Installation

Before installing on any motherboard, the fan must first be removed. This is due to the fact that the fan sticks out and makes it very difficult to get access to the cooler base when trying to clip the cooler down onto the motherboard.


Zalman includes a tube of their ZM-STG2 thermal grease. It comes in a syringe and makes application very easy. A small pea sized drop is applied to the very center of the CPU.


The cooler was test mounted to check the flatness of the base. The pictures show very even spread of the thermal grease indicating a very smooth flat base. Well done Zalman!


Installation of the CNPS10X Quiet onto an AMD system was very easy and can be done without the removal of the motherboard. The cooler without the fan is placed onto the CPU and the supplied clip holds the cooler down onto the CPU applying sufficient force to spread the thermal grease for even contact. I did not like the AMD mounting hardware as I believe that all aftermarket coolers should bolt through the motherboard with a back plate. I have lost confidence in small fan clips from past failures. Unfortunately, when mounting on an Intel system, if your motherboard tray doesn’t have a hole in the back for behind motherboard access, the motherboard must be removed to facilitate the mounting of the necessary backing plates.


Replacing the fan can be a little tricky as it is easy to place the fan clips backwards. This still holds the fan in place but the clips stick out at weird angles. It is easy to notice when it is mounted correctly. A fan clip is placed onto only one side of the fan before mounting it to the cooler. Using your fingers to snap that one side into the place is the tricky part and with practice it becomes really easy. After one side is clipped into place, the other side snaps in place easily.


The final step is to connect the fan. The male plug from the Fan Mate2 plugs into the cooler and the female plug, into the motherboard. The cooler can be run without the Fan Mate 2 f full speed always is desired.


When completed, the cooler looks very good on the motherboard. It is a bit large and on AMD setups, users have to be prepared to lose some memory slots on certain motherboards. This wouldn’t be a problem on Intel systems as the cooler can be rotated 90 degrees.