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The installation of the TherMax Eclipse II is not difficult but it does require some time and the motherboard has to be removed from the case, even if the motherboard tray is cut open behind the CPU area. The pre-installed retention bracket on the cooler is ready for use with socket 775/1156/1366 Intel processors and with socket AM2/939 AMD processors. Socket AM3 AMD processor owners will have to install two additional brackets on the stock bracket.
The backplate is universal for all sockets, you only have to install the screws and secure them with the nuts on the correct holes of the backplate for your CPU socket. The end user has to make sure that the plastic coated side of the backplate will be the one touching the back of your motherboard and sadly there is no warning about this.
With the plastic coating being entirely invisible as well, we can only hope that not many people will install the backplate with the metallic side touching the back of their motherboards.
After placing a small amount of thermal paste on the CPU and the backplate behind the motherboard the user only has to carefully place the cooler on the CPU, aligning the screws with the holes on the retention bracket of the cooler. Afterwards the cooler can be secured into place with the four provided spring thumbscrews.
Unfortunately it is impossible to use a screwdriver when installing the cooler on anything else but an Intel processor and the screws have to be tightened as tight as possible by hand. Even when installing the cooler on an Intel processor the user need a very long reach flat heat screwdriver, which many people are highly unlikely to possess.
This is why the motherboard will have to be removed from any case in order to ensure the safe installation of the cooler. Furthermore, the Intel-oriented part of the retention bracket might cause compatibility problems when installing on an AMD processor since they extrude towards the sides of the socket. There were no compatibility problems whatsoever when we installed the cooler on our Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P motherboard.
After the massive cooler is installed on the motherboard, one or both 120mm cooling fans have to be installed. The installation of the fans is an easy process. By installing four rubber studs on the fan mounting holes, the fans can be secured on the cooler by inserting the rubber stud inside the cooler fin cuts.
It may be a little difficult to install and remove the fans, however it is a secure method and will reduce the vibrations coming from the spinning fan. The installation of the fan might block access to the RAM slots of certain motherboards, therefore we recommend installing you RAM prior to the installation of the fans.
