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[SOLVED] nh d15 help

Haxorx21

Honorable
Dec 14, 2015
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10,630
Hey everyone,
I bought a bunch of new parts for a build and got a new motherboard as well which is the z390 aorus ultra. However, I also got an nh-d15 for cooling but that thing will not mount no matter what I do.
In all the videos I see of it, the heatsink mounts with very little force and just "works" but my side spring screws/nuts will not catch onto the threaded part of the bracket around the cpu socket. I have tried putting more force onto it to the point of where I felt it would break and nothing. I feel the springs are extremely tight though as with a lot of pressure on it with my thumb, it goes down only a few millimeters at best.
The most I have gotten is one side to start threading if I push it down on that side and I cant get the other to catch from there.
from looking at noctuas page I have some questions with this as well:
https://noctua.at/en/nh-d15/comp on that page it says my mobo is compatible, but on their main compatibility guide: https://noctua.at/en/mainboard/Gigabyte_Z390_Aorus_Ultra it shows to only support the nh u12a.
I hope someone can help me as I cannot use any of these parts until I can get that mounted or I buy a new cooler.
 
Solution
Nope, sounds about right for the secufirm2 mounting. When the cooler is placed on the cpu, the bridge should be sitting right on top of the upwards facing screws. Get 3 or so turns on one side, then switch to the other. Use a screwdriver. Motherboard should be flat and supported underneath. It's one of the easiest mounts to use.

Yes, the springs are tight, but they are that way for a reason. But you will need to barely start one side before moving, then 2-3 turns each side until the screws stop. Just make sure the screws are straight, if you tighten one side too much at first, the second screw will be out of alignment and you'll crossthread it.

View: https://youtu.be/G0mDubVwZuw
Sounds like you put the left/right retention brackets on upside down or the plastic socket cover is still on or the cooler/heatpipes are coming into contact with heatsinks/ram.

All lga motherbords must meet certain criteria, and the socket area is absolutely identical for every single board. The socket retention clips are all the same dimensions, the bracket mounting holes are all the same dimensions, it doesn't matter if its lga 1155 or 1156 or 1150 or 1151. Identical. So there's no question whatsoever of compatibility, if it fits LGA 11xx series, it fits anything, including your motherboard.

Compatibity is for 'outside' the socket area , where some coolers are so large in dimension that they impede on oversized VRM heatsinks or the backplates of some gpus or the first 2 ram slots.
 
Sounds like you put the left/right retention brackets on upside down or the plastic socket cover is still on.

All lga motherbords must meet certain criteria, and the socket area is absolutely identical for every single board. The socket retention clips are all the same dimensions, the bracket mounting holes are all the same dimensions, it doesn't matter if its lga 1155 or 1156 or 1150 or 1151. Identical. So there's no question whatsoever of compatibility, if it fits LGA 11xx series, it fits anything, including your motherboard.

Compatibity is for 'outside' the socket area , where some coolers are so large in dimension that they impede on oversized VRM heatsinks or the backplates of some gpus or the first 2 ram slots.
thanks for the response.
I followed the instructions to a T and as far as I can tell it is all fine. the bracket is on the back of the motherboard as normal placed over the cpu socket plate, the plastic "Standoffs" put over each of the protruding points on the main side of the board and then the metal mounting bars shaped like a C both facing up with the protruding threaded part up. when placed on my cpu, the heatsink does sit on the two threaded parts as I cant fully rotate the heatsink when its placed on but they refuse to actually thread. again I feel like the springs are way too tight but I could be doing something wrong and no the plastic has been removed from the heatsink
 
Sounds like you put the left/right retention brackets on upside down or the plastic socket cover is still on or the cooler/heatpipes are coming into contact with heatsinks/ram.

All lga motherbords must meet certain criteria, and the socket area is absolutely identical for every single board. The socket retention clips are all the same dimensions, the bracket mounting holes are all the same dimensions, it doesn't matter if its lga 1155 or 1156 or 1150 or 1151. Identical. So there's no question whatsoever of compatibility, if it fits LGA 11xx series, it fits anything, including your motherboard.

Compatibity is for 'outside' the socket area , where some coolers are so large in dimension that they impede on oversized VRM heatsinks or the backplates of some gpus or the first 2 ram slots.
sorry for double reply, but you said "Sounds like you put the left/right retention brackets on upside down" are there multiple ways for them to go and is there a dedicated left/right/up/down bracket or is it just either or as long as they are facing the right way such as curved side pointed out.
 
Nope, sounds about right for the secufirm2 mounting. When the cooler is placed on the cpu, the bridge should be sitting right on top of the upwards facing screws. Get 3 or so turns on one side, then switch to the other. Use a screwdriver. Motherboard should be flat and supported underneath. It's one of the easiest mounts to use.

Yes, the springs are tight, but they are that way for a reason. But you will need to barely start one side before moving, then 2-3 turns each side until the screws stop. Just make sure the screws are straight, if you tighten one side too much at first, the second screw will be out of alignment and you'll crossthread it.

View: https://youtu.be/G0mDubVwZuw
 
Solution

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