How in the world do you install the heatsink?!

Is there a little lever?

I got the AMD FX 8120 CPU. I'm using the stock heatsink. HOW THE HELL DO I PUT IT ON THE DAMN CPU?! I've tried and tried, followed YouTube videos, blah blah. They make it look so easy. Am I doing something wrong? I slide one side under one tab, and then I go to slide the other side (with the lever) under the tab, but it won't reach. How do I do this? I appreciate any help. ShaineTheNerd

Is the motherboard missing the white or another color plastic "base" that contains the over hanging clips that the heatsink latches too? I know that if you had aftermarket heatsink that uses no clips, and a different mounting bracket, you may need to revert back if your trying to use the included heatsink. 

Is there a little lever?

kraken2109

[QUOTE="ShaineTheNerd"]I got the AMD FX 8120 CPU. I'm using the stock heatsink. HOW THE HELL DO I PUT IT ON THE DAMN CPU?! I've tried and tried, followed YouTube videos, blah blah. They make it look so easy. Am I doing something wrong? I slide one side under one tab, and then I go to slide the other side (with the lever) under the tab, but it won't reach. How do I do this? I appreciate any help. buccomatic

Is the motherboard missing the white or another color plastic "base" that contains the over hanging clips that the heatsink latches too? I know that if you had aftermarket heatsink that uses no clips, and a different mounting bracket, you may need to revert back if your trying to use the included heatsink. 

warriorlax1234

ummm look at the instructions that came with it?

I got an idea, Provide us with the make/model of the motherboard you got and we'll see what we got then

I got an idea, Provide us with the make/model of the motherboard you got and we'll see what we got then

warriorlax1234

I'm holding an AM3 heatsink right now.

The first part which is making sure the non-lever side of the latch is secure on the lever catch (on the CPU socket) should be a no-brainer.

The second part:

While tying to keep the heatsink level on the CPU, you have to pull upward on the now fastened non-lever side of the latch at the same time  pushing it towards the lever side as much as you can, keeping that side under a lot of tension. While that's going on, you're pushing down (and away from the heatsink) on the lever side, trying to make it catch. Once the latter catches, carefully lock the lever.

Socket939/AM3/AM3+  aren't the easiest. But, compared to Socket 7 and Socket A, they're a piece of cake. With Socket 7 and Socket A, accidentally crushing the CPU was a real possibility. 

This probably is a silly question. But, the motherboard isn't inside the case yet, correct? He He. Just had to ask.

Okay so looking at the zoomed in pic on newegg, I can that it has standard plastic "static" mold for the heat sink to clip on. Now, we need if you can please, a pic of the heat sink itself, clips, as many details as possible.

I'm holding an AM3 heatsink right now.

The first part which is making sure the non-lever side of the latch is secure on the lever catch (on the CPU socket) should be a no-brainer.

The second part:

While tying to keep the heatsink level on the CPU, you have to pull upward on the now fastened non-lever side of the latch at the same time  pushing it towards the lever side as much as you can, keeping that side under a lot of tension. While that's going on, you're pushing down (and away from the heatsink) on the lever side, trying to make it catch. Once the latter catches, carefully lock the lever.

Socket939/AM3/AM3+  aren't the easiest. But, compared to Socket 7 and Socket A, they're a piece of cake. With Socket 7 and Socket A, accidentally crushing the CPU was a real possibility. 

jun_aka_pekto

[QUOTE="jun_aka_pekto"]

I'm holding an AM3 heatsink right now.

The first part which is making sure the non-lever side of the latch is secure on the lever catch (on the CPU socket) should be a no-brainer.

The second part:

While tying to keep the heatsink level on the CPU, you have to pull upward on the now fastened non-lever side of the latch at the same time  pushing it towards the lever side as much as you can, keeping that side under a lot of tension. While that's going on, you're pushing down (and away from the heatsink) on the lever side, trying to make it catch. Once the latter catches, carefully lock the lever.

Socket939/AM3/AM3+  aren't the easiest. But, compared to Socket 7 and Socket A, they're a piece of cake. With Socket 7 and Socket A, accidentally crushing the CPU was a real possibility. 

ShaineTheNerd

That's why you lock the lever nice n slow.  Them cheap plastic (on the bundled HSF) locks. Many 3rd-party ones have lever locks made of metal. It's still a lot better than the (reeeally) cheap plastic screws that came with my LGA 775 Celeron E3400 from a while back.

Let me ask you one more question while you're here: why is my CPU fan incredibly loud? I boot my PC and at first it's fine, but after a few minutes pass, the CPU fan gets very loud. I don't even have to do anything for it to do this. All of my parts are brand new -- this is first build and every part was just ordered.ShaineTheNerd

Cheap fan. Cheap heatsink. I'm using a 3rd-party HSF with my FX-8350. It's pretty quiet. The CPU the 8350 replaced is a Phenom II X3 720BE. For that one, I used the 8350's default HSF. It's loud as hell. :lol:

But, I'm too lazy to buy another 3rd-party HSF.

Let me ask you one more question while you're here: why is my CPU fan incredibly loud? I boot my PC and at first it's fine, but after a few minutes pass, the CPU fan gets very loud. I don't even have to do anything for it to do this. All of my parts are brand new -- this is first build and every part was just ordered.ShaineTheNerd

have you made sure the thermal paste is still intact, and apply correctly? stock fans do get loud

Look in your BIOS for some kinda of auto fan speed setting

[QUOTE="ShaineTheNerd"]Let me ask you one more question while you're here: why is my CPU fan incredibly loud? I boot my PC and at first it's fine, but after a few minutes pass, the CPU fan gets very loud. I don't even have to do anything for it to do this. All of my parts are brand new -- this is first build and every part was just ordered.msfan1289

have you made sure the thermal paste is still intact, and apply correctly? stock fans do get loud

I would say this is could be a big factor.  Not too much thermal paste, and not too little, though I think its easier to use too much, than too little imo.

That and the case fans, are they pulling/pushing enough air? (clean?)

... But trying to turn the lever makes me feel like I'm going to break it off...ShaineTheNerd

yeah those old style lever HSF take some getting used to.  You need to make sure that the cpu is aligned properly in the socket, ie triangle to triangle.  Then align the HSF onto the cpu in the correct orientation.  Usually the orientation is so that the fan wire needs to be able to reach the connector on the mobo in the shortest distance.  Also make sure you take off any plastic covers on the hsf before putting it ontop of the cpu.

After that apply a good amount of pressure on the lever and latch it down under the hook, and then you're done.  The new intel HSF have a plug in design, Id say those are also a PITA but definitely they're better than the old lever style.  I also appreciate that intel decided to get rid of the pins on their cpus so you couldn't damage them.