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Installation
Let me begin by mentioning that the U in 947U stands for universal. Thermalright has made this heatsink universal by manufacturing it to fit on both AMD and P4 motherboards. For AMD motherboards, it will mount through the motherboard, using the x-shaped piece of metal found in the contents of the package. Due to the fact that the SLK-947U mounts through the motherboard, mounting holes around the ZIF socket are required. If there are no holes, it'll mean that it's time to resort to the 3-prong beast, the SLK-900A, which isn't a bad choice either. 
On a P4 motherboard, there would be two options - to bolt through the motherboard similar to an AMD installation or to use the P4 only mounting clips, also included in the package. In this review I'll be covering the AMD motherboard installation in further detail, mainly because I don't have any P4 motherboards lying around.
Many say that heatsinks that mount through the motherboard are a pain. You have to take out the motherboard and follow the directions exactly to get a bolt-through heatsink on, then the motherboard must be placed back into the case. It sounds long and gruelling. But, unless you take your heatsink out every other week, what's the big deal? I can vouch for one thing - when these things are bolted through the motherboard, they will not move, at all. Besides, if you're anything like me, you take your motherboard out every time you change the heatsink - even if it uses the clip mounting method.
What makes the mounting of the 947U unique, much like the other SLK U's, is that the spring loaded screws go through the motherboard and into an x-shaped piece of metal. As seen in the picture above - the piece of metal has the required screw holes in the correct positions. Installation is very simple and straight-forward using this method. Choosing the right washers for the application depends on your motherboard, explained in more detail at Thermalright's website. After the standoffs have been screwed in using the correct washers, it is just a matter of aligning the holes on the heatsink up with the holes in the standoffs. I'd suggest doing this as close as possible the first time, so the heatsink doesn't have to shift on top of the very fragile AMD core. 
I'm sure you're beginning to wonder, however, if the changes Thermalright has made to the SLK-947U have had any major impact on the ability to fit it on a few certain motherboards - mainly the Asus A7N8X. Lets take a look at a few pictures...
As seen in the pictures, the heatsink fits perfectly. Nothing on that heatsink touching anything on the A7N8X. I was, needless to say, pleasantly surprised by this. I can only assume that the heatsink will also fit on many other motherboards as well.
Installing the heatsink to my Abit NF7-S for testing was very simple. I followed the same procedure and it attached in a snap. The metal clip surrounding the heatsink did kind of push on a capacitor, but it was definitely nothing to worry about. The picture below shows the 947U installed.
So, the heatsink fits on the motherboards it should fit on - but does it still match up to the original SLK-900U? Lets find out.
