My younger son is building his first computer. Previously he had either store bought computers or the last one was built by his older brother. Now embarking on his journey he has specified a list of parts which were ordered and which I picked up yesterday afternoon.
The cooling system for the Intel i5 cpu that he chose was a Corsair H100i Liquid Cooler. Fitting the cooler to the motherboard comprises of installing a bracket under the cpu socket, then fitting some standoffs onto the bracket. The cooling system heatsink is then placed on top of the cpu and then another bracket clips over the top onto the standoffs, and fastened into place with thumbscrews.
I had gone out in the evening to play badminton and when I returned, my son said he broke something. It turns out that when fastening the thumbscrews, one of thumbscrews broke off on the standoff.
This morning I made a call to the shop and spoke to customer service. It seems that I will have to bring the cooling kit back to the shop – they will send it away to the manufacturer and see whether or not the manufacturer will accept it as a warranty claim. It will mean that my son will have to use the Intel stock heatsink and fan until such time as this cooling kit is resolved. If Corsair won’t accept it as a warranty claim, then we may be up for more expenses – unknown at this stage. I checked that there is available a Corsair Intel Mounting Bracket Kit for this cooling system that would contain all the parts needed to install it – specifically, it contains a set of standoffs – for $18.70.
After inspection of the standoff, I determined that the broken screw thread is a metric 3mm thread. It would be possible to face off the standoff, drill a 2.5mm hole into it, then thread it with a metric 3mm tap – then insert a M3 screw and cut it to length.
The question then is… “Return.IT” or “Repair.IT” or buy the kit?
What do you think?
Another alternative is to email Corsair and ask them if they would consider this as a warranty claim and if they can just send out the replacement standoff.
[PS] The Corsair warranty indicates that within the first 30 days of purchase, to return to the place of purchase – after that to contact Corsair in HK.
R.IT 