Big Typhoon installation question

[SRT-4me]

My new BT doesn't seem to cool any better than my 4 year old Thermaltake Venus 12+, so I figure something must be wrong. How tight should I tighten the two screws? I figure if they are too lose, they won't make good contact. They seem to be really snug at this point. Will I damage the CPU if I crank down on them too much? How much is enough?

[sailindawg]

First question: did you lap the BT?

 

Second question: How are you mounting it?

 

I'm assuming that you got the original BT, not the smaller, VX version. Regarding mounting it, I did not use the mounting kit that came with it. I used the plastic DFI back plate that came with my board. It's pretty stout and works well. I threaded some 1 - 1/2" screws through the backplate and used the supplied top bracket. I used some wing nuts and washers to tighten the BT down. I did this out of the case. I put a level on top of the BT and alternately tightened the wingnuts keeping even pressure. I kept a watch on the motherboard as I tightened the wing nuts. I actually put a slight bow in the board by tightening too much. When I saw that, I loosened until the board was straight. You can tell by feel how tight the BT is on the board using the wing nuts. I have it pretty tight on the board.

 

You better lap the BT to a mirror finish. The copper block is pretty rough out of the box. Lap until it's flat to a straight edge. I used AS5, but as of late, Arctic Cooling has come out with MX2. MX2 seems to perform real well. Plus, it's non-capacitive or non-conducting. It's great stuff for less money than AS5.