Noctua NH-D14 & NH-U9B SE2 Review - PAGE 4

The first thing you want to do is screw these metal plates to the heatsink's base. Make sure they are tight since it's a key element of the mounting system. If you're lucky enough to have the D14, this step is already done for you at the factory.

Secondly, install the backplate under your motherboard's and insert the screws into the holes corresponding to your socket. Simple enough.

Once that is done, flip back the board, place the thick plastic washers (shown on the right), add the metal piece and tighten this all up using the bolts and Noctua's supplied tool. With the heatsink's mounting system in place, all that's left to do is apply some thermal paste and screw the cooler on. Thanks to the well designed SecuFirm 2, you simply have to tighten everything until it won't go any further so you get just the right pressure every time.

Here's the fully installed U9B. As you can see, the heatsink itself is fairly small, but with the two fans installed it's actually quite wide. Fortunately, even though it's a close call, it doesn't block any memory slots on the boards I have tested.

However, the D14 is an entirely different story. Needless to say that the heatsink is huge and as a result, will limit some hardware configurations. The heatsink leaves a tad over 40mm of clearance between the base and the first fin so make sure your motherboard and memory heatsinks don't exceed that or you will run into problems. The maximum height of the actual memory module may not exceed 51mm in order to fit. There are many variables at play here so make sure to take a few measurements before shelling out for the D14.