| Thermaltake Blue Orb II CPU Cooler
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Installation:
For this installation we are going to use the K8 accessories and install the Thermaltake Blue Orb II on a DFI LANParty SLI-DR board with an AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Winchester.
It is said in the instruction manual that if the back plate from the motherboard is metal and has "taller" mounting holes that it isn't necessary to change back plates, which was not the case here. While installing the back plate I noticed that the square cut-out is not as large as the one I was removing, and that it sets directly on top of some resistors that are on the back of the motherboard. I don't know if this will have any long term effects on the board's performance, but it did make me somewhat uncomfortable.
The next step in installing the large heatsink was to fasten the screws down. This is an easy task that can prove to be somewhat tricky. Holding the heatsink still while connecting the first screw without letting the other side of the heatsink rise up proved challenging. It was almost like the pegs were not long enough to get the screw started; afterward I realized that it was the previously mentioned spring that was holding me back. Here is a look at the finished product... the image on the right shows the blue LEDs shining brightly.
 
Before we move on I would like to point out a few areas that may be a problem with some motherboards. The first image is the clearance area above the memory slots, shown here is a tight squeeze but the RAM is still accessible (perhaps not so with some taller memory). The image on the right shows how close the heatsink is to the video card, a pencil was slid between them to give an idea of just how close they really are.
 
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