Zalman CNPS7700-Cu HSF Review, Almost a kilo of Copper Options

[solo]

Zalman CNPS7700-Cu CPU Heat Sink Review

- by solo -

Introduction

Zalman is one of the most well respected names when it comes to cooling products. They are constantly pushing boundaries with their new and exciting products. Their CNPS9500 being a prime example.

However, today I’m going to look at the CNPS7700-Cu which supports multiple CPU’s from the Intel Socket 478 Celeron to the top of the range AMD Athlon64 FX chips.

It is not a small cooler. In fact it is a monster cooler. However, the huge low RPM fan is one of the quietest around. Due to the large area of the Copper heat sink it does not require insane RPM’s to cool it.

But let’s take a look.

Specifications

- Dimensions : 136(L) x 136(W) x 67(H)mm
- Weight : 918g
- Base Material : Pure Copper
- Dissipation Area : 3,268 cm2
- Bearing Type : 2-Ball
- Speed : 1,000 ~ 2,000rpm ± 10%
- Thermal Resistance : 0.19 ~ 0.24°C/W
- Noise Level : 20 ~ 32dB ± 10%

The Zalman CNPS7700-Cu



I knew this was a heavy HSF before I got it, but when I first picked it up I was quiet surprised at the actual weight. It is really heavy. Believe you me.



A vision of beauty. The individual fins are very thin and handling the cooler without bending them can be a little tricky at first.



I put a ruler on to show you that the fan might be 120 MM, but the heat sink itself is about 140 MM in diameter.



The base is very smooth and shiny (well in real life), but I was surprised to find is wasn’t shipped with a protective film over it.



Included in the package are:

01) Heatsink Assembly (CNPS7700-Cu)
02) Four Grips (2 each for S-Type and L-Type)
03) Four Bolts
04) Thermal Grease
05) Fan Speed Controller (FAN MATE 2)
06) Double-sided Tape (for installing FAN MATE 2)
07) Cable for FAN MATE 2
08) User's Manual - in English and Korean
09) One Clip Support for Socket 775
10) One Backplate for Socket 775
11) Four Clip Support Fixing Bolts
12) Two Clip Supports for Socket 478
13) Two Nipples
14) One Backplate for AMD64
15) One set of Washers

As you can see from the accessories you are covered when it comes to CPU compatibility.

Installation (AMD Socket939 Platform)

I installed the Zalman on two different motherboards. One the Abit AN8 Fatal1ty SLI which I recently reviewed and the DFI NF4 Lanparty SLI-DR. The first installation took a little longer as I did it without reading the manual. Yes. Bad boy. But, it still took less than 10 minutes. The second time it was a piece of cake.

When installing the Zalman the first step is to remove the motherboards backplate and replace it with a thinner one supplied in the kit.

Secondly you screw the two nipples into the backplate using two washers so as not to damage the motherboard.



Next you put some thermal paste on the CPU and then mount the Zalman on it using the correct clips for the AMD setup. Then screw it into place. No brain surgery required.



In spite of its size the Zalman even clears the OTES cooling on the Abit. It also cleared the memory modules on both boards. More so on the Abit though.



Below is a picture of the Zalman on the DFI board. This will give you a good idea just how massive it is.



Look again at the picture above. The Zalman CNPS7700 is more than just a CPU cooler. It is in fact a darn good motherboard cooler as well. The huge amounts of air flow generated by the fan also blow over all the components in the immediate area around the cooler, including the RAM and Mosfets.



This is a huge advantage for both people looking for good cooling at stock speeds and overclockers will love it as well. In fact, when I was overclocking the Abit AN8 in my review I didn’t really even need an extra fan on the memory (3.55 volts testing) as the Zalman was taking care of it already. I did eventually use one though for maximum cooling.

And here we have a screenshot which I have seen a lot of people ask for. Does it fit the DFI NF4. Well it’s a close one, but yes it even clears the backplate on the graphics card.



Hardware

Abit AN8 SLI Fatal1ty Athlon64 Socket 939 motherboard
DFI NF4 Lanparty SLI-DR motherboard
AMD Athlon64 FX55 processor (with stock heat pipe heat sink fan)
Mushkin (Winbond BH5) DDR433 (2 x 256MB)
Zalman CNPS7700-Cu
Arctic Silver Ceramique Thermal Paste

Performance

The current ambient temperatures are low at the moment. I would say around the 20’C mark. The fan was running at 1500 RPM instead of the max 2000 RPM.

The first screenshot is with the stock AMD FX55 cooler which is a pretty good cooler on its own. Now take a look at the PWM reading at 40’C. The stock cooler offers practically no extra cooling of this area.



Now take a look at it again with the Zalman installed. A 9’C drop! Oh yes and the CPU temperature drops nicely to.



Here is a shot of Speedfan as well.



And a shot of the DFI setup with AMD Cool N Quite enabled.



Under load the FX55 never reached 50’C at all. The highest was around 48’C and the PWM area remained in the lower 40's. And that is after an hour of MPEG2 encoding.

[Vault9]

[solo]

Noise

I cannot supply actual decibels, but with the fan at around 1200 RPM and even 1500 RPM it is very quiet. At 2000 RPM it is noticeable, but still not as harsh as most stock HSF’s.

Fan Mate 2

Installation Guide

This is a small manual fan controller which fits between your motherboard and the fan allowing for manual control. It can however conflict with certain motherboards and cause incorrect speed readings in the BIOS. I did experience this with the Abit and on connecting it the alarm sounded. For manual control I would rather use the software like DFI SmartGuardian or something like the Zalman ZM-MFC1 (review to follow).

Conclusion

The Good

Much more than a CPU cooler. A component cooler as well.
Large low speed fan results in silent cooling
Fan speeds can be manually adjusted with the Fan Mate provided.
Excellent performance
Quality product

The not so good

Very heavy. Not good for a LAN PC
Fan Mate can conflicts with BIOS sensors
If your RAM is situated very close to the CPU it might be difficult to remove it with fan in place.

For example:



Final words

I will say it again. Not, only does the Zalman CNPS7700 cooler your CPU. It also cools your components as well. This is a big plus for me. My OCZ3700EB modules require 2.8 Volts to run at their best timings. As a result they can get pretty darn hot after many hours of continuous use. The Zalman takes care of that problem though.

All in all I highly recommend if you are after a good high performance silent cooler.

Final shot



This post has been edited by solo: Jun 7 2005, 02:06 PM

[jasonhk]

Dam, Churning out these reviews hey Solo ... i love em

That pic of the Heatsink in your P-160 is just crazy, one huge mofo of a hsf.

[Tech_Phil]

Good stuff as usual Solo.....

I have this same hsf and the Coolermaster Hyper 48 in my other system and i was a bit taken aback by the Hyper 48 after doing a mini test of my own.It's 3 deg cooler and runs quieter than the Zalman

I thought the Zalman would stomp all over the Coolermaster.And i you can't even believe how much the Zalman weighs until you pick it up,just like you said.

I prefer the Zalman though,it cools everything else around it with that huge fan.

Anyway,that's my 2 cents

This post has been edited by Tech_Phil: Jun 7 2005, 11:31 AM

[neosteve]

Once agian nice review Solo.

- Weight : 918g

Wow thats quite allot, the new 9500 only ways in 498 g compered to this one.
I think i might get the new one and see how it does compered to this one.

Will let you know.

[TheVoice]

Whoah, that thing is huge! Was going to get that cooler (the AlCu version) when I got my 3200 Winchester, but I went with the CNPS 7000 AlCu with blue LEDs instead, so it'd match the rest of the lights in my P160. Just peering through my window at mine, and then back at yours...there's quite a size difference!

Incidentally, the FanMate2 controller works ok for mine. Even found a very nice way of routing the FanMate cable out through the front of the case between the case itself and the bezel, and then out the hole at the bottom. Will grab a photo if you're interested, it's quite tidy and means it's easy to get to.

Great review as usual.

[whoster69]

Another nice review Solo!

Any idea how it performs compared to an XP-90C?

[hnkn]

Helo, I want to ask if it's possible to install Zalman CNPS7700-CU on Asus P4C800 Motherboard (with P4 2,4 Ghz CPU).

[neosteve]

Helo, I want to ask if it's possible to install Zalman CNPS7700-CU on Asus P4C800 Motherboard (with P4 2,4 Ghz CPU).

owever, today I’m going to look at the CNPS7700-Cu which supports multiple CPU’s from the Intel Socket 478 Celeron to the top of the range AMD Athlon64 FX chips.

Should work fine on the board.

[naughty]

well ive got a small question solo - if i were to get a socket 754 mobo which only accepts agp - and if i were to use a zalman ZM-80 graphics cooler - will this still fit or am i gonna have a problem

or even the cpu7000 version which also fits into socket A - same question - is it going to fit with the graphics card in place - edit : forgot to mention that the graphics will probably have that same cooler with the optional fan that comes with it

This post has been edited by naughty: Jun 28 2005, 09:01 PM

[solo]

Which motherboard will it be ?