P8H77-M PRO motherboard with strange socket

Hi all

I have an Asus P8H77-M PRO motherboard, to which I'm trying to attach a Xigmatek Red Scorpion HSF, aka an S1283 (same HS, different fan) with a Scythe Kaze fan. Should be a nice combination.

I have the Crossbow mounting kit for it (the HS), but don't have that much experience with 1155 sockets, and the one on the Asus board is different to others I've seen, and is also different to what is pictured on the Asus website. My motherboard is pictured at


the Asus reference page is

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8H77M_PRO/#overview

The board I have doesn't have the metal surround I've seen before on other boards. It has a backplate, which will need removing to fit the Xigmatek Crossbow backplate, but that will leave almost nothing left of the socket except, well, the socket.

Do I have a dodgy motherboard, or a newly designed socket? More to the point, will I break anything irrevocably by removing the backplate to hopefully get the new cooler installed. I've not seen sockets like this before, everything may be fine, I hope.

I don't see anything wrong with your board. Hard to tell with the pin protector left on the socket tho....

OK, I feel like an idiot, all's well with it. As I said, not much experience with 1155 boards, the metal surround is underneath the pin protector. Doh.

It still may be a problem for the Crossbow though, it says 1156 compatible which also means 1155, i thought? The backplate which is held on with the three allen keys for the socket interferes with the Crossbow bracket.

Which crossbow? Xigmatek lists three versions on their site, and two of them are obviously completely different. Assuming its one of the latter two, it looks like it should fit:

I have the ACK-I5361 which looks exactly as the photo, and lines up perfectly with both the keys and the motherboard holes. I'd bought it a while ago, thinking that I'd get an 1155/1156 board one day and because the Xigmatek products were/are getting difficult to get hold of in Australia.

I thought originally that the 'legs' of the bow wouldn't reach the board because the backplate was in the way; turns out they do, they line up perfectly with the motherboard mounting holes and the recesses fit the lugs from the socket.

The outline is roughly the area of the backplate, and the bow sits solidly on it with both having the middle cutout. It isn't just a solid mounting, it's near indestructible I would say, especially since the S1283 is modest in size and mass, relatively.

Sorry about the confusion, my fault for not paying enough attention with a tired mind and automatically hitting the help button. Thanks for helping me out. I've been sitting on this cooler for a year now, and it's almost time to use it