NZXT Respire T40 CPU Cooler Review

Installation and Finished Product

Installing the back plate is pretty simple. All you have to do is align the studs to fit the plate, and set the nylon risers over them to hold them to the board. Also the back plate is drilled to fit the socket both ways, so no real worries on getting it exactly right.

Since the black spacers were already in place when we ran the studs through the back, all you have left to do is set on the top brackets and screw them into place with the nuts provided.

After applying the thermal paste, set the cooler on the processor and install the top mounting bar that crosses the base. Once everything is centered, you can then install the nuts with the hex-heads screwing them in until they stop.

For those of you running low profile or bare memory like I have, you can see the fan will stand over them and not cause too much of an issue.

If you do plan to populate all four slots, you may run into some issues. With shorter sticks there is only a little effort needed to wiggle the stick in and out. For those using memory with heat spreaders, the fan will be pushing on the stick since it does reside over the nearest slot to the CPU.

It seems there must be a slight twist to this cooler after all. Trying as hard as I could, I couldn't reseat the cooler straight, and you can see the top of the motherboard is pretty level, but the T40 still sits at a bit of an angle from being perpendicular to the top edge as it should.