Installation and Lighting

Installing the Bykski CPU-FIRE-ON-I CPU block is less complicated than the more universally compatible blocks since it is designed only for Intel platforms and has the mounting bracket pre-installed. First, orient the threads in the Intel backplate to correspond to LGA 1700, although many motherboards will have two sets of cooler mounting holes anyway. Then peel the protective covers off the 3M tape on the contact surface of the backplate which helps prevent any electrical shorting. Place the backplate in such a way that the four threaded inserts line up with the cooler mounting holes around the CPU. If done correctly, you will observe all four threaded inserts jut out slightly from the surface of the motherboard itself. Apply thermal paste on the CPU IHS and then position the block over the CPU before having the four sets of mounting posts/springs/washers go through the backplate inserts in a diagonal manner. As with the Bykski CPU-XPR-C-I, this is a non-precise installation and involves some guesswork in making sure the mounting pressure is even all around. Now connect the MOLEX cable (display) to your PSU and use the provided cable with adapter to connect the RGB cable to your motherboard LED header, although Bykski also sells its own LED controllers which simply accept the native cable connector itself.


There are 12 ARGB LEDs in this CPU block spread evenly on all four sides and firing inwards to light up the clear acrylic top in addition to providing some side lighting too. The black PMMA section hides the actual LEDs, thus preventing you from seeing them as point light sources and offering a more diffused lighting effect as a result. I'd say the block does a good job in showcasing the LEDs and offering a decent light show for anyone wanting to coordinate lighting with other components in their PC. Then there's the display which you are unable to customize, but ends up showing the coolant temperature in a radial gauge similar to a speedometer. I am not sure that you will really be able to read the numbers from a typical seating position if your case is, say, two feet or further away from your eyes though.