I would rather be Castrated and hung than ever having to install a Antec Kuhler again

TonyR

Because the title limits me to letters i would also like to add i would rather land on a bike with no seat!

Without a doubt the stupidest and hardest cooling system to install ever! I must of watched 12 odd tutorials online before attempting to install this cooler and i would assume apart from the bracket it would pretty much be the same as a AMD install.

WRONG

Installing it on a intel mobo is harder! The guy in these videos made it look like kids play!

I know my way around my rig , i mean i built the dam thing but there's no way this system was worth the hassle , even if im 25c cooler. The instructions may as well be written in Japanese.

sverek · 04-12-2012, 17:35 | posts: 1,036 | Location: Japan, Soka

nhlkoho · 04-12-2012, 19:07 | posts: 3,869 | Location: Washington DC

Installing my H50 wasn't easy but it's not as complex as your making it sound. I find it hard to believe that the Antec is that much harder.

sykozis · *Last edited by sykozis; 04-12-2012 at 23:09.*

Quote:

Originally Posted by nhlkoho

Installing my H50 wasn't easy but it's not as complex as your making it sound. I find it hard to believe that the Antec is that much harder.

The instructions are identical....as is the mounting hardware and the actual manufacturer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyR

Even though it was a pain to install , my temps are smexxy been playing cod 4 now for a hour hasn't gone over that.

My Kuhler 620 was complete garbage. Every review talked about how quiet and efficient it was. After installing it and every fan config I could come up with, I decided to replace it with a Zalman HSF. POS couldn't keep my i5 2400 below 65C. My Freezer 13 managed to keep it at 55C running F@H-SMP....Kuhler 620 hit 65C within a few minutes of F@H starting and would slowly creep up to 72C after a few hours.

Every review I read made the Kuhler 620 look like the greatest cooler ever made.....3 weeks fighting with Antec to get a replacement fan (after buying 4 other fans trying to make it work)....intake, exhaust, push/pull....all showed the same results. Higher temps than my Freezer 13. I did have 24-26C idle temps though....lol

IcE · 04-12-2012, 19:14 | posts: 6,991 | Location: Toledo, Ohio

I don't see why you had such huge issues. It's as simple as taking the board out, installing the bracket and backplate, and voila.

lehtv · 04-12-2012, 19:15 | posts: 3,087

A lot of the reviews on newegg for Antec Kuhler 620 say that the cooler was easy to install.

screenager · 04-12-2012, 19:36 | posts: 105 | Location: holland

I'm with him
I have the Kuhler 620 and it was a nightmare.
Lots of bits and pieces and a manual that hardly makes any sense at all.

TonyR · 04-12-2012, 19:44 | posts: 379 | Location: Uk Milton Keynes , Bucks

It took me over 3 hours to install it. Ive cut my hand up doing it as well. Im no stranger to installing components as my rig is was made by me , i had trouble with the backplate im on a sandy bridge mobo it wouldn't line up right , then once i got the actual heatsink onto the cpu it wouldn't lock in! and when it did lock in if i let it go it would just spring back out of its locked state. I had to hold it on place really tight and screw the screws in a tiny bit , then once they was all on a level tightness screw them all in normally. The back plate actually snapped to. One positive about all this , my old cooler gave me around 45c to 50c in game , now im getting 27c in game and 23c on desktop. I really wanted to phone antec up but because your based in the us i didnt want to add poverty to my cuts and bruises lol.

Why on gods green earth would i make it seem more difficult , it really was a pain in the ass.

ESlik · 04-12-2012, 21:04 | posts: 1,591 | Location: Sault Ste. Marie Ont. CA

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyR

It took me over 3 hours to install it. Ive cut my hand up doing it as well. Im no stranger to installing components as my rig is was made by me , i had trouble with the backplate im on a sandy bridge mobo it wouldn't line up right , then once i got the actual heatsink onto the cpu it wouldn't lock in! and when it did lock in if i let it go it would just spring back out of its locked state. I had to hold it on place really tight and screw the screws in a tiny bit , then once they was all on a level tightness screw them all in normally. The back plate actually snapped to. One positive about all this , my old cooler gave me around 45c to 50c in game , now im getting 27c in game and 23c on desktop. I really wanted to phone antec up but because your based in the us i didnt want to add poverty to my cuts and bruises lol.

Why on gods green earth would i make it seem more difficult , it really was a pain in the ass.

What model do you have? I just had the Antec H20 920 delivered,and I'm getting ready to install it. Do you have the 920? I see your temps are very good. How about noise? Fans? Pump? Thanks.

TonyR · 04-12-2012, 21:18 | posts: 379 | Location: Uk Milton Keynes , Bucks

Even though it was a pain to install , my temps are smexxy been playing cod 4 now for a hour hasn't gone over that.

Mike V · 04-12-2012, 19:54 | posts: 265 | Location: Belgium

My H60 was the easiest cooler i ever installed. 5 minute job.

The Scythe Mugen 2 was probably most frustrating. It took a couple of installs before i found out how to do without almost throwing the damn thing trough the window. It always ended with bloody hands from the sharp fins. Big hands and a small case don't work well together.

Those intel push pins always drive me mad too. You would buy an aftermarket cooler just to avoid them.

Jae-So · 04-12-2012, 23:29 | posts: 6,679 | Location: Bristol, UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike V

My H60 was the easiest cooler i ever installed. 5 minute job.

The Scythe Mugen 2 was probably most frustrating. It took a couple of installs before i found out how to do without almost throwing the damn thing trough the window. It always ended with bloody hands from the sharp fins. Big hands and a small case don't work well together.

Those intel push pins always drive me mad too. You would buy an aftermarket cooler just to avoid them.

Definitely agree, I went from a Mugen 2 to an H50, the Mugen 2 was a nightmare while the H50 wasn't too bad to install

Mufflore · 04-12-2012, 21:56 | posts: 9,531 | Location: UK

What are you using to monitor temps?
You may not be reading the on die sensors and/or may have TjMax set wrong.

TonyR · 04-12-2012, 22:41 | posts: 379 | Location: Uk Milton Keynes , Bucks

BIOS reported 22c ><

---TK--- · 04-12-2012, 22:46 | posts: 14,712 | Location: New Jersey, USA

you need to be looking at the 4 cores temp. use real temp. the cpu temp you are looking at will be much lower

Mufflore · 04-12-2012, 22:47 | posts: 9,531 | Location: UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyR

BIOS reported 22c ><

Use Realtemp or Coretemp to get the correct temp sensors and TjMax offset, BIOS temps arent correct.
Some other utils get it right too or can be adjusted, but to be sure start with either of those 2.

Veteran · 04-12-2012, 22:55 | posts: 7,400 | Location: United kingdom

Castrated?Hmmm i dunno man,i think id rather take a shot at installing the cooler again

TonyR · 04-12-2012, 23:10 | posts: 379 | Location: Uk Milton Keynes , Bucks

Matt26LFC · 04-12-2012, 23:21 | posts: 2,282 | Location: UK

^^ Not bad, now play some games but leave Real Temp open while you run them, that'll give you your gaming load temps, and not just windows desktop temps.

Mufflore · 04-12-2012, 23:26 | posts: 9,531 | Location: UK

Idle temps look practically identical to mine for daytime temps.
(I'm running 4.7GHz atm with 1.47V, watercooled)

Idle temps mean very little though, load temps have more meaning but they still have no guarantee of accuracy.
The only calibrated temp is TjMax (98C on our chips), the further you are away from it, the higher the potential error.

---TK--- · 04-12-2012, 23:30 | posts: 14,712 | Location: New Jersey, USA

run the latest p95 blend max memory to test for stability overnight. be sure to watch temps carefully and report back temps within a half hour running it, that should be about your max temps

Mufflore · 04-12-2012, 23:34 | posts: 9,531 | Location: UK

^agreed.

pimp_gimp · 04-13-2012, 00:05 | posts: 5,771 | Location: Tacoma, Washington

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyR

Because the title limits me to letters i would also like to add i would rather land on a bike with no seat!

Without a doubt the stupidest and hardest cooling system to install ever! I must of watched 12 odd tutorials online before attempting to install this cooler and i would assume apart from the bracket it would pretty much be the same as a AMD install.

WRONG

Installing it on a intel mobo is harder! The guy in these videos made it look like kids play!

I know my way around my rig , i mean i built the dam thing but there's no way this system was worth the hassle , even if im 25c cooler. The instructions may as well be written in Japanese.

Dunno why you say that, but installing the Kuhler is like installing the H-series from corsair, and once you remove the motherboard to install the bracket, its a cinch to get the rest installed.

TonyR · *Last edited by TonyR; 04-13-2012 at 06:15.*

Look guys >.< , im a big computer enthusiast and i love pretty much everything to do with computers , not a lot really bores me or phases me with computer hardware and i thought it was about time to move on over to these water-cooled coolers , they look cool and they cool everything well ,i think its good ive come on the forums and told people ive had trouble installing it after all we are all human and make mistakes. I will go threw how i installed it so you know just how difficult i found it.

1: I took the Fan and placed the screws threw the holes on the exhaust of my computer i then attached the radiator to the fan by screwing the screws into it from the back of the computer. *I actually installed the radiator the wrong way up at first and had to remove a Fan from the top of my case to install it*.

2: After that was done , i began to remove my old cpu freeze pro's mangled remains.

3: I removed the plastic from the heatsink from heatsink and began attempting a few twists to see how it locks into place. I was under the impression it was a spin lock and click , it wasn't it was a simple case of finding the notch's and matching them to the corresponding ones and slotting them into place.

4: I put the 2 adhesive stickers on the back of the motherboard plate and attempted to line the slots up with the 1156 holes , as apparently its the same as 1155 i was on this for about a hour and a half easily the holes would simply not line up! Maybe i placed the stickers a bit to low and it was causing them to out sync but it was a pain in ass.

5: Eventually having my hand at the back of the computer and my hand at the front trying to twist screws into the plate and line up the plate , it snapped.

6: After attempting a long long long process of trying to attach the heatsink to the ring , i eventually realized what i had to do , i had to barely leave the ring screwed in , push up on the ring with my button two fingers and screw!

7: Success the fan is locked into place and im screwing this freaking thing in. Even then if you out screwed another screw and it was tighter than the rest it would make everything uneven event he slightest i had to do 1 turn for each screwed about 3 -4 times.

I made a lot of stupid mistakes i think because i was really stressing out i mean 3 hours! Who has the patients to spend 3 hours on a cooler? With alll due respect guys that's pretty impressive i could of lost my cool <-- hehe , and lobbed thing out the window.

Theres sooo many people who ran into my exact same issues online. Keep in mind i did this without taking the motherboard out to.

(.)(.) · 04-13-2012, 07:35 | posts: 2,190 | Location: Logd n jst 2 change avatar

I can't say that in my research leading up to buying one of these or corsair's that i didn't find many (if any from memory) that had trouble with this product.

Best pre-fabbed cooling solution i've come across, sure corsair my cool better by 4-8c but it costs a lot more than the antec cooler (in NZ anyway) and it's nothing a better fan can't fix.

Sorry for your troubles and this post is not meant to insult or attack you in anyway but if i were to recommend an aftermarket cooling product for the cpu and even the gpu, the Antec Kuhler 620/920 would be my No.1 choice - only issues with these to my knowledge are clicking in the pump of which Antec is fully aware of and is happy to replace.