Cooler Installation Angle

[hugin7]

I received my new PC, which was assembled by a third-party vendor, with a cooler installed at an odd angle, making it appear crooked.  The cooler, Noctua NH-D15, is a large one. My case is Phanteks Enthoo Pro.

Is it normal to install this cooler at an angle due to space constraints, or am I looking at a problem with installation or shipping? Also, does this have an impact on the cooler’s performance, potentially limiting my overclocking potential?

The cooler is locked firmly in place. I’m unable to budge it or see behind it.

Please see pictures below. They are also embedded directly a few posts below.

http://imgur.com/a/dIz8S

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

With that case there should be no reason to have it on an angle , can you show us a pic.

 

[nzalog]

Are the heatpipes pressing against anything on the board? Some of the large noctua coolers have a offset, meaning they take up more space on one side than the other. Try to turn the cooler around completely (180 degrees) from where it is now.

...and for sure a picture will help.

 

[hugin7]

Thanks for the feedback, I just updated the OP with additional info and a link to images.

 

[hugin7]

Got the images to show up directly:

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Very strange that it is tipping \ tilted like that.

 

[nzalog]

Could you take off the heatsink, take picture of the mounting brackets around the CPU and the bottom of the heatsink?

 

[nzalog]

Honestly though you may consider removing the fans and while installing just the heatsink look to see if it's hitting anything on the board. There is a chance your cooler has an offset so you can also flip the cooler to see if that fixes the clearance issue.

 

[USAFRet]

I would take it off to verify the installation.
That does not look right.

 

[nzalog]

Sorry I missed that you had this prebuilt. To take off the fans you simply unhook those metal wires looking things on the side of the heatsink. That is all that is holding the fans in place. Next to remove the heatsink there is two screws under the middle fan.

 

[hugin7]

Here’s another shot with one of the fans out for a better look at the board… That first fan gave me quite a wrestling match, so I wussed out of trying to do the same with the second one, which is in tight quarters. I may try again once I have more time, depending on the feedback I get from the vendor.

 

[hugin7]

I checked the thermals of the PC and it appears that this is more than just a cosmetic issue. The CPU reaches 79 degrees Celsius from normal operation (not a stress test) at stock settings (no overclocking). My understanding is that this is beyond the safe guideline of 75 degrees for my i7 7700k processor. I purchased a high-end cooler, Noctua NH-D15, with the expectation of significant overclocking, but it appears that I am unable to get safe temperatures even at stock settings.

 

[USAFRet]

I checked the thermals of the PC and it appears that this is more than just a cosmetic issue. The CPU reaches 79 degrees Celsius from normal operation (not a stress test) at stock settings (no overclocking). My understanding is that this is beyond the safe guideline of 75 degrees for my i7 7700k processor. I purchased a high-end cooler, Noctua NH-D15, with the expectation of significant overclocking, but it appears that I am unable to get safe temperatures even at stock settings.

That cooler is not mounted properly, and is not contacting the CPU properly.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I checked the thermals of the PC and it appears that this is more than just a cosmetic issue. The CPU reaches 79 degrees Celsius from normal operation (not a stress test) at stock settings (no overclocking). My understanding is that this is beyond the safe guideline of 75 degrees for my i7 7700k processor. I purchased a high-end cooler, Noctua NH-D15, with the expectation of significant overclocking, but it appears that I am unable to get safe temperatures even at stock settings.

That cooler is not mounted properly, and is not contacting the CPU properly.

I have owned 2 of the D14's and can say 100% that it's not mounted correctly.

 

[hugin7]

For those of you curious about who the installation vendor is, it’s NCIXUS. They are finally starting to respond to my support request, but their initial guess is that my middle fan bracket got loose during shipping. As many of you are suggesting, my fans appear perfectly secure but the entire heatsink is out of alignment.

Let’s see how they handle the request. I have a sinking (no pun intended) feeling that they will want me to send the PC back, since they are a small shop and probably lack on-site support. I might have to decide whether it’s less trouble to mount the cooler myself.