Installation
Ok to start off installation you first will need to remove both fans. This is actually very simple as both fans and their shrouds easily clip off. So just go ahead and pull them off the heatsink.
Now we will be installing the V6 GT in an i7 system so we will need to find the 2 Intel retention plates. You will notice on them markings “775”, “1156” and “1366”. You will need to adjust them to the correct placement for your CPU socket. We are using a 1366 socket so we need to adjust these. One thing that I did not like is that the one retention plate was preinstalled backwards. This confused me a little at first and the instructions did not do much to help out. I was able to properly extend the retention plates once I figured out how they needed to be.
To install these retention plates you will need the back plate. You line it up with the holes on the back of your motherboard and secure the retention plates with 4 screws. We were able to do all of these without removing the motherboard because of the CPU cutout on the Thermaltake Armor A90 case.
Now you want to go ahead and clean off your CPU and apply the included thermal paste. Then find the bracket with spring screws and install it on the bottom of the cooler as shown in the photo below.
Finally go ahead and place the V6 GT on your CPU lining the bracket with spring screws up with the holes on the retention brackets. Now go ahead and tighten the screws on each side to secure the cooler. Cooler Master provides a nut setter that you place on top of each screw that makes it easy to tighten them with a screw driver. Now all you have to do is reinstall the 2 fans on each side and connect the power up and you are good to go. These were no clearance issues with the case we are using, the Thermaltake Armor A90.
