Zalman CNPS7000-Cu CPU Cooler Review
By: Tobiah Rothlingshofer

The Zalman CNPS7000-Cu heatsink is very impressive to behold. Anyone who has a window for showing off the insides of their computer will “need” to pick one of these heatsinks up.

However, the results I was able to achieve at lowering the temperature of my 3GHz Pentium 4 processor over that of the stock Intel cpu cooler were not quite what I expected... It may have something to do with my case or how the airflow is inside, but before we get into specifics let me first introduce you to what equipment was used to test the Zalman CNPS7000-Cu heatsink.

My first impression of the ZALMAN CNPS7000-Cu Heatsink was very favorable. When you pick it up it's almost like you can’t believe how heavy it is. Impressive seems to describe everything about the ZALMAN CNPS7000-Cu.

Installation could not have been easier. Unlike most heatsinks which use some sort of clamping mechanism to attach to the cpu socket, the ZALMAN heatsink uses two philips screws. However, after attaching the heatsink I noticed that it was still not firmly attached. I had to take it off and manually bend the metal support that screws to the support pieces. Even after doing this there was still some play in the heatsink, but I just assumed that it was designed to be like that and let it go. Since then I have discovered that others have reported similar problems.

Not having the most sophisticated equipment I just used the sensors on the motherboard to record the temperature changes of the CPU. I used 'Motherboard Monitor' to record the temperatures and 'Hot CPU Tester' to make the CPU heat up. I also ran Sisoft Sandra’s tests as well to really give the CPU a work out.

I have included 2 charts showing how the Stock Intel heatsink performed compared to the ZALMAN CNPS7000-Cu.

In conclusion, I saw about a 4 degree difference between the stock CPU cooler and the ZALMAN CNPS7000-Cu. The Intel Motherboard I have was chosen for stability first and not its ability to overclock, or its speed.

I use my system to record TV shows during the day, so the system is left on almost all the time. Controlling heat is very important to me and I have all the cables in my system are tied back out of the way, and use plastic tubing around any exposed wiring to help with airflow.

I had the ZALMAN CNPS7000-Cu heatsink plugged directly in to the motherboard to power the fan.

Honestly, when I used the included fanmate fan speed controller I could not tell much difference in fan noise. I am sure it exists because the FAN RPMS visibly decreased, however over the noise of the other fans in my case I just could not tell a difference. Because of this point I made sure I was getting maximum speed from the FAN and plugged it directly into the motherboard.

If you are not overclocking your CPU chip the ZALMAN is not that much of an improvement over the stock Intel heatsink in either noise or cooling performance. However, if you are like me and have a window in the side of your case and want one of the most impressive looking heatsink on the market make sure you get the ZALMAN 7000-Cu.

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Time stamped: 4:20PM, 09.02.2010