Zalman CNPS 9500 Heatsink Review

When you think cool, you think of Zalman.  Or you think of Prince.  Either way you have one Killer Chiller.  Today my subject is none other than the Zalman CNPS9500.  When you take the classic Zalman flower design and combine it with an ultra-quiet fan, a unique heat pipe array, and a little LED bling, you know that you’re going to have the coolest CPU temp in the room, with a little extra flavor.

Any time I get my hands on a Zalman I get that little urge to do an Irish jig.  Wooden shoes and all.  Oh, wait… that was the Dutch.  But you get the idea.  Zalman is the first and last name in processor cooling, and today I get the opportunity to test their latest monster, the 9500.  While I am a fan of Zalman, I am also a born skeptic, and decided to shove this thing on top of an Intel 2.4Ghz processor and run the crap out of Call of Duty 4 for a little while.  Hey, what better way to test a cooler than to punish the processor it’s meant to protect?  I love PC masochism.

In the box, I found the Zalman 9500 with the super quiet fan already installed.  One thing I found particularly sweet was the way the heatsink’s flower design was turned on its side and supported by a series of three “figure 8” heat pipes that start and end in the heatsink’s copper base.  Actually, this thing is pretty much 100% copper from top to bottom, aside from support bolts.  And since these don’t even play a part in cooling, it doesn’t matter that they are not copper.  The rest of it?  Pure copper baby, and ready to chill the shiznit out of your processor.  There was a little bag of various installation parts to enable this cooler to fit a variety of sockets, some thermal grease, and an instruction booklet.  I figured there would be a personal thank you letter from the executives at Zalman for helping them pay their Bentley payment this month, but I guess that will come in the next one.

Features

• Does not generate noise or vibration in Silent Mode
• Pure copper heatsink with component layout optimized for maximum cooling efficiency
• Innovative, patented, and curved heatpipe design for a heat transfer capacity of up to six heatpipes with the use of just three
• Ultra slim fins (0.2mm) for minimized weight and reduced airflow resistance
• Equipped with Zalman’s low noise 92mm fan
• Supports all single and dual core CPUs of Intel’s Socket 775/478 and all single and dual core CPUs of AMD’s Socket AM2/754/939/940
• The adjustable fan speed controller (FAN MATE 2) enables control of noise and cooling performance

FHS

Dimensions 85(L) x 112(W) x 125(H) mm Weight 530g Base Material Pure Copper Dissipation Area 3,698? Thermal Resistance 0.12 ~ 0.16°C/W

FAN

Bearing Type 2 Ball-Bearing Speed 1,350rpm ± 10 % ~ 2,600rpm ± 10 % Noise Level 18.0dBA ± 10% ~27.5dBA ± 10%

In order to install the 9500 on the socket 478 all I had to do was slide two pieces of metal in over the already existing chassis that held down the original heatsink.  This is an overwhelming convenience compared to some of the other heatsinks I’ve had to install lately.  I absolutely love not having to gut a computer and completely remove the mobo just to install a freaking heatsink.

Installation is not so easy for all other socket installations.  Unless you are upgrading from another Zalman cooler, then you will probably have to remove the motherboard and mount the included plastic mounting brackets.  The included bracket will accomodate the ZIF lever for Socket 775, and is also notched to accept the curved retention pin.  There are only two notches on the bracket, so you need to make sure it is positioned correctly so your cooler blows towards your case’s exhaust and not the top or bottom of your case… or you will have to remove your motherboard again.

Once the brackets are installed, you must maneuver the curved retention pin through the heatpipe jungle near the base of the 9500.  Attach the other side of the pin, press down with your thumb until the pin catches on the plastic bracket’s spurs, and you’re golden.  It can be very frustrating at first, but once you get the hang of if you can do it blindfolded (well, almost).

I applied the thermal grease, clipped the heatsink into place, connected the wires and booted that baby up so I could get into some hardcore gaming.  Well, some softcore gaming, it is a P4 after all.  So how did it do?  Read on, you goofy goobers.

The temperature in my test area was a steady 18.3°c, which is what I like in my work area.  I’m a fat guy, so I like it chilly.  What is your problem anyway?  The fact of the matter is that the Zalman beat the living snot out of the stock cooler, dropping it 13 degrees on idle and 21 degrees on full load.  This is a significant improvement over stock, and could mean the difference between your CPU running smoothly or overheating and shutting down your entire computer.  I also tested the Zalman coolers on low and high RPMs, thanks to the included FanMate.

	heatsink Idle Load Zalman 9500 (low) 29 42 Zalman 9500 (high) 27 38 Zalman 9700 (low) 27 41 Zalman 9700 (high) 25 38 Intel X6800 Retail 40 59 Tuniq Tower 120 26 38 Scythe Katana 31 45

In conclusion, I found the Zalman 9500 a very sweet surprise, especially in light of some of the crap that is thrown onto the heatsink shelf in our PC shops.  It looks good, it’s damned efficient, and is a very easy install even under the tightest conditions given its standing-flower design.  And with the option of controlling the speed via the included controller, what we have here is a very nice heatsink with a lot of opportunity to get the most out of your PC.

	REPORT CARD : Zalman CNPS 9500 LED CPU Cooler category rating comments Quality 5 Smooth base, beautiful copper and fan Innovation 5 A heatpipe cooler that’s all copper and doesn’t look ugly Installation 3 Easy on Socket 478… more difficult for everyone else. Performance 4 Gets near 9700 levels, which is close to watercooling Value 4 Nearly same performance as 9700NT (reviewed here) for $20 cheaper FINAL VERDICT: 4 out of 5 stars