Alpha Pal8045U installation question

[KentW]

When installing this sink how tight do make the nylon washers on the backside of the MoBo? I don't want to strip them out obviously. Just hand tight or maybe snug them with some needle nose pliers? Also, has anyone had a problem with the sink not mounting level on the cpu? I know to alternate tightning the screws upon mounting the sink. Thanks, Kent

 

[Egrimm]

Er, what do you mean? I just put the washers on the back of the mobo and installed the 'sink. Didn't worry about how tight they were and it works fine. Just screwed it (alternating bewteen opposite corners to keep it level on the cpu) until I felt it was tight enough, you should be able to tell when you tightened it enough. If you install it like I did I cannot see how it couldn't be level on the cpu.

 

[dunkster]

I have the 8045U on KR7A/RAID board.

I went a bit tighter than finger-tight, using a nut-driver with mild torque for the bottom nylon nuts. Needle-nose pliers, like screwdrivers, can damage board traces if you slip.

Due to the parallelogram design of using long through-bolts, it's pretty easy to disturb the mounting of this heatsink. I bumped mine when replacing rear case fans, and had to re-mount the heatsink. CPU-idle temp jumped about 3C after the bump. On the re-mount of the heatsink, I used more torque on the top-bolts - fully-collapsing the springs.

Close visible inspection of the the cpu/heatsink interface is important before tightening the bolts. It is possible to cock the heatsink if the heatsink is moved too far forward. Be sure the milled cut on the face of the heatsink freely clears the raised plastic ridge on the cpu socket. If not, the bolts WILL allow you to mount this heatsink at a cocked angle.

Careful physical inspection, careful application of thermal compound and careful tightening is all that's required. Use your own judgement and be sure to watch your cpu-idle temp for a few minutes after starting the pc to be sure you don't have a problem.

Hope this helps!