360° View - Zalman CNPS9500 LED Heatsink Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here.
	The Heatsink Fan: The 92x92x25mm fan spins at 1350-2600RPM, which produces about 18-27 dBA according to the companies data. The lack of any fan guard presents a challenge for systems with loose wires dangling around, and the CNPS9500 LED's height of 126mm precludes it from being used in compact or SFF-PC cases. The fan draws power from a standard 3-pin motherboard fan header that supports RPM monitoring, and the impeller is internally illuminated by several bright blue LEDs. Zalman's Fanmate 2 ships with the unit to enable the aforementioned fan-speed reductions.
	Heatsink Top: Looking down at the top of the Zalman CNPS9500 LED heatsink we can see the basic shape of its 88 copper fins. The 8mm wide notch along each side provides space for a screwdriver further down when mounting the heatsink to the CPU retention bracket. The clip fits in perpendicular to the direction of the heatpipes, and parallel, depending on the socket orientation. Also note the three heatpipes which form the frame of this heatsinks' many 0.2mm thick copper fins. Each fin separated 3mm at the tip, and 1mm along the inside. The copper fins are all soldered directly to each of the three copper heatpipes.
	Heatsink Side A: Every side of the 530 gram Zalman CNPS9500 LED heatsink is made for cooling as we can see from this image. The main body of the heatsink is 112mm in diameter, and each copper heatpipe 6mm in diameter. The base is formed from a shaped copper section to which the heatpipes are soldered, and a base cap made from cast aluminum. The copper base is about 2mm thick on average, 5mm at the most.
	Heatsink Side B: The 92mm fan is suspended in the center of the copper fins and heatpipe assembly on a couple stainless steel posts. When powered up, vibration between the fan and fins was not noticeable. The space directly behind the fan's motor is empty of any fins, which makes sense as this is generally a dead-spot for airflow anyhow. The Zalman CNPS9500 LED heatsink installs onto the CPU with a special steel bracket that fits onto the nub of the cast aluminum base cap - so the clamping force is focused directly at the center of the heatsink's base.
	Heatsink Base: The 39mm x 40mm copper base is soldered to the heatpipes so thermal conductivity is direct as could be expected. The copper is pretty thin (about 2mm), and while it has been machined very smooth (at or better than a roughness of ~8 microinches), it is not necessarily flat. Parallel to the direction of heatpipes, base flatness is excellent, perpendicular to the heatpipes the base has a slight curve; indicative of stresses induced when the cast aluminum cap was attached with screws at either end.