Question Cryorig R1 Mounting Screw Came Loose on Mounting Bracket

[jgritton912]

I'm building a new PC, first time I've ever built one from scratch. I'm nearly finished but I've ran into a couple snags. One is that I may have bent some of the pins in the CPU socket (gonna have a friend help me out to see if it's salvageable) but the other—which I think is probably what lead to the first issue—is my heatsink. I bought a Cryorig R1, a big beast of a heatsink, but one that still seems to mount onto my motherboard with little issue.

he trouble began when I was trying to mount it on top of the CPU (Intel i9, in case you're wondering). I had trouble lining the screws up and I moved the heat sink around a lot because of it (this was before I realized I could slip one of the fans out for easier access to the screws). This is likely what lead to the bent pins, but another thing that happened was this tiny screw on the bracket that attaches to the back of the metal bit that rests on top of the CPU, which in turn screws into the brackets already attached to the motherboard. Now the purpose of this tiny screw seems to be nothing more than to keep the bracket straight when you screw it into the other brackets, but I have not been able to screw this tiny screw back in. Admittedly it is in a very difficult place to reach with even a small screwdriver and I don't have any special ones that are bent to get around corners, but I could clearly see the screw turn a few times when I was attempting to tighten it, yet no amount of turning seemed to do anything. The screw itself does still slot into the hole, it just comes out very easy. So what I'm wondering is, would it be alright for me to just go ahead and attach the heat sink? As long as I have someone else hold the bracket and screw in place, I should be able to get the main screws into the bracket and keep it firmly held in place. Not to mention I'm not really sure if I want to mess with the trouble of sending this thing back for another one over a part that is more or less redundant when the fan is properly secured.

I'm hoping I can find some other Cryorig R1 users to answer this so they'll have a better time understanding what I'm saying, but if not, I can post pictures to try and show what I'm talking about.

 

[Rogue Leader]

I can post pictures to try and show what I'm talking about.

I think pictures would highly help in this scenario

 

[jgritton912]

Alright, so first off, here is a Cryorig R1 Dual Tower CPU fan:

Now, here is the little screw hole on back of the metal bit that goes on top of the CPU:

Here's the bracket that goes on top of the metal bit. Those big screws on the sides are to secure it to some brackets I secured to the motherboard itself.

And here's the bracket mounted on top of the metal bit. The screw will go down into the hole, seemingly completely, but I have a hard time reaching it with a screwdriver (one of the fans is removable for easier access, but even then it's still difficult to reach), but even when I am able to turn the screw, it does not seem to tighten.

So as stated before, the only purpose of this tiny screw seems to simply keep the bracket in one place as it is being secured. And since it could not even do that without being knocked loose, I'm thinking that it won't affect much if I just go ahead and install the fan with the loose screw, having my friend hold it secure, and once the screws on the side are tightened into place, it should be secure. I have contemplated perhaps securing the screw in there with super glue, but I'm afraid the heat from the CPU may melt the glue and it could potentially cause damage to the circuits.

 

[Rogue Leader]

That little screw is to hold that bracket in place, you could in theory run without it but I wouldn't trust it. Too much opportunity to be able to move around.

Why not install the bracket on the cooler out of the case? Pull the fan out and tighten it up.

 

[jgritton912]

That little screw is to hold that bracket in place, you could in theory run without it but I wouldn't trust it. Too much opportunity to be able to move around.

Why not install the bracket on the cooler out of the case? Pull the fan out and tighten it up.

You mean take the motherboard out of the case and install it? That may be possible. I do recall there being a wide enough opening on the other side of the case, so I could probably remove it without much issue. One thing I do worry about, however, is without the motherboard being screwed into something as heavy as my computer chassis, isn't there more of a chance for it to move around and for more mistakes to be made?

Unless you're saying take the fan out and try to put the little screw back in, I've tried that. Like I said, I can just barely get my screwdriver down in there and I have to put some effort into turning it, but no amount of turning seems to tighten it. As I stated before, using some sort of adhesive to keep it in place could help, but I don't know what kind of effect that might have if it were to melt from the heat of the CPU. I suppose I could use some electric tape or something and remove it after I'm done.

Alternatively, if you are suggesting that I install the fans onto the brackets then install the brackets onto the motherboard, I don't think that'll be possible. The way the brackets work is you first install these brackets on the back of the motherboard, put some screws into tighten them which themselves, have screws on them. I'm not sure if I can put the screws back in with the fan on top, but I'll give it a try.

 

[Rogue Leader]

I'm saying the second thing. Theres a few parts to this cooler. Theres the backing plate which is already there, and there should be 2 brackets that attach to that, from Cryorig. Then there is the cooler and the fixing bracket that goes over it and attaches to the two brackets that are on the motherboard.

SO I'm just saying take the cooler and fixing bracket, remove fans from the cooler, then you need to beg borrow or steal a LONG screwdriver to properly attach that fixing bracket to the cooler with that screw. I know you tried but you're likely not using the right or long enough screwdriver. Right tool for the job and all that.

Go to harbor freight they have every screwdriver you could ever want for a couple bucks each.