Compatibility and Installation Tips

Scythe Zipang 2 may be installed on all contemporary platforms except LGA1156, which is actually not quite current yet. The cooler is equipped with a universal V.T.M.S. (Versatile Tool-Free Multiplatform System) retention, which makes installation extremely simple and doesn’t require any special tools or efforts on the user’s part. To install the cooler you have to insert the appropriate retention brackets into the sides of the lower heatsink and then install the cooler onto the CPU:

Theoretically, you don’t need to remove the mainboard from the system case in order to install or remove Zipang 2 cooler, however, this is only theory. The thing is that all retention brackets are extremely close to the cooler heatsink that is why it is nearly impossible to lock or unlock them inside the cluttered system case. It is especially true for the so-called “push-pin” retention used for LGA775 and 1366 processors, which are extremely difficult to work with even when the mainboard is completely outside the system case, not to mention when it is still inside…

And here is proof that they didn’t have to curve the heatpipes so much:

However, once you have successfully installed the cooler, its heatsink covers a significant part of the mainboard PCB including all heatsinks over the voltage regulator components and even the first DIMM slot (which may be empty on some other mainboards):

To achieve maximum cooling efficiency inside an ATX tower case, it is best to install Scythe Zipang 2 with the heatpipes ends facing up. It is possible to install the cooler with the heatpipes lined up horizontally, but never with the heatpipes ends facing down:

By the way, note that the schematic image of the Zipang 2 cooler doesn’t have the curved heatpipes :)

In our case Zipang 2 was installed in the most preferable way:

Note that you can also download Scythe Zipang 2 installation instructions from the official web-site: