Installation

Scythe's H.P.M.S.III-S mounting system is easy enough to work with even if it doesn't quite roll off the tongue so well. On the AMD test bench, you will first need to remove the default mounting brackets that came with your motherboard, but keep the backplate handy. Next, with the backplate in place, slide the AMD screws included with the cooler through the correct hole on the AMD brackets, slide the plastic spacer rubber side up over the screw, and while holding all of that together, screw it into the backplate. Now repeat that three more times.


With the mounting arms in place, you can now apply the thermal paste and secure the heatsink to the mounting hardware. Again, the included screwdriver works perfectly for this, so do yourself a favor and don't misplace it.


With the heatsink secure, you can now attach the fan and plug it in.

Overall, the install process isn't bad, but it can still be improved. Trying to hold a screw, bracket, spacer, and backplate all in place to secure the hardware is not exactly user-friendly. That said, it was a bit more forgiving here than on some other coolers as of late. Meanwhile, the process is far easier on the Intel side as the backplate slides into place—drop the spacers over the backplate screws add the brackets and secure them with the nuts. In general, the Intel mounting process is superior to the AMD solution. Hopefully, Scythe's next generation of coolers will further improve on this; however, I will note that many brands are in the same boat and could certainly use some mounting hardware updates to better serve consumers utilizing AMD hardware.