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Zalman CNPS10X Extreme


Date
: 09/3/09 – 03:51:47 AM

Author
:

Category
: Cooling

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer:
Zalman

Zalman is a familiar face and for good reason. They have long been a leader in PC cooling solutions. While they have ventured into other areas such as PC cases, power supplies as well various peripherals, they are still primarily known for their successful line of CNPS coolers.

Zalman has largely achieved their cooling success on their 'flower' heatsink design. Today Zalman comes to us with a new design for them in the CNPS10X Extreme CPU cooler. While the tower cooler design has been used by many companies, this is a first for Zalman. Let's find out if they hit a home run or a foul ball on their first attempt.

Page 2 : Package and Accessories

The packaging for the CNPS10X Extreme uses a black theme which is a change from the usual green or aqua we have been used to. On the back is a list of features for the CNPS10X Extreme.

On the sides are a list of specifications and some pictures of various features.

Once you open up the top all of the accessories are situated on top. The heatsink itself comes encased in a familiar plastic shell.

Accessories include mounting hardware for AMD and Intel platforms, a tube of ZM-STG2 thermal paste, user manual, controller extension cord and case sticker.

Page 3 : Features and Specifications

I grabbed the specifications straight from Zalman's product page here.

Features:

Powerful Cooling Performance
Optimally designed aluminum fins disperse heat away from the CPU via 5 heatpipes, while the high capacity 120mm fan quickly cools the heatsink for stable operation of high performance CPUs.

PWM Fan with Auto/Manual Control
Includes PWM Mate, the world's first RPM controllable PWM fan speed controller, with the options of 3-Speed Auto or Manual Control Modes.

*PWM Mate can be installed on the case's exterior by connecting with the included Extension Cable.

Ultra Quiet 120mm Blue LED Fan
Switching noise eliminated 120mm fan incorporated for ultra quiet operation and Blue LEDs for cool aesthetics.

*'Switching noise' is the high frequency harmonic noise that can result from voltage regulation.

Black-Pearl Nickel Plating
The entire heatsink of CNPS10X Extreme is 'Black-Pearl' Nickel Plated for long-term corrosion resistance, while the deep 'Black-Pearl' tone along with the high intensity Blue LEDs reinforce its powerful aesthetics.

High Performance Super Thermal Grease ZM-STG2
The included all new high performance thermal grease ZM-STG2 maximizes heat transfer from the CPU to the base of CNPS10X Extreme for intensified cooling performance.

Versatile Compatibility
CNPS10X Extreme accommodates a broad range of sockets.
*Intel LGA1156/1366/775, AMD AM3/AM2+/AM2/754/939/940

Specifications:

Page 4 : The Heatsink

The CNPS10X Extreme is all black in color aside from the 120mm LED fan. The heatsink itself is aluminum with a ‘Black-Pearl' nickel plating. There is a plastic shroud of sorts on the top that provides a spot for the PWM Mate controller that we will take a closer look at later.

The side angle shot gives us a good look at the 5 heatpipes that whisk the heat away and into the fins. The four pin fan power connection comes out of the top shroud as well.

Here you can see the little dock for the PWM Mate fan speed controller. You have two options: leave it in the dock or use the extension cable provided to run it outside the case. Obviously if you leave it inside it makes it a bit difficult to get to and change if you want to and while running the PWM Mate to the outside of the case makes it easier to get to it also will leave another cable to clutter up your case.

The PWM Mate essentially has two controls. The round wheel at the top is used to adjust fan speed in manual control mode and the lower half is a button to switch between the various modes. The two LEDs light up in different colors to indicate which mode you are in. There are three auto settings (low, medium and high) and one manual setting for a total of four. On the auto settings the difference is in the maximum RPM of the fan at load. Keep in mind also for the auto settings to truly work you have to have PWM settings setup in your BIOS.

Another change from past heatsinks is the ability to easily remove and change the fan. While the fan shape is standard, the connection location isn't so it might take a bit of work to get your own fan to fit.

The top shroud can be removed and you can see the ends of the five heatpipes.

The base of the CNPS10X extreme has the familiar raised circular center that is used for the mounting clip for AMD platforms. The base is what we have come to expect from Zalman, a smooth mirror finish.

Page 5 : Installation

The CNPS10X Extreme is a pretty large heatsink so size may be an issue. I decided to do sort of a mock on this DFI Blood Iron board, and as you can see it just would not work. If the body of the heatsink sat a bit higher it would fit, but as it stands it just won't fit unless you have the fan blowing down across the motherboard. Luckily there were no issues with my Biostar TPower I45.

The CNPS10X extreme pretty much uses the same mounting system as the CNPS9900LED, and in similar fashion it is somewhat difficult to reach the screws having to really angle the screwdriver to reach.

Once you power things up, the PWM Mate LEDs light up. Blue is low, purple is medium, red is high and green is manual mode.

Once installed the CNPS10X Extreme is an attractive looking heatsink. The blue LED fan really sets off nicely against the black nickel plating.

Page 6 : Testing

The following system was installed and used to gather temperatures:

CPU: Intel E8400
MB: Biostar TPower I45
RAM: G.Skill PI Black PC6400
Video: Biostar Geforce 9600GT
PSU: Ultra X3 1000W
HD: WD 250GB SATA
DVD-Rom: Lite-On 18x DVD Burner – SATA
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932
OS: Microsoft Windows XP w SP2
Ambient Temperature: 25-26C

Comparison Coolers:
Stock Intel HSF
Zalman CNPS9900LED
Zalman CNPS10X Extreme

For idle temperatures, the system was allowed to stand at idle for 3 hours before temperatures were taken. To achieve load temps, two instances of Orthos blend were run for three hours and the average peak temperature was recorded. Voltage readings were taken from the BIOS and temperature readings were taken using Everest Ultimate. I tested the CNPS10X Extreme with the PWM Mate in manual mode and ran tests at both high and low settings.

At stock settings the CNPS10X Extreme matches its cousin, the CNPS9900LED. There is only around a 3 degree difference between high and low settings, which surprised me since there is a noticeable difference in noise between the two settings.

Next I upped the voltage a little to 1.28v to see how the CNPS10X Extreme fares with a little more heat.

Results here are almost identical to those of the stock settings, with temps equal between the two CNPS coolers. The CNPS9900LED is definitely good company to have in this regard so Zalman has done well with their first tower style cooler.

Noise is often a factor in choices of CPU coolers and the CNPS10X Extreme does produce a noticeable bit of it when set to high. The good news is that you really don't lose a whole lot of performance by adjusting the speed down and you always have the option to change out the fan if you like, though be prepared for a little bit of work.

Page 7 : Conclusion

Zalman has stepped away from the cooler design it is well known for and has done a pretty good job. With this step away from the flower design, they also open up a little bit and give you the ability to swap fans. Cooling performance of the CNPS10X Extreme matches their previous top end cooler the CNPS9900LED. They also bring back a new version of the PWM Mate with more options than previous iterations. With a black nickel plate finish the CNPS10X Extreme is sure to compliment almost any setup.

With the impressive performance and features of the CNPS10X Extreme, I still find it somewhat difficult to recommend it over the CNPS9900LED due to the low lying design of the body causing mounting issues on some boards. And while you have the ability to swap fans, it isn't exactly a simple swap as you most likely would lose the PWM Mate functionality.

The CNPS10X Extreme is at the top of the heap when it comes to air coolers and would plant itself even higher with a few minor changes.

Advantages

• Excellent performance

• PWM Mate fan controller
• Black nickel finish

Disadvantages

• Installation

• Size/interference

Overclockers Online would like to thank Zalman for supplying the CNPS10x Extreme for review.