Intel Core i7 / LGA1366 CPU Cooler Roundup

Spire TherMax 2 Installation

For all intents and purposes, the TherMax 2 is an AMD cooler and Spire goes out of their way to make sure you know this. They have obviously spent time and money investing in this philosophy as they include an Intel backplate….and AMD style top mounts for both i7 and 775. Unfortunately, this means you are relying on plastic (albeit a lot more plastic than the standard 775/i7 clips) to not flex or fatigue in any way to ensure an even mounting pressure which is so crucial to good CPU temperatures.

On the positive side, this does make for a fairly easy installation procedure….not as easy as a pushpin cooler, as you do have to remove the motherboard from the case as install a backplate. Honestly, the only issue we have with this installation is the inclusion of far too many plastic bits.


As the AMD style plastic ring doesn’t bump or touch any motherboard components (it was tight…but it didn’t actually touch anything on our board) it is unlikely that this moderately- sided cooler will interfere with anything on your board. Helping things is the fact you can only mount a single fan and the TherMax 2’s fin array starts high enough to not touch most motherboard heatsinks or memory heatspreaders. Of course, this assumes that your motherboards heatsinks within the norms as there are always some products out there which buck the trend by installing massive cooling solutions.


As this is first and foremost an AMD cooler, installation on AMD rigs could not be easier. Simply prep your CPU, apply TIM and mount the thing like you would any cooler not requiring a non standard AMD backplate. This really is the pleasure and the pain of this unit. It is easy to install but imposes its will way….far too much on Intel side of things. We cannot imagine a cooler company trying to cobble together an Intel pushpin setup for AMD systems so why should anyone want an AMD setup on Intel systems?

As with the Intel installation, Spire’s heatsink should not pose any challenges on AMD rigs. As long as the height of the cooler is compatible with your case you should experience smooth sailing installing it on most AMD motherboards.