The 7000Cu and 7000AlCu are both contained in a sealed plastic package, which is difficult to open without destroying it. It must be opened with scissors or a knife, and a good amount of force is required to break its seal.
Included within the package are the following:
- 1 x heatsink (with mounted 92mm fan)
- 1 x Zalman FanMate (fan silencer)
- 1 x instruction booklet
- 2 x aluminum mounting brackets
- 2 x mounting screws
- 2 x thumb screws (used for mounting to Athlon 64 motherboards)
- 1 x tube of standard thermal compound
The FanMate is basically a rheostat fixed with a heatsink and enclosed in an attractive plastic casing. A small knob can be turned to reduce the voltage sent to the fan, thereby reducing its rotation speed and noise. This device is installed between your power source and fan, and does not interfere with your motherboard’s fan monitoring ability.
The thermal compound is a standard issue tube. It will do the job, but a high performance compound is recommended, such as Arctic Silver III. The enclosed aluminum brackets are intended to fasten to the mounting clips of a standard Pentium 4 enclosure. The heatsink can then be secured to these brackets with the enclosed screws.
The heatsink itself is very shiny. The processor contact point is machined very well, and does not require any lapping at all to achieve a completely flat surface. This flat surface will maximize contact by eliminating any microscopic peaks and valleys between the processor core and the cooler. Still, no matter how flat it looks to the eye, there is still space when using a dry joint, and thermal compound is used to fill these gaps.
The manufacturing design is very simple. Copper plates are shaved from a solid block of copper, and are strongly pressed together in the center. They are linked with pins and fixed with two aluminum side plates to maintain stability. The pressed center now takes on the appearance of a solid block of copper, and serves as the base for installing a fan.
