Installation

Installation on Intel LGA 115x CPU sockets begins, as always, with the provided backplate. It has insulating foam pads on its underside already, which touch the motherboard to prevent electrical shorting, so all you need to do is to orient it such that the notches match the screws from the socket ILM. Note also the three notches in the corners, with the middle one meant for LGA 115x. As such, take the socket screw intended for this socket and pass it through the notch such that the hexagon side is along that of the backplate itself to prevent these screws from rotating freely. This will help provide a fixed point to which the block will be secured on the other side and is similar to approaches taken by Swiftech. Once done, all four screws would go through the PCB and out the other side, so flip everything over and ensure all four are at the same height, or near about.


Apply some thermal paste to the CPU IHS to then place the plastic studs over each screw, which has them also act as spacers. All you need to do now is to maneuver the block as it comes out of the box over the screws, move the adapters around on the corners if need be, and simply screw it down in a diagonal manner, in sets of two. Alternate between them for uniform mounting pressure throughout and continue to do so until you run out of thread. As such, this is a tool-less and precise installation, which is nice to see. Hooke's spring constant could have been chosen to lower that spring bend, but overall, I had good contact with both pre-spread TIM and a single grain in the middle.


Installation on Intel LGA 2011(-3)/2066 is even simpler as those already have a socket backplate or cooler-mounting threads pre-installed on the motherboard. Simply screw in the M4-threaded socket screws and repeat the procedure as before - you don't even need to use the studs/spacers here. Phanteks provides enough thermal paste for 3-4 runs, so feel free to mount, undo, check for TIM spread, re-apply/adjust TIM application, and re-mount if you so desire.


Finally, if you are planning to use the integrated lighting, remember to attach the RGB LED cable to the two connectors off to the side on the block. Then, depending on whether you have just this or others, connect that to the Y-splitter cable, or the adapter cable that in turn goes to the male LED header on a compatible case or motherboard.


Unfortunately, I happen to have neither a compatible case or motherboard. So here I am making use again of an image Phanteks provides on the product page to show how the block would look lit up. Integrated lighting is great, but a controller - even if optional - would have been nice for people such as I. Overall, the installation process is extremely easy and takes little time thanks to the various user friendly tweaks here, which I definitely appreciate.