Cooler Adapter

The 15h.org Cooler Adapter is an adapter designed to allow an inexpensive modern CPU cooler (the Thermalright Assassin King 120 SE) to be installed on a Socket G34 motherboard. This cooler can be purchased new for approximately $20 USD from multiple retailers, and is rated to cool a TDP of up to 235W. Its large, wide base is capable of covering both dies of a G34 CPU, and its heat pipe arrangement makes it well-suited for use on dense dual- and quad-socket motherboards.

The Cooler Adapter is currently under development. If you would like to test a "beta" kit on your board and report results, ask in the 15h.org Matrix room.

Installation

Cooler Requirement

In addition to your Cooler Adapter kit, purchase a Thermalright Assassin King 120 SE. ARGB on the included fan is optional and is probably not supported natively on any G34 board, but they are commonly only available with ARGB.

Cooler Modifications

As delivered, the Thermalright Assassin King 120 SE has a mounting bar held onto its block by a large, flat thumb screw at the center of the bar (underneath the fin stack), and it has two spring-loaded Philips-headed nuts, retained in the mounting bar by one snap ring each. The snap rings are on the bottom of the mounting bar, around the shaft of each nut.

1. For better access, unclip the fan from the cooler.
2. Cut both snap rings off using wirecutters or sidecutters, allowing the nuts (and their springs) to lift out of the stock mounting bar. Discard snap rings.
3. Use a pair of pliers or small vise-grips to loosen the large central thumb screw - it can be quite tight.
4. Remove the thumb screw with your fingers.
5. If you wish to use the cooler with its stock mounting hardware (on a non-G34 socket) again in the future, simply reinstall the stock mounting bar and continue to use the Philips-headed nuts and their springs. The snap rings are not necessary when the cooler is installed, and serve only to prevent the nuts falling out of the bar when the cooler is not mounted.

Mounting Bar Assembly

1. Place the new aluminum mounting bar (included with the cooler adapter kit) in the slot in the cooler's block where the stock mounting bar sat. If your new mounting bar has a thinner (cutout) section in its center, point the cutout upwards, towards the fin stack.
2. Using the large thumb screw that came with the cooler, screw down the new mounting bar through its middle hole.
3. Tighten the thumb screw using pliers or small vise-grips.

Assembly on the Socket

1. Install your CPU in its socket according to your motherboard's manual.
2. Place the adapter kit's mounting bracket on the motherboard, with the text on it facing upwards, and with its two "feet" resting over the two mounting nuts built into your G34 socket's backplate.
3. Ensure the threads of the two M3 screws preinstalled in your bracket are pointing straight upwards (the cooler will attach to these).
4. Ensure the bottoms of the "feet" are sitting flat on the board, and that no components (VRMs, parts of the socket, etc) are contacting the bracket.
5. Using a hex key or a Torx screwdriver, tighten the two included 6-32 socket-head screws, attaching the bracket to the motherboard. Ensure the bracket is attached firmly.
6. Apply thermal paste to your CPU.
7. Lower your modified cooler, with its new mounting bar installed, over the bracket. Let the two threads that point upwards from the bracket pass through the two remaining holes on the new mounting bar.
8. Gently thread the two Philips-headed nuts down onto the threads in the bracket, through their springs, and then through the holes in the mounting bar.
9. Using a Philips screwdriver, tighten the nuts. Do not overtorque and risk damage to the board or bracket - a properly-installed cooler should have a 2-3mm gap between the top surface of the bracket and the bottom surface of the mounting bar. Stop when the screw feels firm and the springs have compressed in length by approximately 1.5mm.
10. Ensure the cooler is firmly attached to the board.
11. Reattach the fan to the cooler, and plug it into the appropriate CPU fan header on the board.