# Zalman CNPS9900 LED CPU Cooler



## Pinchy (Jan 14, 2009)

Zalman's CNPS9900 LED is their newest all copper model in the CNPS series. A silent 120 mm blue LED fan has been placed between two arrays of pure copper fins. With exceptional performance and amazing looks, the CNPS9900 LED is a great CPU cooler if you can justify spending $79 for a CPU cooler.

*Show full review*


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## TRIPTEX_CAN (Jan 16, 2009)

Nice review I like how Zalman changed the mounting system from the 9700. I like the 4 screw system because it's much easier to deal with than the 9700.


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## mlee49 (Jan 16, 2009)

Excellent Review Pinchy!  At first I thought the fan shourd would help the air flow over the heatsink more, but I guess thats not the case.  In theory shouldn't the shroud provide air flow direction?
One last question, do you think it is compatible with most Mid-Tower cases?  Would there be any clearance questions with any "average" sized cases?

Either way it sounds like this is a nice cooler over all.


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## Castiel (Jan 16, 2009)

Wow that is nice! I'm going to go find one and buy it!


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## The Witcher (Jan 16, 2009)

Just imagine this thing with a direct touch heat pipes.

I bet it would lower the temp by 5c or more just if they added that technology.


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## kenkickr (Jan 16, 2009)

For the price I think I'll just move onto some WCing.  It is a nice looking HSF though.


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## Apocolypse007 (Jan 16, 2009)

The Witcher said:


> Just imagine this thing with a direct touch heat pipes.
> 
> I bet it would lower the temp by 5c or more just if they added that technology.



Just what I was thinking. I wonder why they didn't do that?

I like the brushable thermal paste as compared to the syringe. It seems it would spread it nice and thin much easier


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## TRIPTEX_CAN (Jan 16, 2009)

Apocolypse007 said:


> Just what I was thinking. I wonder why they didn't do that?
> 
> I like the brushable thermal paste as compared to the syringe. It seems it would spread it nice and thin much easier



Probably patents and cost savings reasons... Although they are typically overpriced anyway.


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## Gam'ster (Jan 16, 2009)

Nice review pinchy, and nice product zalman looks good and works better, As for the price you get what you pay for.


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## Random Murderer (Jan 16, 2009)

looks like a damn good cooler...

off topic:
PINCHY! i thought you had died. what's going on, man?


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## J-Man (Jan 16, 2009)

When I look at CPU coolers, I go straight to the performance tab


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## qubit (Jan 16, 2009)

*Higher is better*

Higher is better should be lower is better in the performance charts.


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## Apocolypse007 (Jan 16, 2009)

qubit said:


> Higher is better should be lower is better in the performance charts.



Unless you are intel


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## qubit (Jan 16, 2009)

Apocolypse007 said:


> Unless you are intel



Yeah, I had to look twice at it, to make sure I didn't make a fool of myself correcting it.


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## rozienzia (Jan 16, 2009)

is it universal socket? i prefer to buy an AM2+ mobo next week..hope i can build my dragon platform with this one,

cheers everyone..
many appreciate


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## Frederik S (Jan 16, 2009)

Nicely done! 
Looks like a decent cooler.


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## Pinchy (Jan 16, 2009)

Thanks for comments + diggs 



mlee49 said:


> Excellent Review Pinchy!  At first I thought the fan shourd would help the air flow over the heatsink more, but I guess thats not the case.  In theory shouldn't the shroud provide air flow direction?
> One last question, do you think it is compatible with most Mid-Tower cases?  Would there be any clearance questions with any "average" sized cases?
> 
> Either way it sounds like this is a nice cooler over all.



I am unsure why the shroud doesnt help. It could possibly be that there is less airflow as I think the fan takes air from around it as well as behind it (if the shroud was on, it can only take air from behind it...through a block of fins and that single heatpipe). Also size-wise, it should be able to fit into any mid atx case just fine but for the smaller cases, you may have to remove the side panel fan. 



qubit said:


> Higher is better should be lower is better in the performance charts.



Thanks for picking that up...I didn't even notice!

Now fixed 



rozienzia said:


> is it universal socket? i prefer to buy an AM2+ mobo next week..hope i can build my dragon platform with this one,
> 
> cheers everyone..
> many appreciate



Yep it has different brackets/clips included for AM2+.



Random Murderer said:


> looks like a damn good cooler...
> 
> off topic:
> PINCHY! i thought you had died. what's going on, man?



LOL Im on holidays atm  (Have been since two days after Christmas!). Doing a review on a rainy day didnt sound like a bad idea . Im only "borrowing" D) neighbours internet to check TPU every now and then, check emails and post reviews lol. 


Also FYI to anyone who has noticed temps changed dramatically since the last review; The CPU has changed from an e6750 to an e8500. Every cooler has been rebenchmarked for accuracy.


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## mlee49 (Jan 17, 2009)

Thanks man, great review! I look forward to more!!!


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## v12dock (Jan 17, 2009)

Woot going to pick one up now.


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## t77snapshot (Jan 17, 2009)

I just bought the 9500A and now this comes out....Damn!  Its similar to the Asus Silent Knight, but with a way better design.


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## aCid888* (Jan 17, 2009)

Good review as always. (that's why TPU is the place to be for all your tech needs!)

Back to the cooler...its far too expensive and to be honest, Zalman often ride on their fame of yester-year.
I have a Scythe Ninja rev 2 and a Xigmatek HDT1283 and they both will outperform this cooler with the Xiggy being considerably cooler then both the Zalman and the Scythe.

Save your money, stop buying eye-candy (if you must buy eye-candy, look into p0rn) and get this cooler instead. HERE FOR DUAL'S  |  HERE FOR QUAD'S


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## Pinchy (Jan 17, 2009)

aCid888* said:


> Good review as always. (that's why TPU is the place to be for all your tech needs!)
> 
> Back to the cooler...its far too expensive and to be honest, Zalman often ride on their fame of yester-year.
> I have a Scythe Ninja rev 2 and a Xigmatek HDT1283 and they both will outperform this cooler with the Xiggy being considerably cooler then both the Zalman and the Scythe.
> ...



I wouldnt be too sure about the Xiggy beating it as on other sites I have looked at, the Core Contact Freezer does around what the Xiggy does and this seems to do better. That being said, different reviewers use different ambients, I know my control is relatively high, and I know coolers do slightly different at different ambients. (Some coolers dont do as well under a higher ambient, for example).

That being said tho, it i definately overpriced.


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## WarEagleAU (Jan 17, 2009)

Guess they got tired of getting their ass kicked by the DHT of Xigmatek and the like and by the TT Duo Orb. It kind of has the feel of the Duo Orb to it though.


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## 15th Warlock (Jan 18, 2009)

Thanks for the review!

I have one question only, how does this cooler compare to Zalman's previous top of the line model, the 9700?

Thanks!


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## EarlZ (Jan 18, 2009)

The review over xbit labs shows that it doesnt even beat the age old SI128 from thermalright, yet the review i see here seem its like a pretty decent performer.


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## 15th Warlock (Jan 21, 2009)

Hmm... 

After doing some research myself, I found the 9900 has about the same fin area as the 9700, and it runs around a couple or more deegrees celsius below the 9700, so I think I'll keep my current cooler; was asking because of a new build I just put together, and was considering getting a new cooler from Zalman...

Thanks for the review anyways


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## Pinchy (Jan 21, 2009)

15th Warlock said:


> Thanks for the review!
> 
> I have one question only, how does this cooler compare to Zalman's previous top of the line model, the 9700?
> 
> Thanks!



Don't have the 9700 to test against 



EarlZ said:


> The review over xbit labs shows that it doesnt even beat the age old SI128 from thermalright, yet the review i see here seem its like a pretty decent performer.



There are too many factors that affect CPU coolers and their performance. Unless the two review sites use exactly the same techniques, you wont find similarities.

An example; I know for a fact that most review sites simply measure the cooler performance and subtract results from ambient, or do some maths to get the same ambient. I don't do this. I control the rooms ambient to a certain degree and test the cooler at that. I have tried the subtraction method and it was always a few degrees off, so I stuck to controling the room temp. (To a relatively high temperature)

Higher and lower room temps also make a difference. A higher room temp may cause the CPU to heat up more, causing the fan to spin up more and therefore giving the cooler better performance. It could be the opposite as well. Some coolers may do better with cooler air flowing through the fins.

Thermal paste is also another factor which needs to be considered. Some sites may use the same paste for each cooler - I use whats given to me in the box, as 9 times out of 10, thats what the user will use.

So yeah...there are many factors


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## mab1376 (Jan 22, 2009)

what is the street date for this?


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## nemesis.ie (Jan 23, 2009)

Hi Pinchy,

QQ: Did you try running it with the fan on full (direct connect to 12v) (i.e. bypassing the PWM on the MB)?

Were the comparison fans also using PWM on the same board or direct connected?

I'd also not put no fan control as a con, as you can always connect it to your fan controller if you wish. ;-) (Although maybe at the price they could include one <G>).

Cheers!


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## Pinchy (Jan 24, 2009)

mab1376 said:


> what is the street date for this?



Will ask for you now. 



nemesis.ie said:


> Hi Pinchy,
> 
> QQ: Did you try running it with the fan on full (direct connect to 12v) (i.e. bypassing the PWM on the MB)?
> 
> ...



Nope, they have all being plugged into the four pin PWM connection on the motherboard. Reason I don't bypass this connection and go straight for a 3-pin is because most end users would plug it into the four pin, not the three pin. Hence going into the three pin wouldnt give "real world" results, if you get what I mean.

A good suggestion would be to have both PWM controlled and max fan speed in the results though. (Might do this on my next review ).

About the fan controller: I put it as a con because I would think with the amount you spend you should get something extra (as you said ). I personally prefer PWM to fan control, as I never bother adjusting it anyway, but yeah as I said for the price, id want something "more".


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## Pinchy (Jan 27, 2009)

Reply from Zalman is sometime in February.

He will forward me the exact date when he gets the info from his US department.


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