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ARCTIC state in their instructions to apply the thermal glue generously to the components on the card. I have to admit I felt happier applying the glue to the bottom of the heatsinks directly. This means it is less likely to get all over the card.
Above, the heatsinks glued in place. Note the smaller heatsink on the bottom memory chip, positioned at the outside. As we explained earlier this is to ensure the cooler mounting plate won't get obstructed.
Various parts of the card can accept heatsinks, as shown above. Be careful when positioning the heatsinks as some of the surface areas are very small. Again we always applied paste to the bottom of the heatsinks, rather than directly to card components as stated in the instructions. It leads to a cleaner install.
Every PCB design will be slightly different, but our reference HD7970 looked like the above, when finished. At this stage you need to wait for a further 5 hours for the glue to completely dry. We left the card overnight and it was ready in the morning.
Carefully line up the PCB with the cooler mounting plate, ensuring you don't hit against any of the heatsinks on the memory (take your time closing the base in). Then feed the screws from the backplate through from the back of the card, to the front and into the mounting plate as detailed earlier. This can take a few minutes.
As a last minute precaution, ensure you adhered the foam pad to the ARCTIC back plate before screwing it, otherwise you can fry the card.
Don't forget to attach the fans to the power connector, or use a molex cable with the ARCTIC adapter.
Finally mount the cooler by screwing in alternatively. So screw A first (3 rotations) , then follow with B, then C, then D. Repeat until they are all in tight.
Overall, this certainly isn't an easy process for an inexperienced enthusiast user, but if you take time and follow all the steps carefully, the card can be ready for action next day.
