Review 'Zalman CNPS20X Review: Pretty and Pricey' - Tom's

[UsandThem]

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/zalman-cnps20x

It sounds like it's not the easiest fan to install, and the fans have a "buzzing effect" at higher speeds. It seems to be middle of the road when it comes to temperature performance (at least compared to only a few coolers used in the review).

With it being priced at $100, it's higher than established tower brands like Be Quiet and Noctua, it's going to be a tough sale unless someone likes the looks of it over the competition, and I'm not one who really likes the looks of this cooler. At the same price (or less), coolers like the Noctua NH-D15 Chromax.black and Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4 look better IMO.

 

[pauldun170]

Why someone would want to pay more money for this when they can go with a Noctua or Be Quiet.
Are people that desperate for RGB that they are willing to put up with buzzy fans?

 

[viivo]

Are people that desperate for RGB that they are willing to put up with buzzy fans?

Yes, and more.

After all this time I still don't understand the appeal. My cases all have solid panels and are generally out of sight. I can't imagine having a case spewing skittles anywhere near a monitor or in my peripheral vision.

 

[Stuka87]

I don't like the idea of a non-ducted fan on a heat sink. Losing a ton of efficiency. And I am perfectly fine with RGB's, but I don't like the weird cross thing. Especially the one between the heat sinks, what purpose does that one have when you can even see it?

 

[aigomorla]

Are people that desperate for RGB that they are willing to put up with buzzy fans?

From LinusTech

MOAR RGB~

With it being priced at $100, it's higher than established tower brands like Be Quiet and Noctua, it's going to be a tough sale unless someone likes the looks of it over the competition,

not really... your looking purely at the US market.
In Asia Markets, Zalman has a bigger market share and name then Noctua.
They also been in the game twice as long if not longer then Noctua.

In honstry, its a good cooler, its solid, the only thing i do not like about it, and other zalman is the difficulty in replacing the fan should it die.

 

[UsandThem]

not really... your looking purely at the US market.
In Asia Markets, Zalman has a bigger market share and name then Noctua.
They also been in the game twice as long if not longer then Noctua.

In honstry, its a good cooler, its solid, the only thing i do not like about it, and other zalman is the difficulty in replacing the fan should it die.

I'm not sure of their market share in Asia, but they were huge in the U.S. and Europe in the early 2000s. Back then, if you wanted a high performance cooler, you went with Zalman. They were sold in store at places like Compusa and Frys.

Then I'm not sure what happened to them. They really almost ceded the U.S. and European market to competitors like Thermaltake, Be Quiet, Noctua, Corsair, etc. It was almost like happened to Antec products over here.

I remember they had pretty much disappeared in our region for years, and then I saw the article about their parent company being charged with fraud: https://www.anandtech.com/show/8748/zalman-future

But if there is one complaint about their products that go all the way back to when they began, like you said it's their use of fans that pretty much not user replaceable.