Arctic Cooling 64 Pro Install Help

[napes22]

I recently bought the arctic cooling 64 pro for my pc and attempted to install it on my Foxconn C51XEM2AA- 8EKRS2H. This has to be the worst installation I have ever dealt wtih. The hs just won't snap on.
the amount of force I am using here just scares me. I have it lined up properly, but it appears that the mounting clip is setup way too tight.

I have heard of others having problems installing it. Does anyone have this cooler and how did you get it right? I have been trying for so long that the heatspread that came on the heatsink is completely worn away; I'll have to use some Arctic Silver 5 instead.

Anyone? This is driving me nuts. I am at the point of selling this thing, and purchasing a Scythe Katana 2

 

[BadBrad]

The HSF should go on without much trouble once you know the trick! The 2 holes on the retention mechanism must be aligned with the 2 pins on the plastic base cover/support. The Pins & hole arrangement prevent the retention clip from moving on the base so that it always provides equal pressure to the CPU. Once you do this, the unit goes on very smoothly with moderate force to the locking arm. I would suggest that you put the HSF on the motherboard outside the case to really see the alignment correctly.

I've heard of people snapping off the lugs of the retention bracket on the motherboard because they were not careful. The installation instructions could have been written better. I read about all the problems others were having with the installation of this HSF. I then googled to discover what the real issue was and how to avoid it. This could have been explained better in the instructions. Take a look at the bottom of the linked page as it shows details of this mounting arrangement. If you look carefully you can see that they did not install correctly as the pins are squished over and they probably had to use excessive force to mount the unit.


http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/Freezer64Pro/2

 

[napes22]

Unfortunately due to my 3 hours of unsuccsessful trying, those pins are flattened, so it's impossible to slip them into the holes. I guess at this point I would have to just eye it?

I also don't have a removeable motherboard tray, so taking out the mobo would take a lot of effort. Especially for the fact that I just re-wired my case for better airflow.

Additionally, the paste that came with the heatsink is flattened on both the base and the cpu, I should probably take off the paste and apply some arctic due to the fact that the paste is hardened?

 

[Bill Kunert]

You might look at the possibility of removing the black plate with the pins on it and rotating it 90 degrees to use the other two pins.

 

[napes22]

It doesnt rotate as the plastic piece is rectangular rather than a square. I'll just have to eye it in I guess. Anyone else have any other tips?

 

[napes22]

Thanks for everyone's help. I managed to get it on with some extra effort. Since those plastic pieces broke off, I hooked on end of the clips, then made sure the copper base lined up perfectly in the center of the chip, then pushed down on the area below the latch until it clicked. So much easier when you take the time to make sure that it is lined up properly. Whoever managed to damage their mobo installing this thing were more careless than I.

Def a good cooler, temps are down 10 Degrees

 

[MadScientist]

If you read the reviews of the AC 64 Pro on Newegg the biggest complaint is the installation. The trick to installing this HS is to make sure that the clip on the lever side is loose and at it's lowest position. The clip has a tendency to hang up, making it almost impossible to attach to the plastic tabs on the retention mechanism.