Corsair A500 CPU Cooler Review

Installation process

Our test system is Intel Z390 based, therefore, we will be following the relevant Intel 115X socket installation procedure which requires the installation of a specific Corsair backplate. AMD installation utilises the stock backplate.

The first stage of installation for the Corsair A500 on Intel platforms is to prepare the motherboard. This consists of fitting the Corsair retention backplate by turning the motherboard upside down and aligning the backplate in position over the four holes around the CPU socket.

While holding the backplate in position, flip the motherboard back the correct way up and locate the bag of standoffs that correspond with your motherboard socket type. Now screw the standoffs to the backplate by hand until tight – this will fix the backplate in position and allow the upper brackets to be installed.

Next, take the Intel upper retaining brackets out of the bag labelled ‘Intel Retention', along with the Intel retaining thumbscrews. Place the brackets over the standoffs you just installed and fix them in place with the thumbscrews. Tightening by hand should be enough to hold them in place. We recommend nipping them up with a Philips screwdriver for extra peace of mind.

For the next step, remove the top cover from the heatsink and place the cooler in position over the mounting bracket and align the captive screws with the thread. Now using the included Philips screwdriver to reach the screw heads through the centre of the heatsink, fix them in place by tightening each screw evenly and a few turns at a time to ensure an even spread of pressure, until both screws are fully tightened.

To complete the installation process, we must connect the fans to the motherboard. Using the provided fan splitter cable, connect both fans together and then plug the 4-pin female end of the splitter cable to the motherboard CPU_FAN header. Our Gigabyte motherboard has a grey CPU_FAN head – this may be a different colour on other motherboard brands, so check the manual to be certain.

Overall, the installation process Corsair has implemented in the A500 is very quick and simple. Even on the Intel platform where fitting a backplate is necessary, the whole process only takes approximately 10 minutes, so AMD installation should be even quicker since the stock backplate is retained.