Zalman CNPS7000B-CU Ultra-Quiet CPU Cooler

[GimieGimieGimie]

I just got to say, this is one of the best cpu coolers in the world!!!

I only installed it, sometime last week, but i've never been so pleased or impressed with a peice of technology! :D

Ever since i put together my AMD Athlon Barton 3000, 6 months ago, (with little cash might i add) :p

My PC has always suffered over heating problems when it comes down to the CPU, the standard heat-sink and fan kept the temperature at an unstable 55o idle and the PC always crashed, so i had to buy a new heat sink and fan straight away.

I looked up a few sites, and found a few reviews on a Gigabyte 3D Cooler Pro (PCU21-VG) Heatsink, which it was rated 9/10 in most cases.

I swiftly bought the heat sink and fan, and once fitted, enjoyed the results at first, the idle temp was 48o, and gaming never went over 58o, i still thought to myself though, that even for an AMD processor, these temps was not acceptable, but i brushed my fears off.

The system didn't crash anymore, but what i did notice was the idle temp had changed from 48o to 52o over a period of weeks, i was like WTF?

Anyway, i decided to finally remove the heat-sink and fan to resit it, but when i removed the gigabyte, to my horror, there's was massive damage to the 4 pads seating pads of the CPU!

2 was completely destroyed, while the other 2 was grounded down to nearly nothing, what had happened, was even though they recommended the heat sink and fan for an AMD Athlon, the base wasn't big enough, and not flat enough, so it just crushed it's way through with the vibrations!

Shock, shock, horror, i was forced to buy a new heat sink and cpu straight away, this time, no bullshit, i was paying top doller now, i had already wasted $45, why not spend more?

So i did, i went with the choice i should of went for 6 months ago, but decided against, because there was concerns about it's weight, it's a pure copper heat sink, though it's extremely heavy and i was warned it could damage the CPU, but this is bullshit :p

The heatsink and fan is the Zalman CNPS7000B-CU Ultra-Quiet CPU Cooler, a link can be found here:

http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=141&code=005009

It's over 2 years old now, but it's still top of it's class, the heatsink and fan bolts to your motherboard (if supported), with 4 screws that keep the heatsink firmly in place.

It's a bit of a bastard, because you have to screw the heatsink from underneath the motherboard, so i had to take the whole pc apart to install it, but it's well worth it.

Now installed, my CPU idle temp is an amazing gob smacking 38o!

And when gaming, the temp does not go past 45o!

This is absolutely amazing performance for an AMD processor, i never expected to achieve such temperatures from an AMD, they are well known for their over heating.

What's even better, is the fan is almost silent in normal mode, and completely silent in silent mode :eek: , the whole product, does exactly what it says on the tin.

Baring in mind, this is technology released in 2002, this is absolutely amazing, if the size goes down, i think i'll stay with Zalman for the future :D

There has been a major update to this model, the only difference being the size, they have made exactly the same heat-sink and fan, just 30cm bigger!

Zalman CNPS7700-CU Ultra-Quiet CPU Cooler:

http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/product/view.asp?idx=145&code=005009

The model i have is already a massive 90cm in size as it is, i decided against the 120cm version (today's version) because it would not have fitted in my case, and for the CPU i have, i concider to be completely over-kill!

Anyone looking for an CPU heat-sink and fan that's almost/is silent, look no further, copper is definately the way to go, i wouldn't buy any other thermal material, trust me when i say, if you have the room in your case, and your motherboard supports it,

Zalman CNPS7000B-CU Ultra-Quiet CPU Cooler is the one for you! :D

[Conan]

I used to use Zalman before:

http://www.techzonez.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9624

But now I'm using Thermaltake:

http://www.techzonez.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11464

[GimieGimieGimie]

I've read up on thermal take, some say they are the best, some say Zalman is the best, but it isn't the company that makes a good heat-sink, it's the materials used and how they are shaped that makes a good heat-sink.

Actually, i just took a look at your thermal take heat sink Conan, i also had the choice of picking that one, pure copper base, nice and small, exactly the same as Zalman, except not in a flower 360 design.

The reason why i didn't buy the thermal take, was the ****ing about of buying an additional fan that suited.

I wasn't in the mood to go hunting down good reviews on silent fans, not enough time.

When i upgrade to a faster processer like the AMD 64 Bit, i'll look into thermal take, because the Zalman 120cm is just TOO BIG :)

[GimieGimieGimie]

lol,

I just noticed in your sig you use the Zalman 90cm silent fan with the Thermal Take copper heat sink...

CHEEKY BASTARD! :D

I will do the same ;)

[Conan]

The thermaltake excels at load temps. Idle temps would be about the same. Oh and you will need a good paint brush in keeping the Zalman free of dust over time.

[lynchknot]

I need a replacement fan for my thermaltake volcano (oldie) as it has burned up. Will someone suggest a good replacement or do I need to replace the whole thing - perhaps one of these? -

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=792&Nav=|c:493|&Sort=2&Recs=10#
For AMD xp2000

or would a good 80mm case fan suffice? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?page=2&Nav=|c:494|&Sort=1&Recs=10

thanks

[zipp51]

I'm using the Zalman flower cooler.It keeps my XP2800+ between 41 and 45 degrees.Fairly quiet also.Now I'm thinking about what I'll use on my A64 system.I was going to go with a stock fan/heatsink retail,but gimme helped change my mind.I am using a volcano 9 on another machine and it keeps the temp on a XP2100+ under 40 even under high load,but it's way too noisy.If I were to use Thermaltake it would have to be quiet. :D

[lynchknot]

My temps seem high using the old case fan and the old volcano - ambient room temp is 73F.

http://img37.exs.cx/img37/1991/temp4mh.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

[GimieGimieGimie]

I'm using the Zalman flower cooler.It keeps my XP2800+ between 41 and 45 degrees.Fairly quiet also.Now I'm thinking about what I'll use on my A64 system.I was going to go with a stock fan/heatsink retail,but gimme helped change my mind.I am using a volcano 9 on another machine and it keeps the temp on a XP2100+ under 40 even under high load,but it's way too noisy.If I were to use Thermaltake it would have to be quiet. :D

Even though i am proud of Zalman, and i'm glad you took my advice and it helped, it is also my duty to accept new standards of cooling, so i do have one question.

If you put the Volcano 9 on the faster XP2800+, would it keep the tempetures under 40 even on high load like it currently does for your XP2100+?

If it does, i believe you can simply change the fan over, because that's what's making the noise, and Zalmons fan is super quiet, one of the most quiet i've ever used, you can simply buy another Zalmon quiet fan and install that onto the Volcano :D

This is near enough Conan's set up, and even though i can't make a real assessment whether or not Conan's set up is cooler then mine, he is inclinded to think so, and i have no reason not to believe him :D

As far as i can tell, there's hardly any difference in the Zalmon Flower and Conan's similar copper based Thermaltake heat sink, except the Zalmon is shaped in a 360o circular fashion, and the Thermaltake isn't.

Apparently, according to Zalmon and Gigabyte and many other heat sink manafacturers who make the same design, 360o circular fashion heat sinks are better for heat disipation and they say is the way forward for heat sink, whether or not this is true, i cannot say, i haven't got another heat sink that isn't circular fashioned to properly test and compare.

What i can say is, if the companies are wrong, and it is indeed possible to have just as low tempetures with smaller non 360o based copper heat sinks as you can with the larger 360o based models we are both using, then this in my opinion, is excellent news, because the smaller the heat sink the better!

Less weight and less mass, can only lead to a better solution :D

[Conan]

As far as i can tell, there's hardly any difference in the Zalmon Flower and Conan's similar copper based Thermaltake heat sink, except the Zalmon is shaped in a 360o circular fashion, and the Thermaltake isn't.

:D

The difference is the Thermaltake has Heat Pipes. :D

[GimieGimieGimie]

The difference is the Thermaltake has Heat Pipes. :D

That would explain why it would be better then :p

lol @ this heat sink and fan from Thermaltake

http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/4in1heatpipe/cl-p0114bigtyphoon/cl-p0114.htm

[zipp51]

If you put the Volcano 9 on the faster XP2800+, would it keep the tempetures under 40 even on high load like it currently does for your XP2100+?

If it does, i believe you can simply change the fan over, because that's what's making the noise, and Zalmons fan is super quiet, one of the most quiet i've ever used, you can simply buy another Zalmon quiet fan and install that onto the Volcano :D


First,no I haven't put the volcano 9 on the 2800+ so I'm not sure if the temp would go under 40 under load like the 2100+.But I could guess that it would make improved cooling over the Zalman.Don't forget the Zalman Flower heat sink is mounted on the cpu and the 80mm fan is suspended above it attached to a bracket so there is no vibration directly to the cpu.Here is a picture of the heat sink. :DI don't think a 2800 rpm fan could cool a solid copper chunk such as the Volcano.

[GimieGimieGimie]

First,no I haven't put the volcano 9 on the 2800+ so I'm not sure if the temp would go under 40 under load like the 2100+.But I could guess that it would make improved cooling over the Zalman.Don't forget the Zalman Flower heat sink is mounted on the cpu and the 80mm fan is suspended above it attached to a bracket so there is no vibration directly to the cpu.Here is a picture of the heat sink. :DI don't think a 2800 rpm fan could cool a solid copper chunk such as the Volcano.

Interesting :D

[lynchknot]

Not sure how accurate (maybe dated or biased) Tom's Hardware is but here's a quote: Although the Zalman coolers look really slick, their thermal performance is disappointing. - http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20010521/

[Conan]

Not sure how accurate (maybe dated or biased) Tom's Hardware is but here's a quote: - http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20010521/

That article was dated 2001.

[lynchknot]

2001 - what has changed? It looks identical - Are they still selling it? - http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20010521/cooler-24.html

Here's the latest I think: http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20041213/index.html

Now this looks hardcore! (http://www.hard-h2o.com/hardh2o.php?tpant=0&seccion=files/engreviews/cooling/sp94) No, this is but it's too expensive (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1020396&Sku=K450-1018)

[GimieGimieGimie]

2001 - what has changed? It looks identical - Are they still selling it? - http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20010521/cooler-24.html



Not enough metal, simply too small, won't be able to keep up with the bigger copper heat sinks like the one i've got, especially without extra help like heat pipes.

Here's the latest I think: http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20041213/index.html


I've got the smaller one of these two, i also think the bigger brother of the two is when things are getting ridiculas, look at the size of the thing, even in a tower case, that takes far too much room to navigate around the inside comfortable, and i'm always got my hands inside my pc :D


Now this looks hardcore! (http://www.hard-h2o.com/hardh2o.php?tpant=0&seccion=files/engreviews/cooling/sp94)

THIS *IS* HARDCORE! :D

Shame it's only for intel cpus? :rolleyes:

[Conan]

THIS *IS* HARDCORE! :D

Shame it's only for intel cpus? :rolleyes:

Another old review, 2003. A lot has changed since then.

[GimieGimieGimie]

Another old review, 2003. A lot has changed since then.

True it is old, but what really has changed since then?

Heat pipes have increased, but the material hasn't changed, aside from fin density and mass of material, what's NEW in today's heat sinks exactly?

Only thing i've seen is the increase of heat pipes, and the size of the heat sink, i haven't seen any new advances, they are limited now.

It's time water cooling become standard and the greedy bastard companies drop their high prices.

[Conan]

True it is old, but what really has changed since then?

Heat pipes have increased, but the material hasn't changed, aside from fin density and mass of material, what's NEW in today's heat sinks exactly?

Only thing i've seen is the increase of heat pipes, and the size of the heat sink, i haven't seen any new advances, they are limited now.

It's time water cooling become standard and the greedy bastard companies drop their high prices.


Well I don't go shopping on computer parts being guided by 2001 and 2003 reviews. I mean who would guess that my Thermaltake pipe 101 would so handily outperform my Zalman cnps 7000 with its compact size.

[GimieGimieGimie]

Well I don't go shopping on computer parts being guided by 2001 and 2003 reviews. I mean who would guess that my Thermaltake pipe 101 would so handily outperform my Zalman cnps 7000 with its compact size.

I didn't say you would, neither would i, that's generally just stupid :D

But in this instance, regardless of the review date, this heat sink at:

http://www.hard-h2o.com/hardh2o.php?tpant=0&seccion=files/engreviews/cooling/sp94

Looks the dogs bollocks to be honest mate, 3 heat pipes, high fin density and pure copper base, puts this on par if not better then your current model Conan my old buddy, depending on how many heat pipes your model has?

How many heat pipes does yours have?

Oh did you notice that the model in question is infact ThermalTake as well? :D

Well what i can make of it, Thermaltake take full advantage of the heat pipes which appear to really make a difference in cooling, it's the only aspect setting the ThermalTake heatsinks apart from the Zalman models, both are made of the same copper alloy and have high fin density, it appears heat pipes is the way to go :rolleyes:

And i'm thankful, the Zalman models are far too big, and when it comes to heat sinks, the smaller is definately the better! ;)

[FastGame]

Oh did you notice that the model in question is infact ThermalTake as well? :D
No, its a Thermalright unless you guys are talking about a different review :)

[GimieGimieGimie]

Just looked at the Thermaltake website, excluding water cooling technology, these heat sinks caught my eye and will certainly be my next buys:

http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/comboCool/pipe101/pipe101.htm

This heat sink has what it takes, pure copper base, small, and with 4 heat pipes, with a excellent fan, this unit will be the dogs bollocks :D

With that being said, unless you want a noisy fan, (the faster a fan spins, the more noise it makes, but the faster the fan spins, the more heat it can move away from the copper base) the more metal alloy material a heat sink has, the better!

This is because the heat can travel further away from the actually cpu surface, thus for the serious over clockers, look at this BEAST!

http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/comboCool/cl-p0024tower112/cl-p0024tower112.htm

Pure copper based, with 6 heat pipes, and with it's massive size, this should prove to be one hell of a heat sink for the over clocker, but with more power, comes more responsibility, i certainly wouldn't want something that big in my case :p

[GimieGimieGimie]

No, its a Thermalright unless you guys are talking about a different review :)

Oh crap, why do companies always mimic the same names! :p

[lynchknot]

hehe, wow: 500g (1.1lbs)

[Conan]

http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/comboCool/cl-p0024tower112/cl-p0024tower112.htm

Pure copper based, with 6 heat pipes, and with it's massive size, this should prove to be one hell of a heat sink for the over clocker, but with more power, comes more responsibility, i certainly wouldn't want something that big in my case :p

Boogs has that monster heat sink in his PC.

[GimieGimieGimie]

Boogs has that monster heat sink in his PC.

Wow, i'm glad you said in his "pc" and not anything else :D

P.S. You need to use more smilies conan, your appearing far too serious these days :p

[cash_site]

You need to use more smilies conan, your appearing far too serious these days :p
Sounds like he is starting to get owned ;)