Zalman CNPS 9500 LED

[Steven B]

Under-hyped or Overrated? The Zalman CNPS 9500 LED is Zalman's newest addition to their top of the line air coolers. This full-copper heatsink comes with a fan controller so you can optimize for performance or fan noise. In our testing it even beats a watercooling kit and proves that it is well worth your money. Watch as we put it to the test on the Pentium 4 Prescott 561 at 180 Watt TDP.

Show full review

 

[XooM]

It's a shame you didn't compare it to the TT BT, it's only real competition...
The watercooling it was compared to is a shame to true watercooling. It's right down there with the TT bigwater. At least you added "...because water cooling which is even more expensive will give you about 5-10°C cooler than the CNPS 9500LED and cost you around $200."
Really should've compared it to the TT Big Typhoon though, especially because it's cheaper and I've heard here and there that it's better.

 

[Steven B]

well first off, i dont have one, and if i did i wouldve compared it. Second the typhoon is much louder where the 9500 is much quieter. Ifyou have a typhoon ill compare em

Also the r80 is in the same price range as the 9500, thats y it was compared.

 

[djbbenn]

Nice review. Pretty beasty cooler, but with a price.

-Dan

 

[XooM]

well first off, i dont have one, and if i did i wouldve compared it. Second the typhoon is much louder where the 9500 is much quieter. Ifyou have a typhoon ill compare em

Also the r80 is in the same price range as the 9500, thats y it was compared.

well, that'd be a good reason for not comparing it to the TT BT... request one from TT to review!

good point on the R80, but a carefully spent 80 bucks could yield much better cooling
heatercore: 10-20 bucks
MCW600x: 40-45 bucks
really really crappy pump (ie via aqua):10 bucks
delta fans from elec goldmine: 6 bucks
a few feet of crappy tubing: 2-5 bucks
OK OK, so worst-case thats 86 bucks, but still, thats close

 

[Steven B]

well most likeley that heat core couldnt handle 180watts, that block is fine, but hte pump would eventually break or not have enough head. Maybe on ebay that would work! My custom water i tried to get all the cheapest parts and it ran me 120. Also air is easier.

 

[XooM]

heatercores are insanely good, one of the best availible radiators; I'm running a fedco 2-302 (like many many other people), and they can comfortably handle OCed CPUs and GPUs. it cost me 22.50 total (including modding it, building a shroud, etc)
MCW600x blocks don't really need much flow, so a weak-arse pump would be adequate, provided it didn't break. Theres also some other crappy pumps (elec goldmine has a... curious one) that are DC
well durr air is easier
but yes, if done with careful ebaying, it could definitely work. Personally, I just spent 300 bucks on watercooling, so yes, its very very expensive...

 

[Steven B]

wow thats a lot, i spent under 600 for my phase change.

 

[1BadwannaB]

I got mine

I recentley purchased this very CPU cooler and experienced quiet....what? Yes almost perfect silence and 15-20 degrees cooler C°. I AM SATISFIED. To Zalman another outstanding product

 

[Kr4nG]

that is a great review you did there. but i only have one question. will that fit on the asus a8v deluxe. with out takeing the mb out of the case? i really want to buy that cooler but i dont want to take my mb off. does anyone have that on a8v deluze? plz let me know

 

[Steven B]

i dont think you need too, http://www.zalmanusa.com/ youll find a heatsink installation guide under the zalman CNPS 9500 LED page, i cant link the page though

 

[bball_er]

My temps - Help!

Hi Steven.

Great review. Was very excited about this cooler due to all the reviews. I just installed it in my PC and am quite surprised by the temps - getting no where near what you reported!
idle 51C (closed case)
load 68C (hl2 running)
Ambient temp 31C

I followed the installation directions to a "T" and even used AS5 for the paste (thin layer). I tried having the fan blow out to the back of the PC (default) and then to the top of the case (have an exhaust hole on top) but no success.

Any thoughts as to why it's so HOT?

Thanks in advance!

=====================================
My specs:
Praetorian PAC-T01-EK ATX Mid Tower (2 x 80mm front intake, 1 x 80mm exhaust fans)
CPU Intel P4 560 HT 3.6GHz (NOT OC'd)
1GIG Corsair PC5400 DDR 2 Dual Channel XMS2 (512 x 2)
ASUS P5AD2-E Premium MOBO
WD 80GB IDE
GigaByte ATI X850XT 256MB (OC'd to 544 & 564)
Antec TP-II 480 watt
Zalman CNPS 9500 Cooler

 

[Steven B]

my ambient was around 28c, and http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm are the instructions you need to follow EXACTLY. No thin layer, just a pea sized amount as shown

 

[bball_er]

Wow quick reply!

Yes I did follow the directions per the link. Any other thoughts?

Thanks

 

[Steven B]

motherboard report differently, i used an AS8. But you used just a ball? and did you remove the heatsink to see if you got good contact? Also did you position the HS appropriatly? Your supposed to do it so it takes air from the front and pushes it through the back of the case. Iver never broken 50 stock

 

[SMJ-G]

why dont u compare the zalman with the ac freezer 7 pro? may be u could do this in the future?

 

[BIOHazard87]

well first off, i dont have one, and if i did i wouldve compared it. Second the typhoon is much louder where the 9500 is much quieter. Ifyou have a typhoon ill compare em

Also the r80 is in the same price range as the 9500, thats y it was compared.

not to be a smartass, but since when was 17dba loud?

 

[tomektm]

question about hyper 6

1)i noticed that u didnt post low/med/high fan settings no hyper 6, did u use fan at all, if so @ what speed

2) does any1 know if hyper 6 will fit in p180 case with out removing video card air duck

 

[Steven B]

the hyper 6 dhave a speed controler, or anyway or controlling fan speed physically.

 

[tomektm]

i know u can control fan speed thru fancontroler, what i mean is that if u didnt use a fan @ all, hyper 6 temperatures look much more competitive vs zalman 9500 since 1st they are not that much higer from zalman temps and 2nd with a fan running @ med/high speeds they would drop down, so my question is did u use a fan on hyper 6 during the test and @ what speed

 

[Steven B]

ahha of course i did, the stock one and it was all full speed in all the tests, im not sure on teh RPM.

 

[cris]

hi,

could someone tell me if the ZALMAN CNPS-9500 AT cooler would work for a P4 @ 3.4ghz socket 775 (not sure about the 4 pins requirment) on a Asus P5GD1 pro motherboard (on zalman`s site it says 2.5 mm gap required for the P5GD1 - got no idea what gap my mb has).

Thanx in advance.

 

[Chewy]

The reqired gap is how much space you need above the motherboard, look in the picture at the gap needed above the motherboard http://www.zalman.co.kr/product/cooler/9500_LED_775_eng.html where it says reqired gap.

 

[cris]

thanx,

i should have had a closer look at that pic. It seems i have a gap of almost 1 cm so it meets that requirment.

it should work then.

 

[144 and UP]

Nice review..........I am thinking of upgrading to that and getting rid of the EVO33, maybe a little more room for O/C.