I was just reading the review of the Mugen 5 and wondered why people are still bothering to use screws that you screw in from the side of the heatsink? Wouldn't it be much easier to use screws that you screw in from the backplate on the underside? That way you wouldn't have to work around the cooler.
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Why do coolers insist on screwing from the top?
doubletake
Gawd
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- Apr 27, 2013
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Probably for compatibility's sake. Not every case in existence has a cutout on the motherboard tray that would allow enough space for rear-facing mounting hardware to stick out from. Can't really think of any other reason, even though it doesn't seem like a particularly good one since very nearly every modern case out now does have an accommodating motherboard tray.
Araxie
Supreme [H]ardness
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everything depend on type of cooler, there are couple of coolers that are in fact mounted from the backside of the motherboard as is the case in example the Cooler Master N520 as one of the few.
The reason why most coolers are attached from the front of the motherboard is due to make easier the mounting process of the mounting mechanism, you have to screw normally 4 bolts for the backplate and then normally two screws for the mounting mechanism which is what most high-end coolers use for easier, faster and even pressure, that can't absolutely be achieved by the backside of the motherboard you could posssibly only screw the backplate from the back, but nothing else, also it's a worse method for cleaning or replace TIM as you won't have to dissasemble the whole cooler and backplate just to do that, with the typical method you can only detach the cooler and repaste, also at the moment of the installation of a big heavy cooler it's easier to hold the cooler while screwing the bolts so a better TIM contact can be achieved.
Another reason is because a lot (if not all) of the modern high-end intel X series motherboards already have a backplate so only the mounting mechanism with the cooler have to be attached.
The reason why most coolers are attached from the front of the motherboard is due to make easier the mounting process of the mounting mechanism, you have to screw normally 4 bolts for the backplate and then normally two screws for the mounting mechanism which is what most high-end coolers use for easier, faster and even pressure, that can't absolutely be achieved by the backside of the motherboard you could posssibly only screw the backplate from the back, but nothing else, also it's a worse method for cleaning or replace TIM as you won't have to dissasemble the whole cooler and backplate just to do that, with the typical method you can only detach the cooler and repaste, also at the moment of the installation of a big heavy cooler it's easier to hold the cooler while screwing the bolts so a better TIM contact can be achieved.
Another reason is because a lot (if not all) of the modern high-end intel X series motherboards already have a backplate so only the mounting mechanism with the cooler have to be attached.
be quiet! coolers are back mounted .. at least all I have used are. As long as the installer does a little 'practice' install to be familiar with procedure and positioning of cooler it's not hard to do at all. In fact I find the be quiet! coolers to be as easy or easier than many others to install. My only complaint is screw heads can sometimes be stripped if not careful to use screwdriver properly.