Water Block Installation
Because our cooling system came with an LGA 775-ready water block, the first thing we needed to do was swap one of the installed components for an “also-included” component of Swiftech’s H20-220 liquid cooling kit. We began by removing the cooling plate (center) from the LGA 775 base (right) along with several screws.
Three seals need to be pulled from the LGA 775 base and pushed into the corresponding groves of the AMD base. The first one, photographed above, seals the cooling plate to the base while the other two, photographed below, seal the base to the pump body.
Reassembly is as easy as replacing the screws in the same order that they came out. More details can be found in an included manual, if needed, though our photos are a little easier to decipher.
The CPU was then installed into the socket and layered with thermal paste. Notice that we also removed the top portion of the CPU cooler mount from the motherboard, in preparation for the next step.
Swiftech’s Socket AM2 mounting kit (used on Socket AM3 this time) includes four spacers, four screws, and four lock washers. Deep-offset nuts on our motherboard’s plastic cooler support plate prevented the intended screws from reaching, but Swiftech’s cooling kit did include some slightly longer screws, which sufficed.
The four plastic spacers were then set over the four screw holes, followed by the CPU water block assembly. Screws hold the block tight against the CPU, while lock washers prevent loosening.
