Trouble installing new CPU cooler
Posted by buddydem0n@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 4 comments
Noob here. I'm putting a new CPU cooler into my 5-year-old PC.
My motherboard is an ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming 4S. The cooler I'm trying to install is a Coolermaster V4 Alpha. CPU is an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X.
The heatsink doesn't have anywhere to screw into the motherboard. My old CPU cooler (Coolermaster Hyper 212 black) has a little plastic bracket that I screwed into the back of my mobo when originally installing it. This new cooler came with a bracket, but only for the purpose of supporting an Intel CPU.
Choconolait@reddit
The cooler should have come with a metal bracket that screws to the plastic backplate through the holes on the MB. You then screw the cooler to the metal bracket you just installed on the MB.
buddydem0n@reddit (OP)
Oh, I just realised I had the term 'backplate' confused with 'bracket', I think. The old plastic backplate doesn't seem to be compatible with the new heatsink, since it belongs to the old cooler. There doesn't seem to be any backplate at all, which is why the screws on the bracket of the cooler don't have anything to screw into.
Choconolait@reddit
First, check the manual and see if you have all the components. If it seems that you are missing a bracket, check the cooler itself to see if it's preassembled or not. (I'm not sure whether if it comes preassembled or not, but that's the only place it can be if it seems to be missing)
If you confirmed you have all the components, look for the square shaped backplate. It's feet should extend or shorten if you pull / push it. Adjust it's length to fit it to your MB's backplate hole. Then, remove your old backplate with new one.
buddydem0n@reddit (OP)
Ok so, it seems the issue is I don't have a backplate for the heatsink to screw into. One wasn't provided to me with the cooler itself, which would lead me to believe the backplate I need to use is the one that came with my mobo. Since I built this PC 5yrs ago, that backplate is long gone... Sooo, which 3rd-party backplate will allow me to complete my installation?