Zalman CNPS9500 review

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sn_85
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Zalman CNPS9500 review

Post by sn_85 » Thu Aug 18, 2005 3:59 pm

review the new zalman and asetek coolers for anyone who's interested
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2005/0 ... ler/4.html

jabba
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Post by jabba » Fri Aug 19, 2005 11:39 am

I wonder how they got one already?

A better review would be Zalman CNPS9500 vs Scythe Ninja

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Post by hobochunk » Fri Aug 19, 2005 1:43 pm


rpsgc
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Post by rpsgc » Fri Aug 19, 2005 2:31 pm

I really don't know what to make of it... It certainly won't replace your W/C! :lol:

Mats
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Post by Mats » Sat Aug 20, 2005 4:02 am

rpsgc wrote:I really don't know what to make of it... It certainly won't replace your W/C! :lol:
Maybe not, but a 13 C drop compared to a 7700 is impressive! Though it probably could replace some water cooling systems, such as the Gigabyte they compared it to.
For better performance, remove the fan and mount a 120 mm Nexus in front of it together with a duct. Or use two fans, one on each side. Or "fanless" with a duct to a fan in an Antec P180.

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Post by rpsgc » Sat Aug 20, 2005 4:14 am

That Gigabyte W/C was crap anyway. I just don't see any reason to be all that excited... Maybe with a more efficient CPU the results would differ.

I had the same feelings towards the PS3 and the CELL processor too.

Mats
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Post by Mats » Sat Aug 20, 2005 4:34 am

rpsgc wrote:That Gigabyte W/C was crap anyway.
Yeah, but don't forget the price when comparing the Zalman to water cooling, you have to look at lower priced systems. There are some really powerful water cooling systems out there, but they cost a lot more than the Zalman, even the crappy Gigabyte which costs twice as much.

I don't think there are such a thing as a cheap water cooling system worth mentioning. Ok, some of them keeps other components cool as well, but not power regulators on the mobo for instance like many air coolers do.

They both have their pros and cons, but if you're going under $80 then air cooling wins easily.

Besides, there's no magic here, the Zalman CNPS9500 contains water too! :wink:

The 9500 is truly impressive compared to the 7700 when looking at the xbit review, it uses a smaller fan but is still a better performing cooler (and we have to see more reviews, the review from Bit-Tech is a bit confusing... :? ). I think it could compete with a Thermalright XP-120 in cooling performance, but not in low noise. I'd like to see them compared to each other, both using a 120 mm fan.

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Post by rpsgc » Sat Aug 20, 2005 4:41 am

In my first post I was commenting on the first review, the second one seems a bit... oh I don't know, too good to be true? On the bit tech review they used an Athlon 64, and on the other one was a Prescott O/C'ed at 4GHz!

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Post by Mats » Sat Aug 20, 2005 4:45 am

Well, we could speculate all day and night but we simply don't know enough yet... We'll have to wait and see, as usual...

Any chance that some SPCR reviewer have some info about an upcoming review? (me dreaming)

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Post by jabba » Sat Aug 20, 2005 4:52 am

I'm sure we'll see a review of the CNPS9500 here soon.

If you are going to compare the CNPS9500 to any water cooling system, it probably has to be the Reserator 1. It only makes sense if Zalman claims the CNPS9500 is as good as water cooling that it should perform as well as Zalman's own water cooling solution.

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Post by ushac » Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:30 am

Looking at the performance graph they claim it beats some "Internal Water Cooling System with 120mm Fan". Judging be the x-bit article, that's not a totally unfunded claim. I'm having a hard time believing it could beat the reserator though...

/ushac

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Post by MikeC » Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:54 am

A sample was fully tested a couple days ago, but we have not had time to write the review. In a nutshell, for cooling, it is amazingly good. Possibly better than anything stock at 5V. It's also quite light, and not hard to install -- if the motherboard is out of the case. Noise is typical Zalman -- not a great fan, probably not as quiet as the one on the 7000. But like the 7000 and 7700, fan swaps are feasible. Look for the review article in a week or so, after IDF.

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Post by teutonritter » Sat Aug 20, 2005 9:16 am

Nice. . . I might get one when I go dual-core...

. . .120mm version any one? :)

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Post by Mystr_Byrnz » Sat Aug 20, 2005 1:42 pm

Oh Sweet sweet sweet. :) I've been waiting for this cooler since E3.

I think it'll work great in my P180. With the back fan and the fan on the cooler in a push pull orientation, that should produce good results.

Someone said something about it having water in it? Guess I gotta read the reviews.

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Post by rpsgc » Sat Aug 20, 2005 1:47 pm

Liquid in the heatpipes me thinks.

Mystr_Byrnz
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Post by Mystr_Byrnz » Sat Aug 20, 2005 2:14 pm

Heatpipes don't typicaly have liquid in them.

At least not any that I've had in the past. They're just hollow pipes. I didn't see anywhere in the article where it said there's liquid in them. Where did this info come from?

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Post by nici » Sat Aug 20, 2005 2:17 pm


rpsgc
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Post by rpsgc » Sat Aug 20, 2005 2:18 pm

The VapoChill Micro cooler has.
And:
Most heat pipe cooling systems use water or some other liquid to transfer heate between the hot plate to the cooling fins.

Mystr_Byrnz
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Post by Mystr_Byrnz » Sat Aug 20, 2005 2:21 pm

thanks for that info. I was totally wrong in my understanding of heatpipes.

nici
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Post by nici » Sat Aug 20, 2005 7:00 pm

It happens to the best of us.. :wink: The wikioedia link i posted has a pretty detailed descreption of how it works :)

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Post by wim » Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:27 pm

high praise from MikeC

how exciting! bw'hey!*


* i was trying to spell prof. frink's geek noise

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Post by Sooty » Sun Aug 21, 2005 12:08 am

wim wrote:high praise from MikeC

how exciting! bw'hey!*
Regarding cooling, yes, but what about noise? The two reviews didn’t convince me on noise, either. Apart from cooling and quiet, a good heatsink must also evacuate heat efficiently to the nearest case fan. I can’t help thinking this one, might just spew as much heat in a 360 degree radial, as it does backwards towards the case fan = screwing case air flow :?

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Post by ultraboy » Sun Aug 21, 2005 2:36 am

A fan swap with Nexus 80mm should take care of noise. :)

The pic. of installed CNPS 9500 at bit-tech looked like the fan is blowing in from the back of case :?: Would socket orientation has any effect on installation? Hopefully, the unit can be installed the other way round.

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Post by wim » Sun Aug 21, 2005 4:30 am

well, i thought it goes without saying that one would get rid of the stock fan straight away. zalman have fantastic heatsink designs but have always had crap fans
ultraboy wrote:A fan swap with Nexus 80mm should take care of noise. :)
92mm?

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Post by ultraboy » Sun Aug 21, 2005 5:49 am

wim wrote:
ultraboy wrote:A fan swap with Nexus 80mm should take care of noise. :)
92mm?
Ooops :oops: bit-tech article said it's 80 mm. Just checked with Zalman, and of course it's 92 mm. fan

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Post by scaryduck » Sun Aug 21, 2005 2:24 pm

Another mini-review at Quiet PC. Looks like Zalman have a winner on their hands. I'll definitely consider getting one of these to duct to my rear case fan - pending the SPCR review, of course.

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Post by jabba » Sun Aug 21, 2005 5:14 pm

MikeC wrote:A sample was fully tested a couple days ago, but we have not had time to write the review. In a nutshell, for cooling, it is amazingly good. Possibly better than anything stock at 5V. It's also quite light, and not hard to install -- if the motherboard is out of the case. Noise is typical Zalman -- not a great fan, probably not as quiet as the one on the 7000. But like the 7000 and 7700, fan swaps are feasible. Look for the review article in a week or so, after IDF.
Mike, would you consider better (noise and performance wise), the CNPS9500 92mm Stock 5v, or the Scythe Ninja + Nexus Real Silent 120mm 5v?

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Post by cotdt » Sun Aug 21, 2005 5:44 pm

120mm Nexus on Zalman 9500 versus 120mm Nexus on XP-120, which performs better?

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Post by MikeC » Sun Aug 21, 2005 6:08 pm

jabba wrote:Mike, would you consider better (noise and performance wise), the CNPS9500 92mm Stock 5v, or the Scythe Ninja + Nexus Real Silent 120mm 5v?
The latter is quieter, no question. Beyond that, just wait for the review.

As for
120mm Nexus on Zalman 9500 versus 120mm Nexus on XP-120

There's no indication that a 120mm fan could fit on the 9500, which has a 92mm stock fan. My guess is no way.

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Post by Shadowknight » Sun Aug 21, 2005 7:19 pm

Modding the heatsink will probably allow you to install 92mm Nexus fans, though.

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