Step 6: Find the motherboard fan header labelled CPU_FAN and connect the power connector from the heatsink fan to it. A 'fan header' is simply the male electrical pins and plastic bracket that hold the female fan cable connector in place on a motherboard.

Older 3-pin style fan power cables are compatible with newer four-pin PWM style fan power headers. The header is keyed so the 3-pin or 4-pin fan cable from your heatsink fan will only install one way.

4-pin PWM fan header

If your heatsink fan has a 3-pin fan power cable and this leaves 1-pin remaining on the motherboard fan header, don't worry about it. With the older style of fan power cable that extra pin (the PWM-signal pin) isn't needed.

Consult your motherboard manual if you are unsure of the location of the CPU fan header. Ensure that the cable cannot become snagged in the CPU heatsinks' fan blades and that no other power cords are obstructing the fan blades from freely rotating either.

Your processor and heatsink are now correctly installed.

Hook up the rest of your AMD computer system and try it out!

Socket AM3

If you need to remove or upgrade the AMD socket AM3 processor, that procedure is covered on the next page.

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