Assembly procedure

[call me AL]

I've purchased all of the components for the Super PC With the addition of the following CPU cooler.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118046

This is a large and heavy item. I am thinking of installing the cooler mounting hardware to the mother board, then mounting the motherboard to the case and mounting the cooler assembly when the mother board is firmly secured to the case.

Any Thoughts,
AL

[RickyTick]

This is a large and heavy item. I am thinking of installing the cooler mounting hardware to the mother board, then mounting the motherboard to the case and mounting the cooler assembly when the mother board is firmly secured to the case.
Any Thoughts,
AL

Exactly. :)

[Deneb]

Yes you have to install the CPU cooler to the motherboard before you put the motherboard in the case. I just did one of these last week. First install the CPU in the motherboard. Then the procedure varies depending on which CPU you are installing. I was doing in 1156 socket. What I did was stand the motherboard up on its side and hold in place of my chin while I held the bracket on the upper side the motherboard and attached the 4 nuts to the lower side of the motherboard to secure the bracket.

Then install the thermal grease. Then carefully position the cooler on the CPU. It’s kind of tricky to get the upper bracket and CPU cooler all lined up. Disregard the directions about screwing the screws in one at a time in a clockwise order.

Do two screws on one side until they take and screw them in three or four revolutions. Then do the other two. While doing this keep your eye on the bracket and make sure it’s lining up correctly. Once you get that far in you and go around screwing in the four screws carefully in a clockwise order until they are tight. Because of the large fins on the heatsink you have to hold the screwdriver at an angle.It’s best to purchase a new high-quality Philips number one screwdriver from an automotive parts store.

Just before the snug up all the screws you can wiggle the cooler back and forth to spread out the thermal grease then you can do a final alignment to get the unit pointing exactly the way you want.

And for God’s sake make sure you get the orientation of the fans in the heatsink lined up the way you want it before you start.

I love the cooler it’s really quiet and it looks really cool.

[zburns]

call me Al: If you have not already finished up, I have comments in two areas: If you are using Arctic Silver compound, please go to the arctic silver instruction web site, this link: http://www.arcticsilver.com/instructions.htm On the site, you will find specific instructions on how to apply Arctic Silver to either an AMD cpu or to a Intel cpu; different instruction depending on cpu mfg.. Common to both instuctions are (1) a method to prepare (called 'tint') the mating surfaces before applying compound; (2) when you apply compound in the case of AMD, you use a small 'dot', but you do not spread it out -- all explained in the instruction; for Intel cpus -- you use a narrow 1 mm wide line and 'you do not spread it out' -- again well explained in the instruction.

As you build the computer and handle the circuit boards, be certain to use a form of Static Control via a wrist strap grounded to the case. Use static control absolutely everytime you work on the computer and stick your hand(s) inside the case; if you mess something up with a static discharge, it is likely you will never know it. You will just have a failed component with no known reason as to what the problem is or how it happened.

After you have mounted the mobo inside the case but before you install the fan and the final artic silver compound, I suggest the following: lay the case with the installed mobo on its side so that the mobo (prior to fan installation) is flat and horizontal. Before you lower the fan into the case, be absolutely sure of the orientation of the fins and fan blade (fan blade parallel to and facing the front of the case -- my Zalman).

With the case laying flat on its large side and assuming you have applied the Artic Silver thermal compound as per their instructions, you should try to lower the fan into the case so that the heatsink stays as flat and parallel to the cpu as possible. This means you have to look at "two axises" sort of at the same time -- I found it hard to do, I tended to focus in one direction only -- the correct result provided the fan is lowered "flat and horizontal" is that the heatsink contacts the thermal compound 'evenly' at the same time, and the thermal compound spreads in a correct manner. Conversely, if the heatsink is tilted in one direction more than the other, the heatsink is then set down unevenly on top of the compound and irregular spreading may occur. Artic makes a big deal out of this in their instructions; they also are clear to tell you the benefit of following their instructions in an exact manner.

I think their method is best and should be followed; they seem to have data that says your cpu will run cooler provided it is installed according to their instructions. My suggestion is to try best you can to follow their advice -- they do give you some good comments on how heat transfer occurs or does not occur for this type arrangement. The Artic Silver instructions are really easy to read and understand; it is the kind of information you just do not see elsewhere!!

[call me AL]

Not to sound like a wise guy, but it sounds like two agree and one disagree. The disagree sounds like it would work if I had another pair of hands or a willing helper. I was looking for the safest way out single handed.
I have the Artic Silver compound, but the gating items in the build (processor & memory) won't be available until Tuesday next week.

Thanks for all responces

AL

[RickyTick]

According to Rodney, there is an installation video that comes with the cooler.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uIN_p7W2I0

[zburns]

My Zalman is a smaller fan than yours. In looking at mine inside my case, I cannot see at all around the heatsink perimeter -- not good enough to say that I can see the border between the heatsink and the top of the cpu. The reason this might be important is the danger that thermal compound is pushed out one side or several due to different reasons. Your fan is bigger, do not know what cpu you will use; an AMD cpu installs very easy via "clips" and a "last push down on one clip" , but all the intel sockets / Zalman are screws which is harder. Therefore, I would think it is better to install the fan/heatsink combo to the mobo with cpu installed OUT OF THE CASE, mainly for inspection purposes in good light.

It does matter that you do not get thermal compound outside the juncture between heat sink and cpu. But it would be better if no thermal compound squeezed out in the first place. It is conductive and should not be on the sides of the cpu and certainly not on the motherboard. Again I recommend the Artic Silver instructions for how to put the stuff on; they are very specific in how to do it. Specific rules for Intel. Separate specific rules for AMD.

The Zalman video does show intel socket 1156, 1366, 775. The reason I did my posts to your question were mainly the importance of putting on Artic Silver strickly by their instructions, and, the requirement to lower the fan/heatsink to the mobo/cpu in a manner (flat, level, both surfaces exactly parallel, etc.) so that each flat surface (heatsink and cpu) were equally spaced apart as the two surfaces met in order for the compound to spread "outward as directed". You do not want one surface to contact the other at an angle and cause the thermal compound to move asymetrically. It helps to practice lowering the fan to the cpu several times before you put the compound on, so that you can get used to looking at "the process" so that you lower it in a parallel and horizontal manner.

If you do mount the fan to the mobo outside the case, it would be a good idea, first, to mount the Zalman "mounting hardware" to the mobo, and install the mobo in the case to be certain there are no issues with the Zalman bracket or hardware underneath the motherboard and close to the case side. Then remove the mobo to mount the fan. Your mobo will set on standoffs and you just want to be certain that the fan mounting stuff on the underside of the mobo is not thicker than the spacers are high. You should be able to see thru the mounting holes and see the spacers against the underside of the mobo; all the spacers should be touching the underside of the mobo; where the zalman cpu mount is under the mobo, I would think it would not be touching the case side by a small amount.

[call me AL]

OK, I mounted the Zalman cooler to the Mobo outside of the case and slid the mobo into place, easier this way and not as scary as I thought it would be still all replies were welcome