Are AMD Ryzen stock Wraith coolers difficult to install?

[bhanja_Trinanjan]

Hello friends,

I am back posting on these forums after a long while. I need some advice. I have plans to build a Ryzen based gaming rig. I wish to ask – which of the stock Wraith coolers is easiest to install – Wraith Prism, Wraith Spire or Wraith Stealth? I have read complaints that the Wraith Spire is difficult to screw in, that the spring-loaded screws need immense pressure to turn in order to make contact with the backplate. I have even read reports that the Wraith Prism locking lever is very stiff and hard to maneuver. I wish to have a hassle-free experience with my build and don’t want to damage anything accidentally while assembling. Please help!

Best regards,
Trinanjan.

[andino]

I found it easy to install.

[Evileh]

the prisim is a biiiiiiiiiiittttch to install if you don't do it outside the case...... I can't get my ****ing hand back there. Same with water coolers now a days, they use the same system with the clamps. If you are replacing a cooler instead of installing in a brand new system you are building, it's a biiiiiiiiiiitch to get the clamp down.

[gamefoo21]

Just be well aware that the stock paste on the Wraiths is like some devil glue. When you go to remove the cooler, twist before pulling or you'll yank the chip out of the socket and very likely damage the pins.

Also I wouldn't be amazed if the screw heads aren't PZ or JIS so a standard #2 Phillips will also not fit worth a damn.

I have a long screw driver specifically for dealing with those evil screw locations.

[Nagorak]

They're all pretty easy to install. I suppose the Prism is arguably the easiest since you just clip it on and then flip the tightening mechanism, but the Stealth and Spire are not hard either.

With the ones that screw in (Spire/Stealth), just be sure to hold it down with your off hand while you start tightening. Start with one screw then go across diagonally in an X pattern. Start out with just five turns in each screw to get them to engage. Don't tighten all the way down until you've made sure all screws have engaged, then do another five turns in each, and then tighten all the way.

The people who had trouble probably were trying to tighten each screw all the way down before moving onto the next or something. That would make it basically impossible to install.

That being said, the Prism is the only one of those heatsinks that's worth a damn, so if you're buying for the stock heatsink be sure to get something with the Prism.

[Evileh]

Originally Posted by gamefoo21

Just be well aware that the stock paste on the Wraiths is like some devil glue. When you go to remove the cooler, twist before pulling or you'll yank the chip out of the socket and very likely damage the pins.

Also I wouldn't be amazed if the screw heads aren't PZ or JIS so a standard #2 Phillips will also not fit worth a damn.

I have a long screw driver specifically for dealing with those evil screw locations.

Yes, that stuff was stuck on there like hellspawn cometh

[gamefoo21]

Originally Posted by Evileh

Yes, that stuff was stuck on there like hellspawn cometh

It really doesn't like to come off the heatsink at all.

[Sasquach]

Originally Posted by Evileh

Yes, that stuff was stuck on there like hellspawn cometh

fire up the PC prior to removing the heatsink, the heat should get it loose and sticky enough to twist it off.

[Evileh]

Originally Posted by Sasquach

fire up the PC prior to removing the heatsink, the heat should get it loose and sticky enough to twist it off.

Yeah my computer was off for the day when i had to go do laundry at my parents and grab the water cooler. Was not a fun time lol.

[gamefoo21]

Those springs on the screws are wicked...

LoL

Interesting, I unplugged the light ring, pulled the RGB cock ring off the Wraith tower. Then I pulled the fan off the extruded block. I saw a surprise...

I thought and everything I read online seemed to suggest it was just a copper plate and maybe core in the cooler.

It's actually a big vapour chamber. It explains why it didn't feel heavy enough to be a solid copper slug.

I do suspect this cooler will bias performance to sitting straight up and down though because of that.

[gamefoo21]

Ok...

After poking at my TaiChi and my Wraith Spire...

Mounting the cooler has to be done out of the case or requires some type of foam backing placed between the plate and the tray.

The screws aren't easy to push down and there's nothing holding the backplate in. If your case has a deep space between the back of the board and the tray, the plate will fall.

Yeesh...

I only played with the prism before that clips on. So I didn't think it would be that different.

Hopefully other mobos have some double sided tape patches holding the plate on. Unfortunately mine does not.