Installation
First thing you will need to do is remove the fan. This is accomplished by simply removing the fours screws holding the fan to the cooler. There will be a cross bracket that goes over the heatsink. That part is held in place with a small notch in the center of the bracket. The bracket does not snap into place so there is the possibility of the bracket falling off if you tilt the cooler to much while installing the cooler to the CPU. Next attach correct mounting brackets and washers to your chosen backplate. From there add the thermal paste to the CPU and (this is where a magnetic screw driver comes in handy) slowly guide the cooler directly over the CPU making sure the screws for the bracket are going to line up. Once you have the cooler setting on top the CPU grab the mounting screws and get both started and simply tighten them till they bottom out at an even rate. The Cooler has two square cut outs that make getting to the screws super easy. Not having to angle the screwdriver or use a 90 degree screwdriver made for a stress less install. Finally put the fan back on and you are ready to go!
Finished Looks
As you can see in the pictures the fan takes up most of the clearance dimensions, so if you mounted a slim fan this cooler could fit into some really tight areas. One thing that may arise is the clearance between the cooler and the Northbridge heatsink. Some motherboards have taller Northbridge heatsinks and that could be a serious issue. Clearances around all the other components were more than plenty and I do not perceive any issues with ram as there was enough room to accommodate for ram that has a big heatsink.
Now let us see how the PH-TC12LS performs!
