Zalman CNPS8700 LED
Nov 22nd, 2007 | By Archive
Zalman CNPS8700 LED
Date
: 11/22/07 – 03:28:22 AM
Author
:
Category
: Cooling
Page 1 : Index
Manufacturer:
Zalman
Price:
$55.50 at Shopzilla
Earlier I had the opportunity to test out Zalman's latest in watercooling, the Reserator XT. Today I have in hand one of their latest CNPS heatsinks designed for home theater PC's and small form factor PC's: the CNPS8700 LED. Much like most of Zalman's cooling solutions, the CNPS8700 LED is aimed at optimal cooling with the least amount of noise. Read on to find out if this new cooler lives up to Zalman's reputation.
Page 2 : Package and Specifications
Let's first take a look at the package the CNPS8700 LED comes in.
The box has a green and grey color pattern and a nice clear view of the cooler inside. The package also lets you know that the CNPS8700 LED is compatible with both Intel and AMD's newest processors.
Moving to the left side of the package are the specifications of the cooler. Along the bottom is a diagram of an additional benefit of the design; additional airflow over motherboard components.
On the back of the box is a full list of compatible CPU sockets and a listing of features. Also included are a few photographs of the CNPS8700 LED and a clear view of the base of the heatsink.
The left side is a green and gray split scheme stating what characteristic the CNPS8700 is aiming for; "Ultra Quiet"
Now to take a peak at the product specifications and features for the CNPS8700 LED taken directly from Zalman's website:
1. Compatible with all single, dual, and quad core CPUs for Intel socket 775 and AMD socket AM2/754/939/940.
2. Compatible with Slim Tower / Low Profile Home Theatre PC Enclosures.
3. 100% pure copper heatsink with aerodynamically optimized tunnel design for high performance cooling.
4. Patented curved heatpipe design for heat transfer performance of up to 4 heatpipes using just 2.
5. Ultra-thin 0.2mm fins for minimized weight and significantly reduced airflow resistance.
6. The 110mm fan inside the heatsink cools not only the CPU, but the VGA card, Northbridge, FET, and RAM as well.
7. Does not generate noise or vibration in Silent Mode.
8. The adjustable fan speed controller (Fan Mate 2) enables control of noise and fan performance.
Page 3 : Contents
Now that we have taken a look at the box and specifications, let's get down to the meat inside.
When you first pop open the top, you are greeted with all of the accessories neatly packaged in the top.
Accessories include mounting plates for both AMD and Intel sockets, instructions, a Zalman case badge, small tube of thermal grease and mounting clip. Also included is the well known Fan Mate 2 fan controller.
Removing the cooler we can see it is enclosed in a plastic shell to protect it. Thankfully this shell wasn't heat sealed but only sealed by the buttons in each corner, so you don't have to destroy the container to get the CNPS8700 LED out.
Removing half of the protective shell we can see the bottom of the cooler and the two heatpipes that come out and wind around the cooler through the fins.
As you can see the Zalman comes with a mirror finish with no visible machine marks or blemishes. This is one area where Zalman shows excellent fit and finish with their products.
Taking a look at the CNPS8700 LED from the side we can see the fins used in the 'flower' design. The fins are attached only to the heatpipes so all heat dissipation comes directly from them for the processor.
Here is another side view that gives you a better look at the heatpipes and how they are mated to the base of the heatsink.
Sitting inside the cooler is Zalman's own 110mm LED fan. As noted earlier this design allows air to also dissipate over nearby motherboard components that often go ignored but can get quite warm.
With the fan removed we have a better view of how the heatpipes are soldered into the base.
We now have a good idea of the look and build of the 8700 LED, now let's see how it fares with installation.
Page 4 : Installation
I am installing on an AMD s939 system. Installation of heatsinks is generally pretty straightforward and rather easy, but there were a few slight hiccups that I hit with the CNPS8700 LED.
The first minor snag I ran into was dealing with inserting the clip in between the heatpipes. Instructions say to simply slide it in sideways and align the center hole in the clip with the round knob on the heatsink. However after a bit of frustration where the clip would completely lay down flat, I discovered this is due to the spacing of the heatpipes and the clip can only go in from one side. So if you are installing this just keep in mind if it doesn't fit, try turning the clip around.
The second minor irritant came with clipping the heatsink onto the retention bracket. I couldn't get a good picture of this on the motherboard, but if you noticed this side of the clip is not a solid piece. With the way it sort of just rests and 'hangs' can make it somewhat difficult to get the clip aligned on both sides. Again, not a major issue, but with how effortless most recent heatsinks I have used this was sort of a letdown.
After the cooler is installed you can get a good look at its size. It comes pretty close to the memory, so any taller memory heatsinks will not fit if your memory slots are close to the CPU socket. Since the CNPS8700 LED is aimed at SFF and HTPC's, it has a fairly low profile as you can see.
For this review I installed the Fan Mate 2 on the back of the PC using a screw used on my case. If you choose not to use the Fan Mate 2, the CNPS8700 will run at producing about 25dB of sound.
And of course an obligatory shot of the cooler in action and the reason for the LED in its name.
Now that the CNPS8700 LED is installed, time to find out what it can do.
Page 5 : Testing
Below are the system specifications that will be used for testing. Also listed are the comparison coolers. All coolers are tested using Shin Etsu thermal grease to even the playing field.
MB: DFI LP NF4 Ultra-D
RAM: G.Skill 2x1GB PC-4000
GPU: XFX 7800GT
PSU: Ultra X3 1000W
HD: Western Digital 40GB IDE, Seagate 80GB IDE
DVD-Rom: Lite-On 18x DVD Burner – SATA
Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos 1000
Comparison Coolers: Stock Opteron HSF and Thermalright SI-128 w/ Panaflo H1A 120mm
Ambient Temperature: 24-25C
To start off I used stock settings on my Athlon64 3700+. I tested both the lowest and highest fan setting using the Fan Mate 2.
As you can see the CNPS8700 LED outperforms the stock heatsink at both low and high settings and not surprisingly lags behind the SI-128. Pretty good results considering even at the highest fan speed the CNPS8700 is still quieter than both of the other coolers. At the low setting the CNPS8700 is pretty much silent as it cannot be heard above the quiet case fans in the Cosmos.
Now its time to put a little more heat and see what happens.
Here you can see a bigger difference in temps between the high setting and low setting. While I'm not too thrilled with the results, I didn't expect any 'astound' me results since this cooler is not pushed for over the top cooling performance, but aimed at silent computing needed in home theater pc's. Still it does an admirable job considering it is still quieter than the other two coolers.
Page 6 : Conclusion
If you are looking for a heatsink to help push that processor overclock a little farther, than look elsewhere, that is not the aim of the CNPS8700. But if you are looking for a cooler to keep your home theater pc cool without also being heard, the 8700 is just what you are looking for. Zalman has once again released a solid product that retains their silent computing legacy. Whether or not you choose to use the included Fan Mate 2, the 8700 will satisfy any silent computing application. While I don't have any numbers it's also worth noting that the design allows for additional airflow over neighboring motherboard components, an added bonus many heatsinks do not give.
I might just be nitpicking but I think the installation could be a little more frustrating than needed due mainly to the clip design. With the ease of installation of most heatsinks, this just sort of caught me by surprise. This is not to say it's a deal breaker, just something to keep in mind. Overall I was quite pleased with the looks and performance and really only had this one minor complaint.
Positives
- Quiet operation
- Included Fan Mate 2
- Quality construction
Negatives
- Instructions could be better
- Clip can be tricky
Overclockers Online would like to thank Zalman for supplying the CNPS8700 LED for review.