Same issue here, just got a Framework Desktop, and the Noctua fan… did fit, but only with adequate persuasion.
I wish I’d thought of that screw trick. There’s a certain amount of motherboard bow that you get used to accepting while plugging things in, RAM and power cables and so forth, but it never feels right.
Thanks for the tip. I encountered the same issue with the Noctua fan not fully aligning and pinning into the heatsink.
Framework needs to really get their QA straightened out. I’ve held out on buying the desktop until now because I got burned for being an early adopter of their laptops with the touchpad issue, but even still there’s issues like this floating around for their desktop despite it being almost a year since these things shipped out.
I wanted to chime into this thread, even if it’s old. I just got my desktop yesturday and I had the same exact issue. I thought I was crazy at first, then I read this thread. I used the screwdriver to widen the hole a bit and it went in, although it was a really tight fit going in and it got me a little worried. Not a big “fan” of this situation, but if it works it works. Just hoping it being tight doesn’t cause any damage later on.
Just got mine today, can’t install the fan. I’ll try beveling the inside edge of each hole.