Installation Tips

The cooler retention mechanism remained the same as by previously reviewed coolers from this manufacturer. First you attach the corresponding bracket to the cooler base with four included screws and then it either locks on the standard plastic frame of the Socket 754/939/940/AM2(+) or has to be screwed to the backplate on LGA 775 platforms:

The cooler is pressed very firmly against the CPU, especially in the latter case when screws are involved. This as well as impeccable contact between the cooler base and the processor heat-spreader ensure impressive cooling efficiency of ZEROtherm products.

ZEROtherm ZEN ZF120 looks like this inside a system case:

For coolers with a heat-conducting base it doesn’t matter what way they are facing. Therefore, we installed our ZEROtherm ZEN ZF120 so that the airflow would be directed towards the case rear panel equipped with a 120-mm fan ousting the air outside the case. I only have to add that the distance from the cooler lower heatsink plate to the mainboard PCB is 42mm.