X79 and X99 motherboard sockets: bolted to motherboard?

[magellan]

It was easy to install heavy heatsinks on my Asrock x99 Extreme 4 and the x79 variant because they just bolt into the socket, but were they as secure as the through-hole motherboard mountings? Both my old LGA775 Gigabyte UD3LR and my Asrock z390 Taichi have through-holes so that you can bolt your heatsink through the entire motherboard with a backplate, which seems more secure.
Is there any additional mounting hardware used to keep Intel x79 and x99 sockets attached to the motherboard beyond solder balls? Or is the entire mass of a heatsink being supported by nothing but solder?

 

[EarthDog]

Well, personally, I always thought the HEDT sockets you're talking about (X79/99/299) are more secure than just using the passthrough and backplate like on mainstream... I mean they surely look as/more robsut to me.

If you look at your socket, you can clearly see the screws that hold the huge metal frame/mounting mechanism to the board. Flip the board over and there's a backplate it all screws into. Clearly it isn't being held on only by just solder.

EDIT: I think it all comes down to the heatsink mounting mechanism for the non HEDT platform.

 

[magellan]

Why can't they make all sockets like that then? It would be a lot easier than using a backplate and through-hole mounting mechanism.

 

[EarthDog]

lol, no idea man. Ask Intel.

It's clear that the chips are a lot bigger in the HEDT space than on mainstream. More pins, larger socket, larger mechanism around it. The mainstream platform without simply uses the heatsink's backplate. HEDT processors tend to use a lot more power (think 95W versus 165W+) so they need beefier heatsinks. Also, cost. HEDT is generally more expensive. Adding a more robust mechanism would increase cost on the boards too I'd imagine.