Installation Tips

First, keep in mind that you can always download the Noctua NH-C12P installation guide from their official web-site (PDF file, 983KB). No matter what mainboards you have, the actual installation starts with sticking the plastic washers to the base of retention spindles:

Then screw the spindles onto the backplate through the mainboard PCB (herein after we are going to use the example of an LGA 775 platform, but for AMD K8 the idea remains the same):

Backplate ensures that the cooler is pressed securely against the processor heat-spreader and prevents the mainboard PCB from deforming:

After that use four screws to attach the appropriate retention bracket to the cooler base:

And now all you need to do is fasten the cooler with spring screws:

These screws hold the cooler dead locked against the CPU.