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Zalman CNPS9900 only lukewarm?

J

JimmiG

Platinum Member
Just wondering if I should maybe remove my Zalman cooler, clean and re-install it. On the other hand this could potentially make things worse - I might use too much or too little compound, or not manage to clean it completely.. or it might wear out the socket/retention brackets.

So, I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed their CNPS9900 (or 9700, 9500 etc) being lukewarm or even cold to the touch, especially at the point farthest from the CPU. Even with a CPU temp approaching 50C, it's not really hot to the touch. Certainly nowhere near 50C. If I turn down the fan speed it quickly heats up, but then my CPU temp rapidly starts climbing towards 60+C.

Poor thermal transfer from CPU to heatsink, or just a heatsink design that favors form over function? To me it seems to indicate that the heat stays in the CPU package instead of being transferred to the heatsink?
 
JimmiG said:
So, I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed their CNPS9900 (or 9700, 9500 etc) being lukewarm or even cold to the touch, especially at the point farthest from the CPU. Even with a CPU temp approaching 50C, it's not really hot to the touch. Certainly nowhere near 50C. If I turn down the fan speed it quickly heats up, but then my CPU temp rapidly starts climbing towards 60+C.
Click to expand...

The bold part makes me think that what you're noticing is simply that it's actually being effective at heat transfer. If the entire heatsink were very warm, it wouldn't be doing its job very well at all. The whole point is to have a cool area where the fluid in the heat pipes can cool off and then be channeled back to the hot CPU to absorb more heat.

ZV
 
That kind of makes sense. I just remember my previous heat sinks would heat up pretty uniformly when the CPU did. Of course this is my first heatpipe cooler so I'm not familiar with exactly how they work.
 
Do you have intake and exhaust fans in that case? Its a good looking case but doesn't look like it has the best airflow. And is there a significant difference in how cool its running with the side open vs. closed? No matter how well your heatsink draws heat away from the CPU it needs airflow to remove the heat from the chassis.
 
I have two 80mm exhaust fans (plus PSU) and one 80mm intake. The fact that airflow isn't that great should make the heat sink heat up even more though, shouldn't it? If it's cold that seems to indicate that the heat is being transported away from it quickly enough, or alternatively that the heat isn't transfered from the CPU to the heat sink...
 
What if you touch the base of the cooler, nearest the CPU? I have the 9700 and the fins are normally cooler at the top and gets a little warmer as you go down. As Zemmervolt stated, this is the proper method of operation for these form of coolers. The heat radiates up and dissipates.
 
Aquila76 said:
What if you touch the base of the cooler, nearest the CPU? I have the 9700 and the fins are normally cooler at the top and gets a little warmer as you go down. As Zemmervolt stated, this is the proper method of operation for these form of coolers. The heat radiates up and dissipates.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's hotter closer to the base. I guess everything is in order then. Just wanted to make sure it's working as it should as it was pretty expensive. I intended to buy another, cheaper heat sink but they didn't stock that one and I needed a cooler in a hurry 🙂
 
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