Installing the Thermalright Archon is a very straight-forward process. The mounting mechanism is the universal one used across the entire range of Thermalright’s new coolers. The Archon supports both AMD and Intel sockets but here we will detail installation on an X58 system.


1. Adjust the screw pillar on the backplate for the desired Intel platform. The inner most notches are for socket 775. For socket 1155/1156 compatibility, move to the next notch, and the final outermost notches are for socket 1366 motherboards. Users on socket 775 motherboard need to install the additional 775 backplate in the centre.


2. Install the backplate to the back of the motherboard making sure the screw pillars are lined up with the appropriate motherboard holes.


3. Install the screw pillars on the top side of the motherboard to secure the backplate.


4. Place the anchoring mount on top.


5. Use the thumbscrews to secure the anchor mount and tighten until it cannot be further turned by hand.


6. Put a blob of thermal paste on the CPU and place the heatsink on top. Slide the pressure vault bracket between the heat pipes making sure the centre nob is lined up with the hole on the heatsink base. Screw in both ends to the anchor plate.


7. Apply anti vibration strips to each side of the heatsink and pull both ends of the fan clips and make it go through the holes on the corners of the heatsink. Install the fan and secure it with the wire clip notches.

The pressure vault mount in step 6 allows users to adjust the pressure using a bundled wrench between 40lbs and 70lbs. The maximum pressure is out of Intel’s recommended specifications and may thus damage CPU sockets. I recommend not turning the wrench fully clockwise (70lbs).