[SOLVED] Need urgent help. NH-U12s screws won't tighten

[marshen]

I purchased a Noctua NH-U12s black for my Ryzen 5 3600 but the spring screws won't tighten. I've used the grey spacers and the correct am4 brackets but it doesn't work.
What am I doing wrong? Any help would be appreciated thanks!

Motherboard - MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX
CPU- AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Cooler- Noctua NH-U12s chromaxx.black

 

[stonecarver]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kT2d83iAF0
This seems to be on an intel board so brackets might be slightly different but maybe something on video will help you out.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DOcYd-Zwc8

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8-o9m-OP3E

 

[marshen]

Hi, I've seen quite a lot of the installation videos and in each video the screws connect with the bracket quite easily. What I've noticed is the heatsink won't screw in when I use the grey spacers that the manual tells me to use for AM4 sockets. However when I use the white spacers which the manual says is for AM2(+)/AM3(+)/FM1/FM2, the heatsink fits perfectly fine with no issues. A thing to note is that the white spacers are slightly taller than the grey ones.

 

[xeddiex]

I purchased a Noctua NH-U12s black for my Ryzen 5 3600 but the spring screws won't tighten. I've used the grey spacers and the correct am4 brackets but it doesn't work.
What am I doing wrong? Any help would be appreciated thanks!

Motherboard - MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX
CPU- AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Cooler- Noctua NH-U12s chromaxx.black

I used to have a U12S for my previous build and I had the similar issue as well.
Then I found it easier by applying some force towards the spring screw and the bracket while screwing it down.

 

[marshen]

I used to have a U12S for my previous build and I had the similar issue as well.
Then I found it easier by applying some force towards the spring screw and the bracket while screwing it down.

Hi, I used the slightly taller white spacers (which are meant to be used for AM2(+)/AM3(+)/FM1/FM2 sockets) and the heatsink screwed in quite easily. With the grey spacers, I tried applying a lot of pressure but it still wouldn't catch the brackets. If I applied pressure to try and catch one side, the heatsink would topple and it'd become impossible to reach the other side. Any more pressure and I'm sure the motherboard would get damaged!
I've been using it for a couple days now and everything seems fine. The heatsink is attached firmly on to the bracket and the thermal performance is really good (63C max during a 1hr Prime95 test) which indicates good contact with the CPU.

 

[Apophis2k]

If mods think my response is better off in a separate thread, please feel free to move it.

I am having a similar problem so I think there's something sketchy with the AM4 boards and backplate / cooler compatibility.

Anyways, I just received my AM4 upgrade kit for Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO and tried to install it to my Ryzen 3600, just to find out that the mobo's backplate doesn't tighten all the way in. My motherboard is MSI X570-A Pro.

When I screw the spacers in as far as they go the backplate still has many centimeters of room to move around and the install is really loose. Even the Cooler Master's tightening tool won't help, I simply cannot screw the spacers any tighter. I wouldn't risk even trying to install the cooler like that.

The upgrade kit came with a new X-mount for the cooler and (supposedly) AM4 compatible spacers and nothing else. I also tried the original spacers that came with the cooler but they don't even fit the AM4 backplate.

 

[Mr.Spock]

did you install the backplate upside down?

If mods think my response is better off in a separate thread, please feel free to move it.

I am having a similar problem so I think there's something sketchy with the AM4 boards and backplate / cooler compatibility.

Anyways, I just received my AM4 upgrade kit for Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO and tried to install it to my Ryzen 3600, just to find out that the mobo's backplate doesn't tighten all the way in. My motherboard is MSI X570-A Pro.

When I screw the spacers in as far as they go the backplate still has many centimeters of room to move around and the install is really loose. Even the Cooler Master's tightening tool won't help, I simply cannot screw the spacers any tighter. I wouldn't risk even trying to install the cooler like that.

The upgrade kit came with a new X-mount for the cooler and (supposedly) AM4 compatible spacers and nothing else. I also tried the original spacers that came with the cooler but they don't even fit the AM4 backplate.

 

[Apophis2k]

did you install the backplate upside down?

No, but I tried that too and that way you can't even screw the spacers in place.

 

[Apophis2k]

Well, I reinvestigated the problem and I think I'd need another Cooler Master backplate. For some reason my current one isn't compatible with AM4 (upside down either) and the AM4 upgrade kit did not come with a back plate... weird. What's going on?

So the problem is:

-The parts that came with the AM4 upgrade kit for my Cooler Master 212 EVO do not fit the stock backplate of my X570-A Pro

-I have a Cooler Master backplate that came with the EVO but that doesn't fit the stand off scew holes of my motherboard

 

[Apophis2k]

Well I found the solution to my problem and now I feel stupid. The 212 EVO actually does fit with the AM4 backplate with the upgrade kit. The support screws just don't tighten all the way in until you actually screw the cooler in place.

Amateur mistake, I haven't done cooler replacing more than once or twice, however with my old Intel system it seemed a bit more straightforward.