This time, we are going to show you how to install your Intel CPU using LGA 1156 or 1155 as fast as possible. Either the first step is to find a little golden triangle on your CPU and align that with the little plastic triangle on the cover, or once you remove the cover, the metal triangle that is on the CPU socket itself.
In the next step, push the retention arm lever down, pull away from the socket, and then it will release itself. You can then pull it up and move the hold down bracket out of the way. after that remembering where the gold triangle, points, place don't press, place the CPU into the socket giving it a slight wiggle just to ensure that it is seated correctly. Lower the hold down plate making sure that it actually sets under the screw to hold it. Then lower the retention arm so you feel some resistance, brace yourself because this does take a little bit a force. Push it down all the way, pull out, and then make sure that it has pinned by the hook on the retention plate.
The heat sink included with your CPU comes with a quality thermal compound pre-applied; however, there is a trick with these pushpin style heat sinks and that is if you are using it. You not only need to reapply new thermal compound but watch out for these arrows on the heat sinks pins. You can see that they do rotate 90 degrees so I am going to turn in the direction of the arrow. Turning at the direction where the arrow points to optimizes it for removal. Turning it away from that direction optimizes it for installation. Therefore, you want to make sure they will their all turned clockwise before we install it. When positioning the heat sink over the socket, make sure that the plastic can just stick through all four holes in the motherboard. The easiest way to check this is to rotate the heat sink a little bit and see if all of the pins are in position. If they do, then they should all be through the holes.
You also want to make sure that you have enough slack on the CPU fan wire to reach the CPU fan header on your motherboard. The safest way to tighten the heat sink on is to apply force on opposite corners at the same time. There are two ways to tell that the installation was successful. Number one is to listen for the distinctive click. The other way is to flip the board over and make sure that the black plastic sticks out as far as the white plastic. If it does not, it is possible that you have to tighten it a little bit.
These Intel heat sinks often come with the fan wires wrapped in such a way that the fan blades cannot move unless you loosen it, so take them out. What I often do is twisting up, tucked them away somewhere safe, and then plugging them into the labeled CPU fan header on the motherboard.
