The first thing to do is determine which side of the HR-09 gets attached to the motherboard. Of course I had put the clips onto the longer end, not thinking that it was in fact the short end I needed to use. No matter, the clips simply slide on and off from either end, easily allowing for future adjustments. Now select the appropriately-sized thermal pad, peel off the backing and apply it to the base. If it doesn't feel like it's sticking very well, you're probably using the wrong side of the pad. There is a super-sticky, tan-colored side and a tacky or waxy, light-colored side. You want the pad to stick to the heatsink base, not the mosfets.



Once that is in place Thermalright suggests you do a trial fitment to get an idea of where the push-pins line up and then tighten them in place with a screwdriver. I found the screws very hard to turn and could not get the clips to lock down completely; they still allowed some side-to-side movement of the push-pin. However this is not really a big deal, as once installed, the pad is pressed firmly against the mosfets and the amount of movement is very limited.



The push-pins are easily pressed through the mounting holes in the motherboard and the springs provide the necessary amount of tension between the thermal pad and the mosfets. If you notice a black wire snaking out from under the HR-09 it's because I slipped a probe in the space between the chips in order to measure temperatures. Note that I made sure not to place the probe where it came directly between the mosfets and the thermal pad, this could have a negative effect on the cooling ability of the heatsink. Also, I hadn't noticed when trial-fitting the HR-09 but the three capacitors immediately behind the mosfets are extremely close to the heatsink. In fact, pressing down on the HR-09 bent those caps out slightly, as the base of the heatsink actually comes in contact with them. This seems to be within a normal range of movement for them and no ill effects were noticed as a result. Blame Biostar on this one for placing the components so close together.



Just ahead, testing and conclusion.