Custom PC - UK (2020-01)

transparentplasticplugsthroughtheholes.

You’llthenneedtopushdowntheblackplastic

partinoneoftheplugs,and turnit tosecureit in

place.Repeatthisstepwiththeplugdiagonally

oppositetheoneyou’vejustdone,thendo

theothertwo.Youcanthenplugthecooler’s

powercableintotheCPUfanheader.

INSTALLMEMORY

Checkyourmotherboardmanualtofind

outwhichDIMMslotsyouneedtouseto

enabledual-channelmode.Byinstallingtwo

memorymodulesinthismode,ratherthan

justonemodule,youcangeta performance

boost,asthetwomoduleswillinterleaveand

giveyoumorebandwidth.

Placeyourmotherboardona firmflat

surface,thenflipbacktheclipsonthesides

of the memory slots you want to use. Some

motherboards only have a clip on one side of

the slot, while some have one on either side,

but the basic principle here is the same.

Once any clips are flipped down, look at

the pins on the underside of your memory

module and see where the notch is located.

Line up the position of the notch with the

corresponding slot to gauge which way

around you need to install your memory –

it will only go in the right way.

Place the memory into the plastic slot’s

surround, making sure the edges are both

inside the area next to the clips. Push down

firmly on the memory module to push it into

the slot, which will force up the clips to grip it.

thehandleslightly,andliftit outandupto
loosenthesocket.Youcanthenliftupthe
metalplate,andplaceyourCPUinthesocket.
Therearenotchestoensureyoucanonly
installit therightwayaround,butyoucanalso
getit rightfirsttimebyliningupthetriangle-
labelledpin1 corners,aswithAMDCPUs.Once
theCPUis inthesocket,flipthemetalplate
backdownagain,withthenotchesontheend
goingoneithersideofthemotherboard’s
holdingscrew.Youcanthenpushdownthe
handletosecuretheCPUinplace.

FITCOOLER
Atthisstage,youonlywanttoquicklytestyour
coreconfiguration,sowerecommendfitting
thestockcoolermadebyIntelorAMDthat
comesintheretailboxesforsomeretailCPUs,

rather than faffing with a more involved cooler

mounting mechanism. If you don’t have a stock

cooler (irritatingly, a lot of Intel retail boxes no

longer come with them), you’ll instead need

to check the instructions for your chosen CPU

cooler and fit it now (see p81).

You may also need to apply some thermal

paste at this point, to fill the microscopic pores

intheCPUheatspreaderandyourcooler’s

contactplate,andtofillanygapswhere

thesesurfacesaren’tcompletelyflat.AMD

andIntel’sstockcoolersoftencomewitha

layerofthermalpastescreenprintedonto

theheatsink,inwhichcaseyoucanskipthis

step.However,if youneedtoapplyyourown

thermalpaste,you’llneedtoputit directly

ontotheCPUyourself.Wehavea fullguideto

thermalpasteonourwebsiteatcustompc.

co.uk/worldofgoo, butwe’lltakeyouthrough

thebasicsheretoo.

ForAMDCPUs,applya crossshapefrom

cornertocorneracrosstheheatspreader.ForIntel

CPUs,a linedownthemiddleoftheheatspreader

is best.Whenyourcooler’scontactpointpresses

ontotheCPU,thepressurewillspreadthepaste

acrosstheheatspreader.

AMD’sAM4stockcoolersareprettyeasy

toinstall.Therearetwoplasticbrackets

oneithersideofyourCPUsocket,andtwo

correspondingmetalhooksoneithersideof

thecooler,oneofwhichwillhavea handle.

Orientateyourcoolersothatthepowercableis

asneartoyourmotherboard’s‘CPUfan’power

headeraspossible.

Placethehookwithouta handleovertheclip

onthenearestplasticbracket.Oncethat’sin

place,makesurethehandleontheothermetal

hookis intheloosesetting,andplaceitshook

overtheother

bracket’sclip.Youcan

then push down the

handle to secure the

cooler in place, and

plug the power

cable into the

CPU fan header.

Intel’s LGA1151

stock coolers aren’t

too hard to install

either. There will be

four holes on the

motherboard around

the CPU socket, and

four corresponding

plastic plugs on the

cooler. Push the

FEATURE / CUSTOMISATION

Apply thermal paste to AM4 CPUs in a cross shape

Flip back the clips next on the DIMM slots you

want to use

Push firmly on the memory module until the clips

flip up to grip it

Install your CPU’s stock cooler if it has
one, and connect it to the CPU fan power
header on your motherboard