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COOLING RESULTS
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Zalman CNPS10X Extreme w/ stock fan
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Fan Voltage
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SPL@1m
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Temp
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°C Rise
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°C/W
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12V
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37 dBA
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33°C
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10
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0.13
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9V
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31 dBA
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34°C
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11
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0.14
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8V
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27 dBA
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35°C
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12
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0.15
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7.5V
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15 dBA
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38°C
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15
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0.19
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7V
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12 dBA
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44°C
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21
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0.27
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6V
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11~12 dBA
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49°C
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26
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0.33
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Zalman CNPS10X Extreme w/ reference 120mm fan
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12V
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16 dBA
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37°C
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14
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0.18
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9V
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13 dBA
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40°C
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17
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0.22
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7V
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12 dBA
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44°C
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21
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0.27
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5V
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11 dBA
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49°C
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26
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0.33
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Load Temp: CPUBurn for ~10 mins.
°C Rise: Temperature rise above ambient (23°C) at load.
°C/W: based on the amount of heat dissipated by the CPU (measured
78W); lower is better. |
The CNPS10X performed very well, especially at high fan speeds. With the stock fan at full speed, the
CPU temperature was just 10°C above ambient, among the best results we've ever
recorded. Performance fell by only 1°C when the fan was run at 9V, and 2°C
at 8V. The sweet spot for the cooler seems to be at around 7.5V with a thermal
rise of 15°C and only 15 dBA of noise. Below 7V, the cooler's performance
starts to go downhill, probably due to the tight fin spacing. This was true
of the Thermalright Ultra-120/Extreme and it is true of the CNPS10X. Swapping
the fan with a Nexus 120mm gave us similar results. It performed the same at noise levels similar to the stock fan.
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Unfortunately there is no 'proper' way to change the CNPS10X fan as the
screws provided are too short to make it through both corner edges of
a typical 120mm fan. We used some wire and foam to keep our reference
fan in place.
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Comparables
While Zalman's newest heatsink is not the best we've tested, it is in contention
with the usual favorites — a feat none of their recent models could accomplish.
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°C rise Comparison: The Best of the Best
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Heatsink
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Nexus 120 fan voltage / SPL @1m
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12V
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9V
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7V
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5V
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16 dBA
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13 dBA
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12 dBA
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11 dBA
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Prolimatech Megahalems
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10
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14
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17
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20
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Thermalright U120E
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12
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14
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17
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24
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Thermalright HR-01+
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13
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15
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16
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20
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Xigmatek HDT-S1283
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13
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15
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18
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22
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Noctua NH-U12P
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14
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16
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17
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21
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Zalman CNPS10X Extreme
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14
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17
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21
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26
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Zerotherm Zen FZ120
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15
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16
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19
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24
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Scythe Ninja 2
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17
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18
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20
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23
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Thermolab Baram
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18
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20
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22
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25
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All results generated with our reference Nexus 120mm
fan.
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At 12V/9V, the CNPS10X Extreme performs similarly to some of our favorite coolers
including the Xigmatek HDT-S1283
and Noctua NH-U12P.
At lower fan speeds, it slips toward the basement of our comparison
table. This is most likely due to to the combination of tight fin spacing and the relatively long distance the air has to travel before exiting on the other side of the fins — ie, high impedance.
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