Conclusion
Testing:
AMD 64+ 4000+ S939 Winchester
Biostar T-Force Motherboard
Corsair 1GB ValueSelect PC3200 DDR RAM
GeForce 7600GS
Western Digital 250 GB 7200 rpm harddrive
Sony DVD Burner
Idle temperatures were taken running Windows and full loads were taken while running SiSandra�s Burn-in Module.Temperatures (in degrees Celsius) were recorded and the results compared with two recently reviewed air coolers: the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme and the Coolink Silentator.Ambient temp was about 20C.
Stock Speed:
Results after overclocking to 2640 MHz-
Overclocked:
As seen in both tests, the Zalman performed similarly to the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme cooler, which indicates the quality of the cooler since the Thermalright boasts a slightly large fan.At low speeds/temperatures, the cooler has a very quiet noise level.However, I was a little disappointed at the noise level of the Zalman cooler at high temperatures; the fan went into the high-speed mode which resulted in fairly loud performance.
Conclusion:
While we usually walk away very impressed with Zalman coolers, the reaction I got from the Zalman CNPS9700 NT CPU cooler was mixed.On the plus side, the cooler�s thermal performance is on-par with some of the best air coolers I�ve tested.It has a sleek-looking design and the included thermal grease is easy to apply and adds to the performance.But on the flip side, the cooler does operate somewhat loudly at high speeds and also takes a little muscle to install.However, if you�re willing to deal with those minor issues, the Zalman CNPS9700 NT CPU cooler will no doubt keep your system cool.
Pros:
+ Solid performance
+ Included thermal grease is easy to apply
+ Simple installation procedure
+ Sleek looking design with colorful LEDs
+ Quiet operations at low fan speeds.
Cons:
- Large, heavy cooler
- Loud at high fan speeds
- Can be difficult to install
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