As stated earlier, and like most other coolers in its price range, the TMG does NOT come with a back reinforcing plate. Rather, it relies on the standard 754/939/AM2 mounting bracket to support its weight. While weighing in at a relatively svelte 505grams it is still more than AMD’s maximum recommended weight of 450 grams (which is the same maximum as Intel's). While one can understand the reasoning behind this cost saving measure it does not instill much confidence.

The upside to this "feature" of installing the A1 without a back plate is that it is VERY easy to install. It seemed like just as much time was spent in removing it from its packaging & inspecting if for any defects as installing it. This really is a user friendly cooler. Depending on your level of experience this can be a very big deciding factor. After all, not everyone has the time, inclination or even the comfort level to remove a motherboard and install a fairly intimidating back plate.


One thing worth mentioning is that you can only mount this cooler with either the fan pointing down or up. This is unfortunate since if it could be pointed towards the back of the case the rear exhaust fan could conceivably help create a push/pull scenario helping to enhance the TMG A1's cooling abilities without the added weight of another fan attached. More importantly having the hot air from the CPU blow either up onto the power supply intake fan or down onto the top of the video card, instead of being sucked out the back of the case is a less than attractive proposition.


On the positive side, while this Thermaltake cooler is tall it is not so tall as to be a concern for most cases; and while wide is not so wide that it blocks, rubs or even touches any surrounding parts on most motherboards. With some of the bigger coolers you have to be careful that the case cover can be closed with out it touching and the A1 does nnot have this problem. Even with it installed in a mid-tower Antec Slq3000b case, there was more than ample clearance and closing the door was not a concern. Equally important is that while it is a wide tower it was not a concern on either Asus’s boards and did not touch or rub any surrounding parts.