FrostyTech.com Heatsink Reviews and Analysis
   
  

TOP 5 Heat Sinks     TOP 5 Low Profile Heat Sinks     TOP 5 Liquid Coolers    
 Heatsinks by Brand / Mfgr      Reviews + Articless     Advanced Search    

Zalman CNPS9900 LED Intel Core i7 Compatible Heatsink Review
Zalman CNPS9900 LED Intel Core i7 Compatible Heatsink Review
  81%   
Abstract: Like most Zalman heatsinks, the CNPS9900 LED is pretty unique. It is based on a double 'fan' design, but with its 120mm PWM fan floating between the two radial copper fins.

 Manufacturer  Category  Published  Author 
Zalman   Cooling / Heatsinks   Jan 25, 2009   Max Page  

Home > Reviews > Page: 360° View - Zalman CNPS9900 LED Heatsink

360° View - Zalman CNPS9900 LED Heatsink


Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here.

The CNPS9900 LED's 120mm PWM fan spins at 1000-2000RPM depending on the temperature of the CPU and BIOS settings. Power is supplied by a 4-pin motherboard fan header that is backwards compatible with 3-pin fan headers. Standing 158mm tall, 140mm at its widest, the CNPS9900 LED is compact by Zalman standards. Three copper heatpipes are used, all 6mm in diameter. The fins leave a 59mm diameter hole at the front for air intake, 50mm at rear where the fan motor is housed.

The 120mm diameter fan is suspended 87mm above the CPU. In the 33mm space between two asymmetric donut shaped copper fin arrays (shown here with the clear plastic shroud on and removed). The space directly in front of and behind the fan motor is void. Mounting brackets fit over the nub of the cast aluminum base cap, or to either edge.

Each copper fin on the CNPS9900 LED heatsink measures 0.2mm thick. Fin spacing is 2.0mm at the outside, 0.5mm along the inside. The copper fins are soldered to the three 6mm diameter copper heatpipes.

The copper base of the Zalman CNPS9900 LED heatsink that makes contact with the processor IHS measures 32x32mm in area, and is a minimum 3mm thick. The surface is highly polished, and the three heatpipe ends are soldered in place to decrease thermal joint resistance.

Base Finish and Flatness

Flipping a heatsink over to inspect the business end is often a simple indicator of overall cooler quality. More practically speaking, a heatsink is in many ways only as effective as the contact it makes with the processor - the flatter and smoother the better. Base finish is one of the criteria that Frostytech measure in the course of evaluating heatsinks, and it involves two distinct aspects. Surface Finish is the first; this is calculated with the aid of Surface Roughness Comparator that has a cross section of common machine surface finishes and their numerical surface roughness equivalents in microinches. The second is Surface Flatness. This is tested with an engineers straight edge or proven flat surface, in two axis.

The base of the Zalman CNPS9900 LED heatsink is perfectly flat in one axis, and very slightly convex in the opposite, mostly just over the center line. The copper base itself has a glossy surface finish which is perfectly smooth. Surface roughness is at or better than ~8 microinches, which is excellent.

 Previous Page ° ° Next Page 

Table of Contents:

 1:  Zalman CNPS9900 LED Intel Core i7 Compatible Heatsink Review
 2: — 360° View - Zalman CNPS9900 LED Heatsink
 3:  Acoustic Sample and Heatsink Sound Levels
 4:  AMD K8 Heatsink Temperature Comparisons
 5:  Intel LGA775 Heatsink Temperature Comparison

List all Zalman heat sinks that Frostytech tested?

Facebook RSS Feed Twitter
Resources
° Got Feedback?
° Mk.II Test Platform
° Where To Buy?
° Manufacturer Index
° Industry Dir.
° Cooling Projects
Recently Tested

Arctic Liquid Freezer 120 CPU Watercooler Review

Scythe Mugen 5 Rev B SCMG-5100 Heatsink Review

Gelid Tranquillo 4 Air Cooled Heatsink Review

Coolermaster Ergostand III Laptop Cooling Stand Review

Noctua NH-D9DXi4-3U LGA2011 Xeon Server/Workstation Heatsink Review

Noctua NH-L9x65 Low Profile Heatsink Review
...More Articles >>


Websites you may also like:
PCSTATS

FrostyTech.com
Since June 1999


Find a Heatsink
Latest Heatsink Reviews
Top 5 Heatsinks Tested
Top 5 Low Profile Heatsinks
Top 5 Liquid Coolers
Heatsinks by Mfgr / Brand


Social Media
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest


FrostyTech.com Info
Feedback
Contact Us / Heatsink Submissions
Submit News
Privacy Policy
Suite 66

© Copyright 1999-2024 www.frostytech.com All Rights Reserved. Privacy policy and Terms of Use
Images © FrostyTech.com and may not be reproduced without express written permission. Current students and faculty of accredited Universities may use Frostytech images in research papers and thesis, provided each image is attributed.