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Zalman 9500/9700

M

moosey

Golden Member
I've got my heatsinks for a C2D 2.4ghz system w/ a little o/c narrowed down. Mobo most likely BadAxe2 (not 100% certain though).
I am also trying not to have too much noise and would like to keep things as quiet as possible.
I've narrowed it down to...

- Zalman CNPS 9500
- " " 9700
- Scythe Ninja

First off, for those who have used the Zalmans, how would you rate the noise of the fan? I know to keep it quiet I'd most likely have to keep it at low. So overall, how would you rate it noise AND performance wise at the lower of the 2 fan settings.

*Also, what's the difference with the 9500AT and 9500LED. I know the lighted fan is different, but I was reading at digit-life that the 9500AT fan has 4 pins for PWM control. What is this and can a fan mate 2 still be used to control RPM?

I'm kind of leaning toward the 9500 a bit b/c it is smaller than the other 2 and heatsinks that size make me nervous about fit and weight on the mainboard.

I've read the reviews and all but I'd like some actual input on experience outside of a test setup.

Thanks
 
Low speed I can't even hear my 9500 over the other fans in the case. Medium speed is audible but still not noticeable. Full speed is more noticeable, not bad but it has a buzzy sound mixed in with the air "whooshing" sound.
 
I didn't know that there were 3 fan settings. Do both the reg 9500 and 9500LED come with the fan speed control? I just don't want anything that's gonna be too noticeable over my 2 Nexus 12cm case fans.
 
Originally posted by: moosey
I didn't know that there were 3 fan settings. Do both the reg 9500 and 9500LED come with the fan speed control? I just don't want anything that's gonna be too noticeable over my 2 Nexus 12cm case fans.
Click to expand...

It came with a fanmate 2, so when I say low I mean lowest setting on the knob, medium is somewhere in between, and high is with it turned to max. You can fine-tune anywhere in between slowest and fastest.

I have my 9500 LED hooked directly to the mobo and the asus Q-fan control in the BIOS adjusts the fan automatically, so if the CPU reaches a certain temperature the fan ramps up.
 
Does the 9500AT with the PWM fan basically do the same thing with controlling the RPM? Does any software need to be set for that to work?
Thanks
 
I don't know anything about the AT model. My 9500 LED has a standard 3-pin plug that plugs into the motherboard (or the fanmate 2) and my motherboard adjusts the voltage going to the fan. I don't know anything about the PWM fans, sorry.
 
I install a lot of Zalman heatsinks, I only use the Fanmate if the motherboard isn't able to control the CPU fan (not very often).

Any board with a 4-pin a PWM fan header (all socket 775 and AM2 boards) will have automatic fan control for 4-pin PWM fans so if your board has the 4-pin header I would opt for the "AT" version of the 9500.

As for the noise; at 12v they are a bit intrusive but at 5v nearly inaudible once inside a case.
 
Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
Low speed I can't even hear my 9500 over the other fans in the case. Medium speed is audible but still not noticeable. Full speed is more noticeable, not bad but it has a buzzy sound mixed in with the air "whooshing" sound.
Click to expand...

I have the CNPS9500 LED and I would echo Sparky's statements. I run mine at about 2000 RPM and the noise is inaudible above my two case fans (both 120mm).

How much are you planning to OC? If you're not going all-out and getting high-end RAM to try and get the max OC possible, I don't think there is any reason to spend extra money to get the 9700. So I would say you have your choice narrowed down to the 9500 or the Ninja.
 
Say I would try 350FSB, you think the 9500 would work out? The overall weight/size of some of the other heatsinks is what's worrying me about them.
 
I owned the 9500, and now have the 9700.

Its not even close, the 9700 all the way.

Now, i have them on a fan controller (works like the fan mate, i just like to have to use one controller for all my fans)

1st for the Noise. On low and medium both are inaudable. As you start to get to high (10-12 V) the 9700 is most definately louder.

Here is the big difference.

Becuase of the all the extra fin space (35% more fins on the 9700) it cools a LOT better.

On Low, the 9700 cools better than the 9500 on high! And on high, it blows away the 9500.(pun intended)

It may be a little louder, but when do you need the fan on high? Normally only during gaming, and the sounds of the game will drown out the fan sound sounds.

Its not as heavy as it looks. It doesn't bow or bend my mobo at all.

Heres a great review on it.

review

I love the 9700. Its an awesome cooler, and i find its also a lot better looking than all the other coolers.
 
Your system setup will also dictate if you'll hear it and by how much if at all. For example your video card or psu may drown it out at any level since they are often some of the top noise makers in a system.
 
Originally posted by: moosey
Say I would try 350FSB, you think the 9500 would work out? The overall weight/size of some of the other heatsinks is what's worrying me about them.
Click to expand...

dude...who says it is over weight?
Sure its heavy but not by far the heaviest.
I have had my Zalman 9500 in use on the same mobo since the first days they came on the american market!
No problems at all!!
 
The thing I liked about the 9500AT was the PWM fan. However, the 9700NT also has that too. Maybe I'll go for that then since the cooling is better than the 9500 even at low. I saw at tomshardware they did a quick compare and noticed a 4degree difference.

The thing about the weight is that some are so far over the spec weight on the sockets, that's why I was leaning to the 9500 over the 9700. Plus I don't want anything too big it's not gonna fit right on the board or in the case.

Anyone know if this thing will fit ok on an Intel 975XBX2? (9700)
 
I think it was XbitLabs that did a recent comparison of the 9700 against some of the Scythe products, 9500, and Big Typhoon. It was on this week's AT Hardware Guide Reviews.
 
I have the 9500 and it works great. My beef with it is the fan noise when ramped up. As others have said it's a loud buzzing noise.

I have it controlled off my MB though and it normally doesn't ramp up very often.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Like I was saying, I think I may give the 9700NT a try. Since it will cool better than the 9500, I'm hoping it won't have to ramp up the fan too much.
 
Most likely in a heavy 3D gaming fest you wont pay it much attention if it does ramp up. Especially if you got the sound/speakers on high like many gamers do.
 
Does anyone know if the zalman 9700 will fit in an Antec Super Lanboy Case? I heard it is HUGE. One guy on newegg says that he barely managed to cramp it in, and it touches his PSU!
I an concerned about getting this thing and then having problems installing it....
 
Huge compared to what? A 9500? No, its not IMO. Its only a little larger than the 9500 and thats because they went from a 90mm fan to a 110mm fan. So its what? 20mm bigger? Thats .8 of an inch. Thats not huge in my opinion. Now compare it to a stock pcu hsf? Yeah, thats a huge difference. I havent heard of it touching the psu other than where its suppose to at the base.

I got a open thread about the Super Lanboy (I'm considering getting one for a lanbox) going on over at the HardForum. I'll ask if anyone has tried putting a 9700 in theirs yet. See what I come up with. I know some have said they are putting Scythe's into theirs and I know they are bigger than 9500s.

Btw, what mobo is your buddy using in his setup?
 
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