Peter Jason wrote:
I have a Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 motherboard and I have just
inserted the i7-970 CPU, carefully following the
instructions outlined in the motherboard and the Intel CPU's
handbooks.

The procedure is simple enough given that the CPU fits into
its place only one way, but the force required to lock down
the little black curved-end lever seems extremeley high and
I'm worried about some damage done to the CPU which looks
rather flimsy.

The short video on the Intel website.....
http://www.intel.com/support/process.../CS-031463.htm
.....shows the method plainly enough but makes no comment
on the force required.

May depend on the mobo, I've had some which took a lot of force, my most recent
took very little. Depends on the socket brand used, I bet.