Customer Reviews

Zalman CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is very big. It will be like a big wheel that will take up about a quarter of the size of your motherboard (mobo) with your central processing unit (cpu; processor) at its centre. It looks small in the picture but the unit is 136mm in diameter (5.35") and probably the biggest component in your computer next to the mobo and power supply unit (psu). To top it off it requires a full dismantling of the system to install because of a back support plate that goes onto the rear of the mobo. The fan inside the spreading metal heatsink is 120mm fan that can run at around 2000 RPM max creating 32 dB but there is a controller with the unit, called a Fan Mate 2, that allows you to control the speed of the fan and so decrease the noise. Apart from its enormous size the unit weighs in at a whopping 2.7 lbs which is 0.7 lbs heavier than the Zalman USA CNPS7000B-AlCu CPU Fan. So maybe you might want to check out the other model instead unless you are really interested in overclocking cooling, but still this product is not really designed for overclocking so the risk is your own. Given that the cooler is so big they have gone to great lengths to create a very harsh to install support frame that will test a novice who may want to consider getting a professional to install it unless you are happy taking out your mobo. You should also double check that this Zalman heatsink supports your mobo as they have dropped support for certain types of mobos. So check before you buy. Installing the actual heatsink is not such a big deal as the parts are very well designed but it does require that you have front and back access to your mobo. You may also find this to be a bit of a squeeze with your PSU unit so again maybe doing some measurements before you buy is a good idea. I found zero clearance between my PSU and the cooler. It literally just breezed against it. The unit is a silent solution not an overclocking solution even though it can be used with overclocking. For those looking to create a cooler, less noisy computer, the Zalman will replace that noisy generic heatsink with a silent one. Your system will also be a little cooler, but not a whole pile, and in some cases there will be no discernable drop in temperature. It is the quietest air-based CPU cooler on the market. That is what is was designed for and that is exactly what it does. If you can't sleep because your computer sounds loud then this will probably help you get some extra forty winks. You may have to disable the generic case fan to hear the silence and of course hard drive activity will play a part in noise, but as for getting rid of a major noise culprit - the generic heatsink, this Zalman is the best around. Just get it, install it, or find someone who can. It is worth it.

This was my first CPU heat sink/fan purchase and I have been very pleased! I've been interested in overclocking my P4 2.8GHz processor for quite a while now and my research uncovered this product. The pictures don't do it justice....it is really, really large!

It weighs just over 2 lbs. and has a radius and height of nearly 7 cm, but it's one of the coolest looking units out there, especially the all copper version.

Installation only took about an hour, including removing the old heat sink, cleaning the old thermal paste off of the processor, installing this one, and mounting the fan-speed controller. I have a socket 478 mother board, so the whole process was very easy since you can work with the existing mounting brackets. The only tricky part was getting the screws into the mounting brackets but I don't mind challenges. Also, make sure you pick up some Arctic Silver 5 thermal grease as this is some of the best stuff out there.

What most impressed me was the immediate performance increase and reduction of sound. My stock Intel cooler was very loud, but even amidst all my case fans, I could tell it was quieter. Before, my processor temperatures were about 29-30 *C in idle and 45-50 *C under full load. Now it idles at 25-27 *C and doesn't even break 40 *C at full load. I was very impressed by the nearly 10 *C drop under full load! I hear that Arctic Silver 5 runs more efficiently with 1-2 weeks of "break-in" time, so it may even improve still.

Overall, it looks great, runs quiet, performs well, and installs easily. I would highly recommend this unit to all potential overclockers.

My sons computer was so loud that we referred to it as the leaf blower. We assumed that his fan had gone bad (bearing) but found on line that an extremely loud fan was a feature of his Dell dimension 8400. We also found a web site from someone in England that had replaced his Dell cooling tower with the Zalman and had fabulous results. He detailed how to modify the brackets and we had to buy a power cable converter.
The results have been astrounding. The Zalman keeps the CPU so cool that the stock Delta fan never goes above its lowest speed and therefore is very quiet. And the Zalman makes almost no noise.
We are quite happy with the result.

Fan and heatsink installed fine but the speed control did not work. I did an RMA to the company and they acknowledged they would replace the speed control. Area that is greatest concern is distance from edge of heatsink to the power supply. Most cabinets do not allow enought clearance for this large heatsink especially in the mid size units.
I had to look at cabinets and find one that had an unusually wide spacing from the motherboard to the power supply to get the motherboard with the heatsink installed in the cabinet. Recommend you check this closely or you will may need a new cabinet if you want to install this heatsink.

I purchased this fan to go with my Pentium D 830 on Intel's D955XBK motherboard. I used as many "silent" components as possible, including the Antec Phantom 500 and Lian Li's PC6070 Plus silent case. All great if you aren't on a budget.

In any case the Zalman cooler may be the best purchase of all. It was easy to install, though it is very large and may not fit on all motherboards/cases. It came with some decent thermal grease too, rather than one of those cheap little squares that even good fans sometimes come with.

When I first installed it I also connected the little speed controller, but the fan was so silent that I realized that I would never manually take it off of the highest speed and ended up disconnecting it. The motherboard has its own automatic controller anyway, but even if it didn't I would just let the fan run on high all of the time.

Shortly after installing I noticed that when the CPU ran at full load the system overheated. Once I was satisfied that the case and PSU fans were functioning fine and weren't the culprit I removed the Zalman and replaced it with the Intel fan that came with the chip. Not only did it sound like a 747 but it actually did a poorer job of cooling the system than the Zalman, with temperatures averaging 4 or 5 degrees higher under full load.

So in short the Zalman does a better job of cooling than the stock Intel fan and at a much lower volume. I've come to realize that short of water cooling there really isn't a whole lot you can do with a Pentium D, they just run so hot. I'm considering using Zalman's silent water cooling in the near future, but for those people who don't want to go that route or for people with single core processors I highly recommend the Zalman CNPS770-Cu.

I know, you're thinkin' $45 for a CPU COOLER???

Yes, buy it, buy it NOW! I say this for two reasons:

1. Inside your case this thing just looks incredible
2. This cooler is super quiet and keeps the cpu very cool

I have a Pentium 4 650 3.4Ghz processor and it hovers around 45 degrees celcius when fully loaded. That is pretty awesome if you ask me.

I found Zalman's website very helpful in making sure that this cooler was compatible with my motherboard and in terms of installation.

The only negative some people may point to is the overall size. This can only be a negative if because of the size it won't fit in your case or on your motherboard. Therefore you wouldn't be able to use it and that would suck, hence negative. However, most people that are interested in this cooler already have an appropriate motherboard and case, and if not there is a list of dozens to choose from.

It's very quiet
It's very cool looking
It keeps things cool

Is there anything else to say?

Runs a bit cooler than the stock p4 cooler, but it is easily 1/4 as loud. Great product!

This is the ultimate cooling option over OEM (orriginal equipment manufacturer) supplied fan/sink. It is very quiet, great cooling improvement over all, it cools down RAM and motherboard much better, great for overclocking. Highly recommended. I purchased it mainly for noise cancelation. My processor:Intell P4 2.8GHz HT.
Best cooling option prior liquid cooling system.
I really enjoy my computer-silent power. Pytas

Not much more to add to all the reviews. If you plan on overclocking, this is the Cooler you want. I use this with Arctic Silver 5 and I can get my AMD64 X2 4400 running at AMD64 X2 4800 speeds...quietly. The fan controller works great and I rarely have to crank it up to high. And when I do, it can barely be heard. Can't hear it over my ps or case fans. I also have the Zalman ZMVF700CU VGA Cooler and between both of these, my system hauls butt...quietly...

I installed this on an Asus A8N SLI Premium. The installation was pretty easy, and since then it was worked flawlessly and keeps everything cool. The only warnings I'll give are it's huge!! so do your research and make sure it will work on your motherboard. If you go to Zalman's website you can find which motherboards it works with. Also again, it's huge so understand installing it will make the wiring of the rest of the case more difficult! However that said I think it's worth it. It is very quiet and well worth the money.