Zalman CNPS 7000-Cu installation problem

[ah6tyfour]

hi! read so many great reviews about the Zalman that I got one during Xoxide's X-hour a few weeks ago...and ran into problems while installing...

Are the metal "supports" supposed to be a VERY tight fit? the two that I got with my fan differed in size quite a bit...one was so loose that i could just slide it in and it could move around freely....the other one was a VERY tight fit trying to get it into the CPU heatsink place...finally jammed it in.....are these things supposed to be loose or VERY tight?

then i tried installing the heatsink/fan itself....placed the thing onto the CPU to try it on for "size" and found that it fit, but that the place where you screw the fan to the base is raised quite high off the supports....i had almost a 1-inch gap between the hole of the metal support and the place on the fan wehre you screw it in.....am i supposed to force the two together using screws? i was afraid to put that much pressure on it....

those of you with the zalman cnps7000....how easy was the install? perhaps my supports are defective? the instruction manual says nothing about having to force the two halves to come together....from teh instructions, it looks like the metal support and the bracket on the fan should just line up automatically.....i keep reading about hoow easy it is to install...but i found it amazingly difficult....so i just went with my stock cooler for now.....

thanks for your help!

 

[lodog00]

you mentioned a gap between the supports and the screw retention clips. This is normal. Screw one side slightly in first, then carefully push down the other side and screw them in. Alternately tighten till the screw locks into place. Simple actually, and applies the perfect amount of pressure to the CPU.

careful not to overtighten...I actually broke the screw off since I put too much pressure too fast and didn't alternate (I was using an electric screwdrive....d'oh!)

 

[ah6tyfour]

wow...what a fast response =) Thanks!

how about the two metal supports? are they supposed to both be really REALLY snug? or both supposed to be loose?

 

[lodog00]

They are fairly loose at first. But once you get the correct pressure from the HS, they will be VERY tight. You won't have to worry about them falling out or slipping out if that's what you're worried about.

Just make sure they are aligned and centered properly. Only a proper installation can guarantee that you don't have any problems, especially considering the weight of the cooler itself (assuming you went for the copper!).

 

[ah6tyfour]

well...i have 1 that is pretty loose which i suspect is the normal one....

and then i have the other 1 which is VERY tight cause its about 4-5mm wider than the other one....so its a VERY difficult fit....took A LOT of pressure to finally get it in....and was a virtually impossible task tryin to get it out again..... (the size of the "head" is about the exactly dimensions as the hole in the mobo where the thing slides in)......

 

[lodog00]

that's odd. The mounting blocks should be just slightly smaller than the holes in the socket 478 mounting "cage". When they slide in, they should be easy to remove, but should be very snug when the HS is tightened. Have you tried mounting the cooler w/o a chip to see how the whole thing fits? If the cooler isn't even after you've tightened the screws evenly on both sides, then maybe you need new blocks.

email/call zalman-usa and they can probably send you new blocks for free if yours are defective.

 

[ah6tyfour]

Thanks for all your help lodog00!!

I emailed Zalman USA as you suggested and they reply REALLY fast! heh....they said to send them a copy of my receipt and then they'll go ahead and mail out replacement metal supports. Emailed Xoxide for the receipt, and within 2 hours, they found my receipt and sent me an email with the receipt as a pdf attachment.... =)