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1. Getting Started

Unplug all cables from the PC and place it on a clean work surface with plenty of room for manoeuvre. Do not work on a carpet, (especially not a carpet containing nylon), as static electricity can damage electronic components. If you have an anti-static wristband then wear it. Remove the case cover and locate the processor (CPU). Disconnect its fan from the motherboard, making a note of where it went. Remove the whole processor by pulling it upward. Some motherboards have clips on the plastic runners at each end of the CPU which may need to be pulled back or depressed. Once you have the processor out, place it safely on your desk.

Next, find (and remove if necessary), a case screw - yes just one. You'll see why we need it later! The size of screw needs to be similar to those which hold your PC case cover on, so if you are able to use one of those then that's perfect. If not, or if you have a clip-on cover, just remove a screw holding an expansion card or card blanking plate in place. You should now have the four items pictured on the left: the CPU, the new Radial Fin cooler, the mounting clip and a single screw.

2. Preparing to remove the plastic clips

To begin with, if your processor has a fan cover on its heatsink, it must be removed. The processor in the picture has a heatsink without an integral fan, so yours may look a little different. The fan cover (if you have one) is held in place by two little tabs at either end of the housing. Apply a little pressure and it will pop off.

Next, note that the existing cooler on your processor is fixed in place by two plastic clips each of which has two "legs". These clips pass through the heatsink and lock into the plastic back plate, sandwiching the processor in the middle. In order to remove the old cooler, we must remove the plastic clips holding it on. Unfortunately they weren't designed to be easily removed, and removing them with a pliers or other such tool inevitably breaks them. This doesn't really matter since the Radial Fin cooler comes with a much better mounting mechanism anyway, but it's always nice to have the option to go back to the old cooler if necessary. This is where the trick with the screw comes in!

Place your screw (head down) on a hard surface. The screw should be exactly the right size to fit down the holes in the back plate and press the plastic clips out. To get started, position one leg hole in the processor assembly directly above the upturned screw, as shown in the photograph.

3. Popping out the first leg of the first clip

Now, after making sure that the screw is exactly aligned with the hole, press down firmly on the processor heatsink in order to press the screw hard into the hole. Make sure you press on the heatsink, not the plastic clip! This process usually requires a great deal of effort, so apply force progressively harder if necessary. Eventually the screw will fully enter the hole, pushing out one leg of the plastic clip and making a bang! This is nothing to worry about, since the PCB is protected from the screw by the back plate.

4. One plastic clip leg has been removed

This picture shows what you should now have on your desk. Note that the screw has moved up fully into the back plate, and in doing this, the nearest half of the left hand clip has been removed from the assembly. It is no longer holding the heatsink in place.

5. Removing the screw

It's time to retrieve our trusty screw! Simply use a screwdriver to unscrew it from the back plate. If your screw is slightly smaller than the one in the pictures then it may even just fall out without needing to be unscrewed.

6. Fully removing one plastic clip

Repeat the process for the other side of the plastic clip, and you will be able to completely remove it, as shown.

7. Heatsink removed!

After you have removed the two legs on the other plastic clip, you will be able to completely remove the noisy inefficient old heatsink. The photograph shows what you will end up with. The plastic clips are not needed for the Radial Fin product, so you can store them away with the old cooler, in case you ever need them again; for warranty reasons or otherwise.

8. Preparing the Radial Fin™ cooler

If your cooler has a thin plastic protective tab like the one shown in the picture, pull it off to reveal the thermal interface compound beneath. If your cooler has a black metal pad at its centre (not shown) then do not remove it - this pad should be left in place as it is. In either case, the thermal interface material ensures a good thermal connection to the processor, for maximum heat transfer. Without it, cooling efficiency would be impaired. If you prefer to use your own type of thermal compound then now is the time to apply it, but the supplied material will work perfectly well on its own if left as is.

9. Putting it all together

Attaching the new cooler to the processor is simplicity itself. Simply guide the four pegs through the holes in the PCB and through the backplate. You may need to wiggle the heatsink to get it aligned properly, as it is a firm fit. IMPORTANT: Ensure the arrow which is engraved on the main plate of the cooler is pointing downward. If you get this wrong, the processor will not fully plug into its socket on the motherboard and the computer will fail to boot.

10. Affixing the clip

The attachment clip is used to hold the heatsink firmly to the processor. Place the clip over the four pegs of the cooler so that each peg goes through a hole. It can take a little fiddling to get all four pegs in the holes at the same time, and some pressure may be needed to compress the assembly. Sometimes two pairs of hands can make things easier. Once all four holes are filled, slide the clip sideways so that it fully engages and locks into position. Note that the pegs do not travel fully to the end of each slot; they sit in their final location approximately 2mm from the end of the slots.

11. The finished article!

If your processor looks like this, you've finished - well done! It can now be re-installed into the slot on the motherboard, and the fan wire re-connected. Examine the processor thoroughly after installing it to ensure that it is fully seated in its correct position. Only when you are satisfied that it is correctly installed and the fan connected, should you switch the computer back on. That's all there is to it! Remember to return the famous screw to from wherever it came and enjoy the quiet! Not only will your processor run almost silently, but it is likely to run cooler too, which will prolong its working life.