Zalman CNPS9500

[YYZ2112]

JediYoda....I was not being sarcastic in what I said about raising the die temps...basically it was just my way of describing how, as he increased the wattage load, the HSF's gradually failed to perform with only the Zalman left standing. I thought it was a great test method actually.

"But when we bump up to more wattage, the Zalman becomes the victor in being the only cooler to keep my processor stable at load at 4.5GHz." I think I did read the review correctly in my comment about raising die temps.

Honestly, I thought it was a good review, but it could have been better. I'd like to see how many other water cooling units get outlasted by the Zalman in the wattage test? This is the part that seemed a bit out of place and the reviewer could have dug deeper into his analysis of this observation. The hyper 6 put up a good fight but I'd have prefered to see the Zalman go against the best of breed (HSF) a la TR 90C, 120 or even the TK's Typhoon.

 

[YYZ2112]

Here is a pretty good shootout among the top HSF's out there (except for the 120 and 90C from TR)

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/5-cool.html

 

[JEDIYoda]

Actually I have had my system as high as 4.2 Over clocked......with the zalman 9500 and the XP 120....

I will tell you that the temperature differences verses stock CPU speed all the increments were almost dead on the same....yet the zalman cooled the CPU better on my machine when I had the CPU overclocked to 4.0 and 4.2(could be due to the Zalman being all copper)...anything lower both the zalman and the XP120 were almopsy identicle!!

Thats saying alot for the zalman considering the size of the fan.....

For example both heatsinks idled at 27c........I did see an occassional 26c from the XP 120...
The ambient room temp never varies from 68f/20c to 72f/22.2c.....

Also I know for a fact the zalman is awesome at lower fan speeds.......

But with that said.....

Among the heavyweights........not necessarilly in any particular order...
Big Typhoon
Scythe Ninja
XP90 copper
XP 120
SI 120
Zalman 9500

The Ninja as far as what I can tell has always been the absolute lowest temps even in only by a degree...

yet the top 10 heatsinks are right there....I mean temp wise within a few degrees!!

"Speaking at large, the Scythe Ninja, Zalman CNPS9500 LED and Thermaltake Big Typhoon are about on the same level of efficiency, so your choice of the cooler should depend on other factors like price, availability, ease of installation and fastening on a particular CPU socket. Some users may also be guided by their personal sympathy or dislike to a particular brand, for example. But whatever cooler of these three you may choose, you won?t be disappointed."--Category: Coolers

by Doors4ever

Xbit lab

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Here is the point I made on another thread. It doesn't really matter whether the test-bed is OC'd or run at stock speed to prove the performance of the cooler.

Now -- you're going to say "Wait! At higher OC values, the reviewer disqualified several coolers -- the test-bed 'went out of business,' but with the Zalman, it took a licking and kept on ticking."

Sure. What happened was that the less effective coolers had a higher idle-to-load temperature-spread at the higher over-clocks and thermal power ratings. But you would've been able to predict that simply by evaluating the thermal resistance of the cooler at lower wattages -- or at a stock clock speed.

Here are the results again for the Zalman 9500 with the "high" fan setting:

Delta [Idle-to-Load Temperature-spread]: 9C degrees
thermal power: 115 watts
Thermal Resistance = 0.078 C/W

Delta: 14C
thermal power: 143 watts
Thermal Resistance = 0.098 C/W

Delta: 16C
thermal power: 169 watts
Thermal Resistance = 0.095 C/W

Delta: 17C
thermal power: 180 watts
Thermal Resistance = 0.094 C/W

If there is a discrepancy in the value measured at 115 W, it is an error in the measurement of the wattage. For all intents and purposes, the thermal resistance is constant. So you only need to measure it at the stock clock setting. The only purpose in this review for changing the clock settings (and the thermal power wattages) is to "dramatically" demonstrate that some coolers don't have what it takes to keep the idle-load spread attenuated to a level that allows for the higher over-clock settings.

But for rating one cooler against another, you only need to rank-order them at a stock-clock wattage. The rest of the review data is simply "dramatic redundancy."

And once again -- "Why do they omit a comparison with the ThermalRight SI-120?" "Why do they do it in this review as well as the review from X-Bit Labs?"

 

[Kongen]

Just wanted to add my opinion on the 9500

Got a 3200Venice @ 2.8 .. 26/27 idle and 37-39 load. The funny part is that when im not OC´d im getting roughly the same temps (26 idle / 35 load). 2-4 degrees different with 800mhz Oc is really really sweeet. Got an order on BigT coming soon, just to compare (Can´t trust reviews ^_^ )

 

[YYZ2112]

VS. the TR 90C...

http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=3&artpage=1473&articID=365

I really love the looks of this cooler but I have a green CCFL themed lighting scheme (petty, I know).
_____________________________
A bit OT.

My Big T sits so close to the window panel on my new setup, I'm installing a 120mm clear fine aluminum mesh air filter so most of the air being pulled into into the CPU cooler and over the mobo is fresh outside air.

Here is the cover - transparent so one can still see the internal lighting and it's a two piece set so it's easy to clean.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/...product_info&cPath=92&products_id=2276

I hope to post some BT temps soon.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: YYZ2112
VS. the TR 90C...

http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=3&artpage=1473&articID=365

I really love the looks of this cooler but I have a green CCFL themed lighting scheme (petty, I know).
_____________________________
A bit OT.

My Big T sits so close to the window panel on my new setup, I'm installing a 120mm clear fine aluminum mesh air filter so most of the air being pulled into into the CPU cooler and over the mobo is fresh outside air.

Here is the cover - transparent so one can still see the internal lighting and it's a two piece set so it's easy to clean.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/...product_info&cPath=92&products_id=2276

I hope to post some BT temps soon.

Look at the graphs....
but first look at what they say is the margin for error temperature wise---
All results were taken with room temperature at ~22°C. Due to room temp fluctuations, different mounting and user error can account up to 1-2°C of inaccuracy from obtained results. Please keep this in mind when looking at the results. Each heatsink was tested repeatedly; if I got questionable results the test was restarted.

Now go look at the results....
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=2&artpage=1467&articID=365

Notice anything peculiar taking into accout the 1c-2c margin of error....

Temperature wise the XP90 and the Zalman 9500 were equal (taking into account the margin for error...)!!

Noise wise......if you keep the Zalman turned down to its lowest setting ..
Trailing the top 2 heatsink by only 1°C it's safe to say that Zalman latest heatsink is a winner when using the "low" speed option.


The you set the Zalman at its highest setting its only marginally better that at its lowest setting...
But if you take into account the 1-2c margin for error...its the same!!

Conclusion

The strength of Zalman?s latest CPU cooler comes to light when you let the fan running at ?low? speed settings. Performance is on par with the best out there and noise-wise it?s as silent too.

However when you turn up the speed of the fan with the included fanmate II you?re out of the silent zone and into the extra performance realm. But testing showed the difference between minimum and maximum fan speed to be only a mere 2°C, so not quite worth the extra noise.

The rather unique design, combined with a blue LED fan might also tickle the fantasy of some enthusiasts to brighten up their casemods. Extreme power users might be turned down by the fact that the fan on the unit can not be swapped out, this seems to be a trademark of the Zalman series.

Overall the CNPS9500 LED is a very solid performer at low noise levels, found in Europe for ~?50 and ~$60 in USA, it?s no longer a budget solution, but with multiple socket compatibility and easy installation it comes recommended.

It has been my experience with the 9500 as well as the XP120 you don`t need your fans cranked all the way to achieve maximum results.....

So again noise is not ; nor should it be an issue.......

In my opinion the XP90 copper as well as the XP120 and the zalman 9500 are all in the same league....
I really don`t see how you can say the zalman doesn`t do that well against the XP....
when on any setting be it low or high it fell within there margin for error.......1-2c...

 

[YYZ2112]

JediYoda....please provide a reference when you said "I really don`t see how you can say the zalman doesn`t do that well against the XP...."

Your post seems to go 'seamlessly' from the review text to yours so I had to go back to the review and see if the quote above were your words or the reviewers.

From what I recall I've never asserted that the Zalman doesn't do well against the XP, if this is incorrect, please reference where I have. If you were speaking of "you", in the generic (anyone) sense that's fine, no harm done, however with your quoting me at the beginning of the post, it is a bit confusing.

I would agree with the conclusions drawn so far, the Big T, 90C, 120 and 9500 are all in the same league.

Weight issues aside (big caveat, I know), this head to head of the 90C vs. the 9500 makes me wonder how a 120"C" would perform .

 

[surreal1221]

holy ****** this thread is still going? rofl.

 

[gags]

well i'm gonna get the zalman due to the fact that i cannot be bothered to remove my mobo and the big typhoon is just to heavy IMO

if i wanted this much hassle as with th Big typhoon i would water cool.

the zalman is lighter only a few degrees higher and is easier to fit.

Plus that it looks cool

 

[kwarkers]

Im gettin the Zalman!