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Zalman CNPS9700 LED Low Noise Heatsink Review
Zalman CNPS9700 LED Low Noise Heatsink Review
  95%   
Abstract: Now, there's no point in dancing around the fact that Zalman's CNPS9700 LED is the best socket 775 heatsink FrostyTech has tested to date.

 Manufacturer  Category  Published  Author 
Zalman   Cooling / Heatsinks   Nov 29, 2006   Max Page  

Home > Reviews > Page: Intel LGA775 Final Heatsink Temperature Comparisons
FrostyTech Mk.II Synthetic Thermal Heatsink Test Results
Intel Pentium D / Extreme Edition & Quad Core class heatsinks tested at 150W
Intel Core 2 Duo / Pentium 4 / Celeron class heatsinks tested at 85W

Results based on readings from a 30x30mm copper interface die with 150W and 85W heat loads applied on the LGA775 version of the Mk.II Test Platform. Temperature results listed for each heatsink were calculated by determining the rise over ambient temperatures at time of test. Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here.
Socket 775 compatible CPU heatsinks
manufacturer: model no.: fan speed: 150w
thermal test* (°c)
85w
thermal test (°c)
noise level (dba)

Thermalright Ultra 120 17.8 10.6 53.7
Zalman CNPS9700 LED high 19.0 10.4

56.5

Apack Zerotherm BTF90 21.8 12.7 52.1
Apack Zerotherm BTF80 22.8 13.9 51.9
Zalman CNPS9700 LED low 25.2 15.7 37.5
Thermalfly F1-IACSHA high 29.0 18.3 60.4
Zalman CNPS9500 AT 29.6 17.3 53.3
Alpha Novatech PRE9060M92P high 29.9 18.5 51.5
Akasa AK-961 30.0 18.7 60.7
nPowertek NPH-775-1 30.1 18.8 50.1
Sunon Waturbo 30.6 18.3 57.5
Apack CF800 high 31.4 20.7 48.4
Thermaltake Jungle512 high 31.6 20.4 60.8
Zalman CNPS7700-Cu high 32.9 19.7 50.7
Apack CF900 high 32.9 20.3 48.3
Evercool PT02-9232CP 33.3 19.9 63.3
Zalman CNPS7700-Cu LED high 33.5 20.6 49.8
Intel Stock Pentium D high 33.8 20.7 47.5
Akasa AK-960E 36.1 21.4 56.3
Thermalfly I75DUH 37.8 22.8 48.7
Intel Stock Pentium D low 40.3 23.9 40.5
Zalman CNPS7700-Cu LED low 41.3 25.0 34.9
Apack CF900 low 67.4 39.0 34.7
150w
thermal test (°c)
85w
thermal test (°c)
noise level (dba)
*heatsinks are ranked according to the 150w thermal test results column (rise over ambient temp.). low temperatures with low noise levels are considered best. for reference heatsinks with variable-speed fans, only the high speed (12v) fan test result is included in the comparison sheet; more detailed results reside in each specific heatsink review.

the heat output from intel processors varies widely between single and multi-core processors, so we've settled on two values which represent the upper limit (150W and 85W) of both existing CPU families.

With a 150W heat load applied by the Intel LGA775 version of FrostyTech's synthetic thermal test platform, the Zalman CNPS9700 LED heatsink maintains a excellent rise above ambient temperature of just 19.0°C! For this thermal result, there was 56.5 dBA noise from the 110mm fan spinning at its full speed of 2800RPM. The CPU equivalents of this test would be an Intel Pentium D / Extreme Edition or Core 2 Quad class chip. At the much quieter fan speed of 1250RPM, temperatures rise by only a few degrees to 25.2°C (37.5 dBA) over ambient.

The Zalman CNPS9700 LED heatsink was next tested with the reduced heat load of 85W. In this case the heatsink produced a 10.4°C rise over ambient at full fan speed. When the fan speed is once again reduced to quiet mode (1250RPM), the CNPS9700 LED heatsink achieves a temperature of 15.7°C over ambient.

Bottom Line - Quiet & Cool!

At stock fan speeds, the Zalman CNPS9700 LED heatsink is one of the best socket 775 Intel Pentium & Core 2 Duo heatsinks FrostyTech has tested to date. When running in its quiet 37.5 dBA mode, the Zalman CNPS9700 LED operates only 5°C warmer, again giving it the distinction of top of the line quiet socket 775 operation.

The results of Frostytech's tests with the Zalman CNPS9700 LED underscore its capabilities as an excellent low noise thermal solution. This is one heatsink that operates best when the fan is running at its slowest speed and generating barely any noise at all.

From the results listed above, it's clear that the Zalman CNPS9700 LED is all around one of the best multi-CPU heatsinks on the market at this time, handling AMD and Intel thermal loads with equal grace (at full fan speed). When used in its quietest mode, the Zalman CNPS9700 LED is demonstrably better than the stock Intel Pentium D, and stock socket AM2 AMD heatsinks. The competition is a little fiercer on the socket 939/AM2 synthetic thermal test platform, perhaps indicating the CNPS9700 LED has been tuned more for Intel processors... Either way, the Zalman CNPS9700 LED is so good at what it does that it's the only Zalman heatsink you should be considering for your processor right now. Performance cooling and quiet performance cooling all in one package, impressive!

Related Articles:

For more reviews on the latest heatsinks and cooling solutions, rely on FrostyTech's inventory of 350+ heatsink reviews. Here are a few other articles that you might enjoy as well...
- Apack Zerotherm CF800 Socket 775 Heatsink Review
- Evercool PT02-9232CP Bifurcated Fin Heatsink
- Thermalfly I75DUH Bifurcated Fin Socket 775 Heatsink Review
- Intel Stock Pentium D Radial Curved non-Bifurcated Fin Heatsink Review
- Thermalfly F1-IACSHA Heatsink Review
- Zalman Fatal1ty FS-C77 Heatsink Review
- Antazone ASC1000 Copper Heatsink Review
- Zalman CNPS9500 AT Socket 775 Low Noise Heatsink Review
- Zalman CNPS7700-Cu LED Low Noise Heatsink Review

 Previous Page ° Heat Sink Review Index  

Table of Contents:

 1:  Zalman CNPS9700 LED Low Noise Heatsink Review
 2:  360° View - Zalman CNPS9700 LED Low Noise Heatsink
 3:  Acoustic Comparisons and Base Surface Quality
 4:  AMD K8 Final Heatsink Temperature Comparisons
 5: — Intel LGA775 Final Heatsink Temperature Comparisons

List all Zalman heat sinks that Frostytech tested?

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