CPU temperature.

After that, put the screws and devices back in place properly. Oh, and the two wires on the communication modem card, gray and black, are burned into the PC case, so be careful not to damage them and tape them to a safe spot before putting the main board back in. *Putting the main board back in was also tricky, but the PC case has delicate parts like the power switch, so be careful not to damage them. When putting the main board back in place, in my case I tilted it to one side and pulled it back into the PC case by hand to avoid damaging it.

Everything is back to normal. I'll connect it to the monitor and perform a boot test. It's working smoothly, maintenance complete! I couldn't find any disassembly videos for the GMKtec NucBox K7 Plus mini PC in English or Japanese through search engines, so if you find this article somewhere, you might understand it.

The trick to disassembling the GMKtec NucBox K7 Plus mini PC is to remove the main board by pulling the PC case from the rear interface side and lifting it up.

Please be very careful not to damage the two connection wires of the communication device card when pulling on the board-related parts as mentioned above.

This is a PC from within the Chinese-American region.

It would be great if American or European PCs were sold more cheaply in Asia. When I search, there are usually very few European PCs, and I see a lot of Asian PCs.

The trump card is the anima theory of a hypothetical European existence.