Zalman VS Thermaltake

Core2Conroe

banned
I'm doing this for my own personal experience, but I figured I would share it.

ZALMAN CNPS7000B-AlCu LED
35-118-118-02.JPG


VS

Thermalright XP-120
35-109-118-01.jpg

(Attached fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811998124)

Now I know the price difference is roughly $30 for the Zalman and $50 for the Thermalright and the fan size for the Zalman is 92mm and the fan size is 120 for the Thermalright... so most people would think that the bigger is better, and the cheaper is going to be crappier.... lets go over some basic comparisons.

Brand: Zalman/Thermalright
Price US$: $30/$50
Fan Compatibility: 92mm/120mm
Material: Copper base with Aluminium surrounding/Nickel plated Copper base with Aluminium
Heatpipes: 0/5
Dimensions: 109 x 109 x 62mm/110 x 125 x 63mm without fan


so should you fork out the extra $20 for the "better" cooler?


Over the next 2 weeks I will be testing the two CPU coolers with an overclocked E6300, temps will be read with Everest Ultimate Edition, Artic Silver 5 will be the thermal compound of choice.

(EDIT Was the Pic of the Zalman, I showed the non LED)
 
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PC eye

banned
It really takes about two weeks for AS5 to thoroughly bond between hsf and cpu. If you are going to spend the $20- more why not go with a better Zalman model like the CNPS9500 or 9700 models?
 

mega10169

New Member
Bigger heat sink means more surface area and better dissipation of heat. The fan is also large enough to cool all that area so my money is on the Thermalright.
 

Core2Conroe

banned
I would think, but since the Zalman has very direct heat absorption that it would do better plus its pure copper core to it


EDIT: Plus I have the 7000 (non LED) on my fiancee's 4000+ and it's fan is controlled by her ITE SMART Guardian and unless she is playing a game, it never breaks 77F and the fan is off... under load her CPU never breaks 90F even at half fan speed so its going to be close I think
 
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Jet

VIP Member
I'm definetly going for the Thermalright, though the Big Typhoon or the 9500/9700 would be better choices.
 

PC eye

banned
Unfortunately the model seen at the link there never saw much use and now sits in a box since the cpu it was bought for went... d...o...a... after cooking. :( taps please! ddaa da daaa... daa ta daaaaaa... On the new biuld I ended up with the CNPS9500 a friend didn't want to fuss with thinking the cpu holder on an AMD board there had to come off for mounting. It didn't!
 

Core2Conroe

banned
I would love to compare it to the bigger 120mm version of the Zalman, but I only had $50 on my radioshack gift card :p
 

PC eye

banned
The Zalman here has worked excellently. But another thing to note is not just the cooler alone but getting the air flow going to draw in cooler air as well blasting heat out with exhaust fans is the key to seeing low temps even with the cpu itself. I've also taken a good look at the fanless type of coolers. But the lack of large amounts of copper makes you wonder.
 
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