2.3.2Installing the heatsink and fan

The AMD Athlon™ 64 X2, AMD Athlon™ 64, AMD Athlon™ 64 FX, AMD Sempron™, AMD Opteron™ 64 1000 series (dual core), and AMD Phenom™ processors require a specially designed heatsink and fan assembly to ensure optimum thermal condition and performance.

Make sure that you use only AMD-certified heatsink and fan assembly.

To install the CPU heatsink and fan:

1.Place the heatsink on top of the installed CPU, making sure that the heatsink fits properly on the retention module base.

• The retention module base is already installed on the motherboard upon purchase.

•You do not have to remove the retention module base when installing the CPU or installing other motherboard components.

•If you purchased a separate CPU heatsink and fan assembly, make sure that a Thermal Interface Material is properly applied to the CPU heatsink or CPU before you install the heatsink and fan assembly.

Retention bracket

Retention module base

Your boxed CPU heatsink and fan assembly should come with installation instructions for the CPU, heatsink, and the retention mechanism. If the instructions in this section do not match the CPU documentation, follow the latter.

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Chapter 2: Hardware information