Installation
Prior to installation, the CPU IHS and heatsink base were both cleaned with isopropyl alcohol before applying a small amount of Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound. I will be using an Intel LGA775 CPU and motherboard for testing so I used the two modular LGA775 mounting brackets.
The OEM style push-pins are supposed to be easy to use but this can be complicated by a large heatsink fan that overhangs the pins and partially blocks access. On my particular motherboard (Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe), three sides around the CPU socket area are partially blocked by heat pipes and heatsinks to cool the Northbridge and
Scythe uses two wire retention clips to secure the fan on top of the Andy Samurai Master cooler. The clips hook into slots on the side of the large upper fin array and loop over the top of the fan.
These work well with fans that are 25mm thick but don’t allow using a thicker frame size, which will limit your choice of fans should you decide to try something different.
The 120mm Delta SHE (38mm thick) sitting on top of the ASM. In this case, the stock mounting wires won’t reach so we had to find an alternate means to secure the big air turbine for testing.