Question about AMD stock heatsinks

[Marvin]

Do the retail heatsinks included with the processor include the black retention frame for the motherboard?

I'm finally going with AMD, I've got an AM2+ motherboard already (my brother's old one), and will upgrade to one of those nice new 890FX motherboards when they come out, and I'll get some DDR3.

Naturally though, the black retention frame thing around the socket is missing.

Getting a Phenom II 965 BE .

Thanks for bothering to read this fairly boring question...

 

[Uriel]

No the retail HS/F doesn't include the bracket. Thermalright do a retention bracket for AM2 and AM3 that's compatible with the AM2 stock cooler. It's actually an improvement over the stock AM2 bracket as it has 3 prongs (like 939) rather than one. I just bought one to replace my stock AM2 bracket that was sheared off by my Freezer Pro 64. A few places have them for about £2-£4 + delivery. The back plate is a bit more but I didn't need one.

It's also compatible with several thermalright heatsinks should you decide you need an upgrade.

Several aftermarket coolers dispense with the bracket in favour of their own solution.

 

[Marvin]

Thanks for the reply.

I am going to get a new heatsink anyway, but the lack of the retention module limited my cooler choice - though now I think I'm going to get a nice Zalman CNPSX-10 Quiet which should slot in nicely with the Thermalright retention frame.

Although, I could get the Tuniq Tower 120 - which doesn't need the bracket...