terminator10180

I have the Zalman CNPS9700NT and i was under the impression that Zalman makes top-of-the-line cpu coolers.........why isn't this the case with the overclockers on this forum?
Is the design simply too 'small' compared to all the other massive beasts?
Anyone care for some info? And please no links to reviews and stuff like that. reviews are very hard to trust and often contradicting

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h00chi3

Because there are several different air coolers that blow the Zalman out of the water. Big Typhoon, TT, Ultra, GeminII. Zalmans are just not cutting it now-a-days.

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Mad_Handlez89

I have a CNPS9700 - Here is a review for you.

Pros -

• Keeps my E6600 under 45c Load @ 3.6GHz
• Looks Awesome
• Easy to install
• Quiet
• Fan Controller included

Cons -

• The Blue LED isnt very bright......
• Thats it

Pic of it installed

Syrillian

Hi.

I have a CNPS9500. It is a good cooler..."good".

It is my experience is that a direct cross-flow of air helps a lot. I had it in an Antec case, and when I modded the front bay drives to hold a 120mm fan so that there was a direct shot through the case at the HS fan's height the temps dropped a few (3-4C) degrees.

I think it may be related to the total surface area of the CNPS lineup. Although large, it does not have the surface area of the gargantuan tower coolers.

As an example, the CNPS did not perform as well as the Noctua 120 under the same conditions... unitil I added the front intake, but that doesn't really mean all that much, as that mod would assist any cooler.

Just my

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Robilar

The tower coolers dominate. I have a zalman 9700 and 9500 (and have the older 7700 as well). Their design prevents you from using a stronger aftermarket fan. When I got my thermalright ultra 120 extreme, it dropped my load temps by 12 celcius and idle temps by about 4C.

The one good thing about the zalman is that it cools the surrounding VRM circuitry (Something tower coolers cannot do).

terminator10180

so let's say hypothetically that i was to get a new cpu cooler. what do you guys suggest?

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There are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation. That's 1 firearm for every 12 people on the planet. The only question is.............how do we arm the other 11?

stupid

I love (and recommend) my GeminII with 2 120mm Scythe S-Flexes.

The Ultra 120s are up there with the best coolers as well.

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Syrillian

Any one of the tower coolers that accomdates a 120mm fan will do.

Thermalright
Tuniq
Noctua
Scythe

You could also consider the behemoth Gemini...

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Rick Arter

Not a good enough fan stock and a TT BT or 120 will smoke a Zalman and they arent to much more price wise.

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Modki

Buy a $25 AC Freezer, you'll get the same temps a $70 Zalman gets. 42Cº/56Cº with my 500FSB, 1.4v E6300. Couldn't beat that with a stick. If I had money to blow on a huge case you'd see me with a Tuniq Tower 120 (which btw are about $10 cheaper than the 9700)

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