StarTech.com 95mm CPU Cooler Fan with Heatsink for Socket LGA1156/1155 - w/Pulse Width Modulation

I have always found StarTech products to be good quality, and this item is no exception. The fan and heat sink are slightly larger than the Intel assembly that came with the processor.Executive summary: you don't have to remove your motherboard to install the retainer plate.A note about installation: when I saw pictures of this product I was unsure about how to install the plate that contains the screw holes. The included retainer plate mounts under the motherboard's base plate, and the screws are long enough to protrude through the motherboard and its base plate to make contact with the retainer panel.

I got 2 of these heat sinks to cool the load transistors in a DIY DC load kit that I built. The transistors can pass about 25 amps each (x4), so these heat sinks need to handle a fair amount of heat (~100W). The fans generate a lot of cooling and the heat sinks get pretty warm, but they work really well. And for $12 they are pretty reasonable.

Originally sent a negative review last week because I could not get the pins to go into the holes of my 775 board. It turns out the fan's pins were shipped in the "installed" configuration rather than "ready to install", and I was not familiar with these pin types. After some work I was able to get the pins set up right. An instruction manual would have been helpful for us novices so I could spot the problem. Otherwise all seems good and it did ship with a small packet of thermal paste.

I just recieved my heatsink and fan today through amazon.com. So far I must say that I am impressed with it, as far as a heatsink and fan go. It is built solid, fits into my 478 socket perfectly, and plugged right in. It came with two clamps that hold the heatsink and fan in place, and it is seated firmly with nothing loose. The fan does look smaller than what I had expected, but the design is great and I don't forsee any problems with the smaller size. It covers the heatsink well enough for good circulation. This heatsink also comes with a packet of heat sink compound paste to apply to the processor - which I wish was more obvious on the product so I did not have to buy a seperate tube of this thinking it did not come with. Overall a good heatsink and fan, and for the price I can't imagine anything better.