[section_title title=”Installation”]Installation
Installation of the AR05 was as easy as one could hope for. What is even better is the fact that you will use most of the included hardware that comes with the AR05, the only thing you won’t use is one of the bracket sets, Intel or AMD depending on what CPU you are using it on.
For the purpose of this review I used the Intel brackets on the 1150 socket. No matter the Intel socket installation will be the same except for this first part. First you will want to of course make sure you have the Intel brackets then you will need to look at the installation guide and find out which hole you will need. Once you know this you can install the screws and washers accordingly.
Once you have installed the screws and washers according to your socket type you can now fix the brackets to the cooler using two of the included screws per side.
Next you will want to make sure you have thermal paste installed on the CPU, once you do you can take the heatsink and set it atop the CPU making sure the screws go through the corresponding holes in the motherboard. Once the screws are sticking out the back of the motherboard you can get the final piece and thread it to the screw that is now showing.
Once you have done this for all four screws the heatsink should be all installed and ready to go, just plug the fan in and be on your way.
@play3r Thanks for the review – i have this cooler and it works great in my mini-ITX build (which also uses the ML06-E you reviewed earlier this summe).. Needless to say its a REALLY tight fit getting everything in there. It’s especially cramped now since I installed a GTX 750 Ti by Gigabyte.
Do you think its possible to replace the CPU by removing the heatsink / fan from the top side? I really don’t want to take everything out of the case just to access the back of the mobo.
Always appreciate nice comments, thank you! In regards to your question, you can do it, I rarely remove the backplates when re-applying new thermal paste etc! It will work if the mounting mechanism doesn’t cover the CPU hold down on the motherboard!