Question 1

The mounting brackets  seem to be missing in the box I received. the only thing I got was the heatsink itself and thermal paste.  Am I missing something here?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you are missing the two mounting brackets and the plastic washers that are required to properly install the heatsink.

Everything came in my box and it works great.

Question 2

Does this include thermal paste? Also, is this a good alternative to the arctic cooling freezer 7 rev. 2?

Accepted Answer

I don not recall. I never trust there paste anyway I recommend getting your own. It is a really good cooler for normal applications. I have since went to liquid and do not regret it at all. I got a referb corsair and its simply AMAZING! Im running a 22% overclock on a AMD FX processor and its fridge cold!

Question 3

Will this work with an FM2+ CPU?  I understand FM2/FM2+ are often lumped together with motherboard compatibility, but I just want to make sure before I try to use this.

Accepted Answer

Yes.

I have installed this on an Athlon X4 740 and X4 860K.  These are both FM2+ processors.  Great cooler, very quiet yet efficient.

Question 4

I just bought this and installed it in my system.  I am running an Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 motherboard with an AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8 core CPU and I am not overclocking the stock 4.0ghz speed.  After installing this heatsink and fan, the motherboard is reporting from the UEFI BIOS that the fan speed is at 1658 RPM, which seems to be normal.  But, the temps for the CPU are coming in at 100.4 F and 38.0 C.  Does this sound normal or correct at all?  I was expecting around 50.0 F and maybe 20.0 C after installing this cooler.  Is there any software that can measure the temps better than the UEFI BIOS?  The heatsink is definitely making contact with the CPU.  Just seems to be rather high on the temps for an Arctic cooler.

Accepted Answer

Hello, as long as you used a compound such as Arctic Silver in your install you should be ok. the temps you are getting at idle aren't that bad but could be better. As far as other software, i don't know of any but im sure there are some out there. the uefi should be giving you the best reading. but Id do some more research just in case. sorry i couldn't be more helpful, good luck

Question 5

does any one have the dimensions of the cooler?

Accepted Answer

Height ( from mobo) is approx 5 1/2" but there isn't a ton of memory clearance. My G Skill Tridents had to be put in slots 2 and 4 to clear and luckily the way theyre shaped allowed for air/fan clearance barely. I'd get low profile memory for sure to enable using slots 1 and 3. It does help with airflow however over the VRM's by being such a low slung cooler. Hope this helps!

Question 6

Can the fan be upgraded on this CPU cooler?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately no, the fan cannot be upgraded. Arctic has another, bit more pricey (and higher TDP-rated) cooler, however, where the fan can be swapped out for any other 120mm. That said, it's one of the best coolers I've ever had, and by far one of the quietest for how well it performs.

Question 7

Will this work with a FM2+ cpu?

Accepted Answer

Yes this will work with the FM2+ Socket.
This is a slightly odd attachment method. We purchased this as a backup if we needed it if the AMD included cooling solution was not sufficient.
The mounting requires you to use the same backer plate your motherboard came with and the screws holding the plastic frame on top.
You use the two screws to attach the strattling plates to the base of the heat sink, requiring you to remove the fan assembly to tighten the screws. Once the strattling plates are attached firmly, you then snap the fan assembly back on.
Finally you remove the plastic frame from the top side of the board and use spacers provided as a replacement for the critical height of the stand-off above the board, and reuse the screws originally provided by the motherboard manufacturer.
We are always sensitive to the DIE pressure a heat sink applies and we assume that this will either have a gap between the strattling plate and stand-off, or that once tightened down, you have applied the correct amount of pressure.
We analyzed this solution but have not installed it at this time.

Question 8

I have about 6inches of space from CPU socket (without CPU installed) to my case siding will this cooler fit in my case?

Accepted Answer

Top to bottom height of this cooler is 130mm which 5.12 inches.  Depending on how high your mainboard sits on your particular case's mounting hardware, you should be okay.  Mine's mounted in a Fractal Design CORE1000 MicroATX case, and it fits like a glove - less than 5mm clearance with the side cover on!!!

Question 9

Can it cool down an AMD 6300 processor?

Accepted Answer

I am sorry to say I do not know.  Bought it to use on a phenom II 965BE and ended up giving them bot h away so I cannot check the box for compatibility.

Sorry

Question 10

Is this cpu fan to heavy for my GIGABYTE GA-F2A88XM-D3H
and if so can someone recomend a better one?

Accepted Answer

It certainly appears heavy and cumbersome, but as long as your mobo is properly mounted to its mounting points, there should be no issue. I was worried myself about its size and weight hanging off of my mobo too, but it holds true even after some rough road trips.

Questions & Answers