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First Time Building Computer *UPDATE* - Which Screws To Use?

Y

yarharplunder

Junior Member
My original post was me asking how to fit the A64 Heatsink over the retention frame. Thanks for the help!

Now, my case arrived and I'm not sure which screws I'm supposed to use to screw in the motherboard. The manual tells me to use "the provided Phillips-head screws." Lovely, however, there are no less than 5 types of Phillips-head screws and nothing provided with the case tells me which ones are supposed to be used for what. I'll try and describe each screw using as much detail as posible in the hopes that someone will know what the hell I'm talking about.

Screw #1: I recognize these as the screws used to screw in PCI/AGP slot thingies. The head is surrounded by a thin circle and within that, a hexagon.

Screw #2: Similar to screw #1, though the inner shape is a circle, not a hexagon. They are also slightly smaller.

Screw #3: There are only 8 of these, they look like regular phillips-head screws but one of the lines on the head extends all the way to the outer edge of the head.

Screw #4: I'm guessing these are the "special" screws the manual refrences (For use on the underside of the IDE trays). The head is completely flat circle. That is all.

Screw #5: I know it's not these. These are really long phillips-head screws. What are these used for?


Thank you so much to whoever read all that!



Original Post:

I need some help from someone who's done this before. I bought a Zenith VNF3-250 nForce 3 motherboard designed for AMD 64 processors. The retention frame came preinstalled, so no troubles there. The processor went in without a hitch, but now I'm having a bit of trouble with the heatsink installation.

http://www.amd.com/us-en/asset...nd_tech_docs/30925.pdf

At step 15 "Center the heatsink over the processor. The mounting lug on the retention frame must match the heatsink clip. The heatsink must have full contact with the processor."

The heatsink must have full contact with the processor? When I lower the heatsink onto the frame, the retention clips make contact with the plastic lugs, which stop the heatsink from moving lower. What am I doing wrong?
 
Make sure the cam lever is fully raised while you mount both clips onto the lugs. you will probably need a flat head screwdriver to mount the other end. after that, slowly press down on the lever until it snaps into place.
 
But is the heatsink supposed to touch the processor right off the bat? The cam lever is in the "loose" position when I'm dropping the heatsink into place, and still, the heatsink stops moving downward once the clips hit the lugs, still a bit away from the processor. It says to press the clip over the lug (cam lever side) at this point. Sure, I can do that, but it would tilt the heatsink quite a bit, and it still wouldn't be touching the processor.

Also, is there a proper orientation? I mean, does the cam lever need to go on a particular side? The heatsink seems to fit both ways.
 
I recently built(As in a week or so ago) my very first athlon 64 FX-53, so I think I *may* know the problem you're talking about.

You're talking about the metal clips on each side of the metal heat sink, right? When you try to put the heat sink down and into place, the metal clips are blocked by the mounting area(s) of the heat sink holding box or whatever it is?

I had that problem - but quickly figured out that the metal clip can be pushed back and forth *Through* the heat sink. Ie it can be aligned/pushed from either side in case one side has too little or too much room between the clip itself and the heat sink. I guess this is to make sure a proper fit regardless of the type of board, or something. Chances are that the metal clip is pushed too far on one side. You'll need to push it in towards the heat sink until there's a more balanced amount of space on each side. You should be able to fit the clips down onto their little plastic mounting tabs after that.

Remember that the little grey patch has to be exposed (Try not to touch it or get anything on it - that stuff is fragile and is good for one application) - and keep in mind that the heat sink won't necessarily just fall into place. My heat sink popped up on one side a couple of times just because I wasn't using enough force to press it down while mounting the bracket arm on one side.

Whatever the issue is - hope you get through it okay!
 
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