Zalman CNPS9500-LED Aero Flower

ACPCUP · 5 Mar 2006 at 18:39

Zalman CNPS9500-LED Aero Flower

Anyone used this CPU Cooler yet? Better than the XP-120?
Be interested to hear what people think of this.

ted34 · 5 Mar 2006 at 20:04

I looked at in before buying a xp120. Decided on xp120 because the zalman isnt that quiet at 12rpm. Im looking at the skythe ninja now

Xionic · 5 Mar 2006 at 20:09

ive got no problems with the Zalman. it is loud but only on full RPM

PinkFloyd · 5 Mar 2006 at 20:42

As above, Its only loud on full rpm, and you are unlikely to need to leave it on full.
On my rig-in-a-sig I am overclocked to 2.4GHz on both cores and the fan is set to minimum, temps dont move over 30 degrees, an when I stress the core they don't go past 40. I only tun it up when I'm benching

xibxang · 5 Mar 2006 at 21:56

I think that the 'to-full-rpm-or-not-to-full-rpm" is a bit of a double-edged sword to be honest in the case of the Zalman. Sure, the cooler soes a superb job of keeping the CPU cool at 800rpm, but for me there's an added benefit of running it at high RPM. If I keep my Zalman at low speeds, then the northbridge fan on my DFI nF4 Ultra-D tends to ramp right up when I'm playing games like EQ2 or HL2. However, if I run my Zalman at about 2000rpm then the northbridge and RAM get the benefit of a wee bit extra cooling and as such the moerthbridge fan isn't howling like a beast

And yeah, I run 3 fans to ensure a nice flow of air through my case. The Zalman just adds a bit more that seems to make a good bit of difference.

Just my £0.02 worth.

ACPCUP · 5 Mar 2006 at 22:01

Just thought that the Zalman was a quiet Cooler. Looks like it is not as good as the XP-120 with a decent fan!

tuckenator · 5 Mar 2006 at 22:22

My zalman never peaks over 38 when priming on low speed, which produces less noise than my akasa ambers, and as a plus directs the hot air out the back of my case.

xibxang · 5 Mar 2006 at 22:52

tuckenator said:
My zalman never peaks over 38 when priming on low speed, which produces less noise than my akasa ambers, and as a plus directs the hot air out the back of my arse.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. I mean no ill-harm at all.

ACPCUP · 6 Mar 2006 at 07:50

I will stick with Thermalright on this one.

Larok · 6 Mar 2006 at 08:18

I leave mine on 800rpm all the time, no problems. Running a stable 2.6ghz with a 3700 SD.

PinkFloyd · 6 Mar 2006 at 08:57

Might have to try the stock controller to cut more volts off, at the moment I can't get any lower than 1700rpm, Will see how much quieter is gets.

easyrider · 6 Mar 2006 at 10:18

I'm using a zalman 9500 on my dual core opty 170 @ 2.8ghz and never need the fan on full.Not even when dual priming for 12 hrs.

This thing keeps temps down enough that between full and lowest setting there is a couple of degrees in it.

Best cooler I have owned.But it depends on the other cooling in your case.

I have a eclipse 62 with front 120mm and rear 120mm fans and the zalman is great.
Easy to fit too.And looks fantastic.

It is easy to to replace the fan with another 92mm fan so you could fit a panaflo or other quiter fan if you wanted to eays enough.

Higly recommend it.

King_Boru · 6 Mar 2006 at 13:11

It is a good cooler. People claiming to never exeed 40c on full prime load with a Dual Core overclocked and overvolted might be telling a wee lie though. I cloked an X2 3800 to 2.8Ghz with 1.5v and temps rocketed to 55c (S&M).

I would recomend it. I do have a few gripes. One major gripe is the mount for a S939 board and the 'brumming' fan at low RPM. Other than that it is a failry good cooler. However, I am looking at an SI-120 replacement.

valerian · 6 Mar 2006 at 13:34

ive got one on my p4dual core 3.2
works ok
best cooler ive had however is an artic cooler 7, plus no mobo removal needed

easyrider · 6 Mar 2006 at 13:44

King_Boru said:
I would recomend it. I do have a few gripes. One major gripe is the mount for a S939 board and the 'brumming' fan at low RPM. Other than that it is a failry good cooler. However, I am looking at an SI-120 replacement.

I love the mount and so easy to deal with both fitting and removal.
I have not noticed this "brummimg" however I will be changing the fan for a 92mm panaflo just because I can

the SI -120 will not be any better IMO money wasted IMO.

King_Boru · 6 Mar 2006 at 13:52

easyrider said:
I will be changing the fan for a 92mm panaflo just because I can

Not exactly difficult

Changing the fan on a cooler that costs as much as it is is a major flaw in itself. It should come with a decent enough fan not having the user swapping it out for a "better" one, spending MORE money on it. THATS a waste of money IMO

ACPCUP · 6 Mar 2006 at 13:53

I will stick with the XP-120 guys. At least it is easy to change fans and it does keep things very cool.