Zalman is a leader when it comes to third-party heatsinks and accessories. They have been making quality PC products for many years, focusing on efficient design, which in turn have produces some of the best products available. Their CNPS (Computer Noise Prevention System) products have been some of the most effective heatsinks available, and have achieved great performance without excess noise.
Zalman is at it again, this time introducing their new flagship product, the CNPS9700 NT. Not only does this heatsink look like a true “flagship” product, but it is endorsed by nVidia themselves for their nForce Intel platform chipsets. Green is definately the theme of this heatsink (to go with the nVidia theme), so the box is green, and the LED lights in the huge cooling fan are some of the brightest green LEDs I’ve seen.
The CNPS9700 NT is a reworked design based on the 9500 CPU Cooler, which has been reviewed as one of the best air-based CPU coolers ever made. This new 9700 promises better performance and less noise.
Included in the green cardboard box is a 4-pin automatic fan controller (intended to work with nVidia and Intel’s 4-pin fan adapter), a vial of Zalman’s excellent thermal compound, a small manual, all the screws you need, a plastic mounting base and the heatsink itself. I was a little disappointed that the base was plastic and not aluminum (like Zalman’s ZM-CS1 CPU mount. This is easily one of the biggest and heaviest heatsinks ever made, so I would like the extra assurance of metal. The plastic ring does have four metal screw threads, so it will definately not slip off and probably will not warp.
Zalman CNPS9700 NT Specifications and Features
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This shiny piece of metal is like marvelling Michelangello’s David, the Eiffel Tower, or the Giza Pyramids… it is very awe inspiring (and almost as big) from it’s perfectly machined fins to it’s flawless Nickel finish. That’s right… not only is this thing pure copper, but it has been plated with nickel to prevent corrosion and give it an awe-inspiring chrome-like finish.
The bottom of the heatsink is perfectly machined to a flawlessly smooth mirror-like shine, which will certainly make perfect contact with your CPU of choice. Three solid heatpipes are soldered onto this copper base and snake through the copper fins, which have been fanned out forming a circular pattern. The fins are soldered to the heatpipes, so the fins are perfectly spaced and cannot be bent, an improvement over previous CNPS models.
Because the fins are perfectly spaced, dust does not accumulate as easily, either. The fins of previous CNPS heatsinks came together to form the actual copper block, which meant the space between fins became narrower near the base, which trapped dust most effectively. The dust was a pain to remove as well, and could not be blown away with a can of compressed air. But I digress… the new 9700 does not trap dust like the previous models.
The fan is one of the largest yet: 110mm of air-blowing goodness. The LEDs are included in the base of the fan, and are some of the brightest I’ve seen, and they light up the fan blades as if they were a solid color. The fan is not mounted directly to the heatsink itself (as in prior CNPS products), but is held in place with a lever, so it hovers over the concave opening of the sink.
Included in the CNPS9700 NT Box:
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Included in the kit is a small manual with thorough instructions for installing the cooler on several different platforms. The manual details all the steps you need, and includes handy illustrations.
The first part of installation is attaching the backplate to the underside of the motherboard. If your motherboard is already installed in a case then you’ll have to remove it. The backplate is positioned so that the clip support can be attached through the four screw holes around your motherboard’s CPU area. The Clip Support has a little notch to accomodate the CPU lever if you ever need to pull out your CPU, so the clip support must be oriented properly to maintain this accomodation. Once the clip support is tightened, then you can begin fitting the 9700NT to the Clip Support.
It’s best at this point to paint a thin layer of thermal compound onto your CPU. Zalman includes a vail of their excellent ZM-STG1 Thermal Grease, which has a nice little brush included within the cap. If you’ve ever painted your toenails (and who hasn’t, right?) then this will be a piece of cake. Dip the brush in the grey liquid and thoroughly coat the processor with it, but be sure not to use too much, and try to keep the layer as even as possible.
Deciding which way to orient the cooler is your next decision. The fan on the 9700 NT is uni-directional: meaning that instead of just blowing air in all directions (like the CNPS 7000) the air is directed through the cooler and out the other side. Because of this, cooling works best if the airflow is directed to the closest exhaust fan. So, the Clip Support has hour holes so you can mount the cooler in one of two orientations to get the best airflow path.
There are two brackets that fit around the heatpipes that actually put pressure on the CPU. Depending on how the cooler is oriented to the Clip Support determines which bracket you will use. You actually screw the bracket into the Clip Support, which in turn puts tension on the main block, securing it to the CPU.
Did any of that make any sense? See, this is why the manual includes illustrations…
The cooler was tested with an Intel E6600 Core 2 CPU with Asus’ P5W motherboard (the best motherboard for Core 2 Duo in my opinion). The comptuer was left to run idle for 20 minutes before an idle reading was taken, and load was simulated using two instances of SuperPi (one copy running on each core). To test the high and low fan speed we bypassed the automatic fan speed control on the motherboard and used Zalman’s included Noise Silencer module, which is basically a rheostat that adjusts the fan’s voltage.
In quiet mode, the 110mm fan runs between 1200rpm, and can be revved up to 2800 rpm, which does produce a slight hum, but not extremely noisy.
Zalman CNPS9700 NT Performance Chart
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The numbers speak for themselves: the Zalman CNPS9700 NT was able to beat my previous favorite heatsink, the Zalman CNPS-7000 and every other heatsink I could throw at it. The sheer size of this heatsink, coupled with its effective copper construction and triple heatpipes, not to mention the huge 110mm fan make this the most efficient coolers you can buy. Although Zalman includes a Noise Silencer module in every CNPS heatsink, it is not needed on the newest Intel platform, as the chipset sets the fan’s speed according to the CPU’s die temperature.
The CNPS9700 NT is Zalman’s new flagship product, and with good reason. Not only is the the most efficient air-cooled heatsink you can buy, but is has an elegant design, is sturdy, and downright beautiful. Nearly every minor design flaw with the CNPS line has been addressed. It’s nickel coating not only makes it attractive, but makes the exterior extremely sleek and smooth. Zalman’s new flagship dominates the virtual heatsink battlefield and crushes all in its path.
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