Installation
We will be installing the Dark Rock TF in our Z97 system, so this will be for the LGA1150 socket. The first thing you will want to do is install the backplate. You need to align it with the holes in your motherboard, then take the screws and press them through. Refer to the instructions to see what holes you should use for your specific socket.
Once you have these through you will need to hold the backplate against the back of the motherboard and at the time time attach the C-type spacers. These sort of clip onto the screws. Because of this it is going to be very hard to install the cooler with your motherboard inside your case as you will need to hold the backplate on, without the screws falling out, then try and clip these spacers on. Once you have installed the clips your setup should look like the photo below.
Now it is on to installing the mounting brackets on the bottom of the cooler. For Intel the mounting points should be facing out as shown in the below photo.
Once you have the mounting brackets installed you will need to attach the hexagonal nut with sleeve to these brackets. You secure it with another nut on the opposite side. Again for what hole you should use see the instructions. See the below photos for how it should look.
Install the bottom fan between the two heatsinks now as it will be much hard to install later. Now apply the included thermal paste and very carefully place the cooler on top of your CPU lining up the nut sleeve with the screws coming through the motherboard. Now while holding the CPU cooler in place you need to go to the back of the motherboard and secure the cooler by tightening the screws on the backplate. Again this is not the easiest thing to do in general, especially if you are trying to do it with your motherboard inside of a case.
Finally install the second fan and you are good to go. Be quiet again calls this a compact CPU cooler, but you can see just how large it is.
The heatsink as well as bottom fan sit well above normal-sized memory modules so clearance should not be an issue.
Once our motherboard is back in our case you can see there are no clearance issues with our graphics card either.
