Installing Thermalright Ultra-120 E.: can I use existing Asetek backplate?

[TheBloke]

Hey all,

I am finally delurking, having read this forum for a long time!

I have an LGA 1366 system: Gigabyte X58-UD3R (rev 2.0) with an i7 930, 12GB of Corsair XMS3, and MSI GTX 760 2GB. Case is a CoolerMaster Cosmos.

Whole system was factory installed in 2010 by Cyberpower, a UK custom PC supplier, but I am now starting to tweak and improve it (better late than never? )

I have been running at 3.8ghz (200x19), but hope to go higher. I plan to post more about that soon - but first of all I need to get my system back up and running and so I have an immediate question which I was hoping someone could help me out with quickly?

I bought the PC with a fitted Asetek LCLC all-in-one internal watercooling system. Yesterday the Asetek stopped working and I have had to replace it.

I have bought the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme air cooler, and am in the process of fitting it right now! I have a 120mm Phobya G-Silent 12 1500RPM fan to go on it.

I have one thing I'm not sure of: The Asetek had its own backplate, which is still attached to the back of my motherboard. I tried to get it off, but it is either incredibly tight in the holes, or else it's held in place with some kind of adhesive. Of course I didn't want to exert too much pressure on it and risk damaging my motherboard!

So my question is, could I use that same Asetek backplate, that's already in place, with my new Thermalright? They look kind of the same, and I've confirmed that the spring-loaded screws that come with the Thermalright will screw properly into the screw holes of the Asetek backplate.

I can't immediately see why there should be any problem, and this seems a lot less risky than trying to remove the Asetek backplate; in case it is glued or something. But I wanted to check with you experts first, because I absolutely don't want to screw anything up!

I can take a photo of the existing installed backplate and the Thermalright blackplate if anyone needs to see the difference?

Thank you very much in advance!

TB

 

[Robert17]

Photos for sure. If you hover the HS above the current mounting holes, do they line up? Does the HS meet the CPU? Will screws have any effect securing the HS? This should be relatively easy to confirm, no more difficult than trying on a new shirt.

 

[TheBloke]

Photos for sure. If you hover the HS above the current mounting holes, do they line up? Does the HS meet the CPU? Will screws have any effect securing the HS? This should be relatively easy to confirm, no more difficult than trying on a new shirt.

Thanks so much for your fast reply!

I have tested putting the new mounting bracket (from the Thermalright HS) in position over the existing Asetek backplate, and screwing it down with the new Thermalright screws. The screw holes match, the Thermalright screws go in all the way, and hold the bracket in very firmly.

I haven't yet done the full test with the new HS in place, because to do that I have to basically just install it into the existing backplate and I wanted to check before going the full way (both because that's fiddly to install, and in case there was any problem.) But that would be the next thing I will do if you think these pictures look fine!

Hopefully you can see from the photos that the installed Asetek backplate looks pretty similar to the new Thermalright backplate - if you compare the first and third photos. Certainly the screw holes are in identical positions (wouldn't they have to be, as that's fixed by the LGA 1366 spec?)


Here's the pictures (click for larger):

The mounting kit supplied with new HS, the Thermalright:



The existing installed Asetek backplate, with the new Thermalright bracket resting on top of it (screw holes match):



Back of the installed Asetek backplate, rear of motherboard:




Thanks again for your response!

 

[Robert17]

Looks like a match to me. Next test, hover the HS over the mount points and simply settle the HS onto the CPU. Eyeball, test one of your spring-loaded screws. If it feels happy, you're in business. I understand your concerns but this is just matching and mating parts, not brain surgery. It looks like you'll be fine.

 

[m0r7if3r]

I might be concerned about the pressure exerted on the bracket by the TRUE. The TRUE's bracket is metal, whether that's for a reason or not is difficult to say, but I'd imagine it is. The Asetek bracket is plastic.

I'm guessing that the Asetek bracket is just stuck on there from having been on there so long. Try pushing on the screw studs from the CPU side of the board (gently at first) and see if you can determine why it's still on there.

 

[Robert17]

↑ This is a good thought as well. I didn't pick up on the plasticity of the current bracket, but it matters. A lot.