Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu

[GreatBarracuda]

I am thinking of getting this heatsink/fan. I know there are many here who have this, so what are the pros and cons of this hsf? A couple of questions come to mind:

1) How's the cooling, better than most?
2) Noise level (I've heard it's pretty low)
3) Installation (Any drilling required, or straight-forward?)

I have a Intel P4 and ASUS P4P800 mobo.

Thanks in advance!

 

[myocardia]

The only real reason I can think of for using the Zalman 7000Al-Cu is that it's quiet, and is easy to install. Okay, that was two reasons! It's not going to give you the same kind of cooling you'd get with a Thermalright heatsink and a quiet 92mm fan, but then again, it's going to be alot easier to install (it just clips on; on the Thermalrights, you have to remove the motherboard for the first installation). The Zalman cools okay, but not as well as a good heatsink. For instance, Zalman says that the Al-Cu is okay for "up to" an XP3200, which is 11x200, but only on it's highest fan speed setting.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: myocardia
The only real reason I can think of for using the Zalman 7000Al-Cu is that it's quiet, and is easy to install. Okay, that was two reasons! It's not going to give you the same kind of cooling you'd get with a Thermalright heatsink and a quiet 92mm fan, but then again, it's going to be alot easier to install (it just clips on; on the Thermalrights, you have to remove the motherboard for the first installation). The Zalman cools okay, but not as well as a good heatsink. For instance, Zalman says that the Al-Cu is okay for "up to" an XP3200, which is 11x200, but only on it's highest fan speed setting.

I'd recommend that anyway for Athlon XP systems. Something about putting 15+ lbs. of force on a 1/8 inch thick motherboard with a 1/4 inch of room behind it for it to flex doesn't sit right with me.

 

[GreatBarracuda]

Uh...if you didn't notice, the heatsink is pure Copper, so the cooling is better than one with Al and Cu.

 

[myocardia]

Yeah, I've seen reviews comparing the all copper 7000 vs. the Al-Cu, and there is less than a degree of difference between the two, even at extreme overclocks.

 

[WobbleWobble]

The Zalman 7000A-Cu is a great quiet heatsink fan. For me it was cheaper than the Thermalright solutions and a quiet 92mm fan by half the price (I'm Canadian ok?). It doesn't just clip on, you have to remove your motherboard and install a backplate as well.

I'm running my 7000A-Cu at ~5V on my XP2500+ mobile at 2.4GHz. At that speed it's pretty damn quiet!

I think myocardia is underestimating the abilities of it.

Oh, to answer your questions
1) It's one of the better ones
2) One of the quietest heatsink fan combos available
3) No drilling, you do need a back bracket though and fairly easy to install.

Edit: I forgot you had a P4. No brackets required.

The heatsink is a bit large, but then again, any high performance heatsink is pretty big nowadays.

 

[oldman420]

i use the cu and have overc;ocked mt cpu to 2500 mhz at 1.8 vcore and this puppy kept it at 49 idle at stock speeds with the fan low i get 37-40 at idle

 

[yourdeardaniel]

good: low temp at idle and load, low noise level, easy installation. performance to noise ratio, price.

bad: weight (this thing is heavy!), inability to switch higher performance fans (reason i like SP94, Switech MCX478 or whatever), doesn't fit in some mobo's.

 

[yourdeardaniel]

Originally posted by: GreatBarracuda
I am thinking of getting this heatsink/fan. I know there are many here who have this, so what are the pros and cons of this hsf? A couple of questions come to mind:

1) How's the cooling, better than most?
2) Noise level (I've heard it's pretty low)
3) Installation (Any drilling required, or straight-forward?)

I have a Intel P4 and ASUS P4P800 mobo.

Thanks in advance!

1) it's second only to Thermalright SP94 in performance.
2) barely audible at lowest speed settings, at highest, it's not that loud as others. i think > 35dB.
3) on my P4 mobo. only had to put the mounting clip into the heatsink retention bracket on mobo, and tighting screws. pretty easy to take off/install without using much force (i hate those mounting clips that u have to bend, using screw driver to push it down, etc blah)

u might want to check compatibility with P4800 mobo at their website.

 

[GreatBarracuda]

Thanks for your replies guys. I tried to look for anything about the P4P800 mobo on Zalman's website, but to no avail. I have emailed them about it, hopefully they'll reply.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: GreatBarracuda
Thanks for your replies guys. I tried to look for anything about the P4P800 mobo on Zalman's website, but to no avail. I have emailed them about it, hopefully they'll reply.

I am a huge fan of the 7000A-Cu HSF because it offers very good performance (not the best but quite good) with essentially ZERO noise, which is very important for me.

The 7000 series of Zalman HSF's will work on any P4 motherboard due to the spacing around the CPU that is required by Intel's specs.

It will work fine on the P4P800 or any of ASUS's P4 motherboards.

Enjoy!

Edit: as for installation - it's a snap. Takes under 5 minutes for sure - all you do is screw the HSF onto both sides of the 'rods' that come with the Zalman - no need to take the motherboard out or even tamper with the stock mounting equipment - it uses those plastic retainers to hold the 'rails' for the HSF in place.

The instructions that come with the Zalman are very easy to follow.


Btw - the fan control knob that comes with it - don't even bother. Just hook it up directly to your motherboard and let it run at the full (~2600 rpm) speed all the time. You won't be able to hear it even at this maximum speed and it gives better cooling than if you would be to adjust it with the knob.

 

[MichaelZ]

eh, if you don't mind removing the MB for the heatsink, SP94 + quiet fan (if you want low noise) is the right choice for you.

if you can't be bothered removing the MB and the stock intel bracket, then the zalman is for you. personally, i'm waiting for that thermalright XP120 and that thing doesn't force you to remove the MB for installation.

right now the zalman is better than the swiftech MCX. second only to SP94 in air cooling right now.

here's a comparo including the CU and the ALCU + a wide selection of other coolers: http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/cooling-systems/socketa-coolers-shootout-feb2k4-part2.html

 

[GreatBarracuda]

Ok I have read some more reviews and from what I have read, the Zalman is VERY good at cooling and noise-level.

And jiffylube, your reply pretty much made the decision for me. I'm gonna go with it and just look around a little for some good deals. But I do have one question: suppose you are not using fan-control and you just plug it into the motherboard directly, then does the rpm of the fan change according to the cpu temps? (like it does with a stock hsf).

thanks

 

[yourdeardaniel]

i don't think u should get the A-Cu, get the Al-CU instead. only +1 degree difference. because it's much lighter and probably in spec with Intel maximum weight for heatsink specifications.

 

[Pauli]

Originally posted by: GreatBarracuda
Ok I have read some more reviews and from what I have read, the Zalman is VERY good at cooling and noise-level.

And jiffylube, your reply pretty much made the decision for me. I'm gonna go with it and just look around a little for some good deals. But I do have one question: suppose you are not using fan-control and you just plug it into the motherboard directly, then does the rpm of the fan change according to the cpu temps? (like it does with a stock hsf).

thanks

Yes, it will change speeds automatically if you have Q-fan enabled on the ASUS motherboard. IMO, Q-fan doesn't give you enough control, though. Try a program called Speedfan, which gives you alot of control with the CPU fan speed. You'll need to disable Q-fan on the MB for Speedfan to work properly and don't use the Zalman Fanmate if you use Speedfan. The only drawback to Speedfan is that the fan will run at full speed until you login and Speedfan loads.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: GreatBarracuda
Ok I have read some more reviews and from what I have read, the Zalman is VERY good at cooling and noise-level.

And jiffylube, your reply pretty much made the decision for me. I'm gonna go with it and just look around a little for some good deals. But I do have one question: suppose you are not using fan-control and you just plug it into the motherboard directly, then does the rpm of the fan change according to the cpu temps? (like it does with a stock hsf).

thanks

No, the rpm does not change in that case - it is fixed. This is fine though, because you get better cooling this way - the full 2700-2900 rpm or so, and you still get near-silent performance (it really is just about the quietest solution that lets you o/c well).

 

[GreatBarracuda]

Uh..jiffylube, your response completely contradicts Pauli's. By "fan-control", I meant the rheostat, not the Q-fan setting in the BIOS. So who's right?

 

[GreatBarracuda]

Got the reply from Zalman and they say that it would work fine with the P4P800 mobo. Nice

 

[WobbleWobble]

Originally posted by: GreatBarracuda
Uh..jiffylube, your response completely contradicts Pauli's. By "fan-control", I meant the rheostat, not the Q-fan setting in the BIOS. So who's right?

Since you're using an Asus board which has the Q-Fan feature, Pauli is correct. The board is able to control the RPM fans connected to it depending on system temperatures. I've never tried Speedfan but I heard it works. I personally like to use the Fan Mate myself even though it just hangs there.

 

[GreatBarracuda]

Ok, I don't think I have any more questions now. It does good cooling, runs quiet, installs easily and I have enough clearance on my mobo. The only risk would be the tremendous weight of the all-copper heatsink. I'm gonna have to take extra care moving my system. And then there's the price

 

[WobbleWobble]

If you're not careless moving it from room to room should be no big deal. For car rides just lay it on the side so the heatsink faces up.