So, what I've determined here is that I have a high-end cooler with a mounting design that needs some work. I have found similar quality mounting systems on $20 or $30 coolers, but not one that costs $70. With a mounting system designed the way this one and others like it are, it's almost impossible to achieve even pressure over the surface of the CPU die! Instead of having a full-faced, even contact patch between the cooler and the CPU, you end up with at BEST a line contact or even worse, point contact - both of which will completely destroy the performance of the cooler.