ZALMAN Intros CNPS13X DS Black CPU Cooler

[btarunr]

ZALMAN today introduced the CNPS13X DS Black tower-type air CPU cooler. This is essentially a variant of the CNPS13X Black that the company had launched in November 2023, but comes with two key changes. To begin with, its glossy top plate not just has an ARGB-illuminated logo and diffusers to the sides, but a 2-digit 7-segment LED display, which displays CPU temperature in real-time, in degrees-Celsius. It's important to note here that the cooler doesn't have any temperature measurements on its own, but displays CPU temperature as measured by the motherboard's Super I/O chip (i.e. as it's displayed in your BIOS setup program, or reported to software). To do this, the cooler not just takes in a 4-pin PWM connection for the fan, and a 3-pin ARGB for the lighting, but also a 5-pin USB 2.0 to one of your motherboard's unused USB 2.0/1.1 headers. You then install a Win32 software that relays temperatures from your motherboard to the cooler.

The second key change is the fan. If you recall, the original CNPS13X Black came with a non-illuminated fan with matte-black impeller. The new CNPS13X DS Black comes with a illuminated fan, with a white impeller, and addressable RGB LEDs studded in the fan hub. The fan's specs aren't any different from those on the original's fan; and there are no other design changes. A 1 g sachet of ZM-STC8 thermal paste comes included. The cooler measures 135 mm x 79 mm x 159 mm (WxDxH), weighing a little over 800 g. The company didn't reveal pricing.



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[bug]

So now I can have a CPU cooler that's incompatible with Linux. Nicely done!

Edit: Just to be clear, as long as this is sold alongside the plain version, I'm ok with it.

 

[Chaitanya]

So now I can have a CPU cooler that's incompatible with Linux. Nicely done!

There are metric butt tonne of RGB/ARGB enabled products in PC space that arent compatible with Linux so expecting these devices that need propietary software to be compatible with anything except windows is a stretch. Even Razer, Logi G, Corsair, Cooler Master, etc... have softwares that only run on Windows.

 

[Assimilator]

So now I can have a CPU cooler that's incompatible with Linux. Nicely done!

Nothing stopping you from reverse engineering the protocol and writing your own Linux driver for it.

 

[bug]

There are metric butt tonne of RGB/ARGB enabled products in PC space that arent compatible with Linux so expecting these devices that need propietary software to be compatible with anything except windows is a stretch. Even Razer, Logi G, Corsair, Cooler Master, etc... have softwares that only run on Windows.

I guess having the temp displayed on the cooler itself is about as gimmicky as ARGB...

Nothing stopping you from reverse engineering the protocol and writing your own Linux driver for it.

And someone will most likely do just that. But it would have been nice to see the manufacturer showing some consideration.

 

[Deleted member 237269]

So now I can have a CPU cooler that's incompatible with Linux. Nicely done!

It’s not a bug but a feature

 

[The Shield]

It's a shame Zalman doesn't do copper coolers anymore.

 

[Legacy-ZA]

Good coolers: Customer support, non-existent.

 

[Chaitanya]

I guess having the temp displayed on the cooler itself is about as gimmicky as ARGB...

And someone will most likely do just that. But it would have been nice to see the manufacturer showing some consideration.

Depending on case and placement on desk, unfortunately yes these displays(ones that are installed on coolers) inside the case are a gimmick.

 

[bug]

Depending on case and placement on desk, unfortunately yes these displays(ones that are installed on coolers) inside the case are a gimmick.

I thought they're a gimmick because everyone who cares about temps, probably already has a widget in the taskbar/tray showing that info.

 

[Chaitanya]

I thought they're a gimmick because everyone who cares about temps, probably already has a widget in the taskbar/tray showing that info.

To a lesser degree Antec and Deepcool Cases that come with temp display are quite useful same can be said for these coolers(ones with minimalist approach) as long as the software is also equally minimal and not bloated like iCue, or MasterPlus+ or Synapse but both those depend greatly on placement of case.

 

[Adrian Andrzejewski]

Ah yes, the grand vision for CPU cooler manufacturers this year: if it doesn't have a digital temperature display, is it even cooling? Just slap one on everywhere, because clearly, we can't tell if our computers are overheating without flashy numbers.

 

[Nostras]

There are metric butt tonne of RGB/ARGB enabled products in PC space that arent compatible with Linux so expecting these devices that need propietary software to be compatible with anything except windows is a stretch. Even Razer, Logi G, Corsair, Cooler Master, etc... have softwares that only run on Windows.

Would be funny if it's no more than a COM port.

 

[Assimilator]

Would be funny if it's no more than a COM port.

It's guaranteed to be, because CM is guaranteed to be using the absolute cheapest POS controller they can find, which is invariably COM (or in this case COM pretending to be USB).

 

[Arrakis9]

So now I can have a CPU cooler that's incompatible with Linux. Nicely done!

Edit: Just to be clear, as long as this is sold alongside the plain version, I'm ok with it.

There are metric butt tonne of RGB/ARGB enabled products in PC space that arent compatible with Linux so expecting these devices that need propietary software to be compatible with anything except windows is a stretch. Even Razer, Logi G, Corsair, Cooler Master, etc... have softwares that only run on Windows.

Some ones never heard of openRGB, It may not support every device but its better than nothing.

 

[Deleted member 237269]

Some ones never heard of openRGB, It may not support every device but its better than nothing.

I use https://signalrgb.com/devices/ i like the UI and lot of compatibles devices. You can request to add if it’s not in their list.

 

[bug]

Some ones never heard of openRGB, It may not support every device but its better than nothing.

Someone doesn't care about ARGB
My CPU cooler only has while LEDs. They're turned off (it was the only model in stock when I needed to buy).

 

[qlum]

This cooler sounds like a dud. Looks far to flashy for being a not so wide single tower. I doubt it will be priced competitively.

As for linux support, while it is true that most manufacturers don't directly support it, OpenRGB exists for lighting, and often other software is set and forget. While this display could probably be reverse engineered quite easily, it would probsbly not be popular enough to be worthwile.

On the windows side one could wonder if another process constantly polling the cpu temp, and probably in an inefficient manner would even be worth it.