Difficult Decision (Zalman CNPS9700 or CNPS9700-NT)

[B3ler3fonte]

Hi to everyone!! I am struggling lately to decide which one of the two coolers i should buy in order to cool my AMD64 4600+ X2 cause with the factory coller either in idle or load mode the temps are high enough as you know 🙁 and i really see some performance decrease while working or playing of course. I have read many articles and reviews and i ended up to quality Zalman products:


CNPS9700
http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=229&code=005

and

CNPS9700-NT
http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=231&code=009

The first one (CNPS9700) is proposed by many users since its "out" for couple of months and the results are very satisfactory. A dramatic temp decrease even 20 degrees in comparison with factory cooler. Size big but cools great!

The second one (CNPS9700-NT) is brand new and the reviews are very few. They are almost the same (price difference is approximately 4 pounds, 41 to 44) as i can see APART from one point : the NT comes with a PWM Control & Auto Restart equipment while the other one does not.

Cost is not a factor for me.If there is something i will take into consideration (although it may sound very stupid) is mainly the size cause i don't know if it properly fits without problem in my mobo (M2N32 SLi Deluxe) causing any problems to the near stuff ( i don't want to completely destroy the spare RAM slots, etc) And the other one is the LED light that they use and thats because my internal light "decoration" is based in blue. The one comes with a blue led and the other one with green and it may look somehow odd i think :lol:

What are your proposals/personal experiences using either the one or the other under of course the temp perspectives :?: :?:

Plzzzz help 😳

My Specs:

Memory- CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2
800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit System Memory (BIOS Settings 4-4-4-12 2T, 2.1 Voltage, a2,b2)

CPU- AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz HT 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket
AM2 Dual Core Processor

MOBO- ASUS M2N32 Sli DLX (Wi-FI)

HDD : 2*Caviar SE16 320GB S300 16MB (SATA2)

Video Card- SAPPHIRE X1600XTX 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16

Case- Thermaltake VA8003SWA Aluminium Armour Super Tower - Silver

Power Supply- OCZ GameXStream 600w Silent SLI Ready ATX2

DVDRW :NEC DVD+-RW/RAM 16x IDE Beige OEM

 

[LynkDead]

I'm looking into these two as well, and would like to know if anyone knows anything.

 

[gondo]

This is Zalman and if the model are the same then its the same heatsink. The only difference usually is the CU at the end which means copper. Nowadays though all heatsinks are copper this isn't the issue. I'm not sure what the NT means.

I checked the specs and both are the same. The only differnce seems to be the color and the green LED as opposed to BLUE LED. The mounting of both heatsink will be identical, size is identical, and cooling will be identical since both are the same both copper/aluminum construction.

I'd say go with the look you want. The copper look or the black/silver look with green LED.

 

[grifter33]

I was just looking at these too. Near as I can tell they are identical, other then the different colored leds, and the fact that ones silver and ones copper.

The NT is supposed to be a few decibels quieter, but Ive yet to see a direct comparison to back that up.

 

[chyort]

the NT has a different colored led, (Green if i remember right) as opposed to the standard blue.... I couldn't find any other difference though in the hour spent surfing 😛

 

[gondo]

Both heatsinks are identical, and the db will be the same on both. Yhe specs on Zalman website back this up.

I read through the entire first post and I see that you were looking for personal experience on the heatsink as you already realize the difference between he two and were looking for experience with this heatsink or Zalman in particular.

Well I am a long time user of Zalman sinks and can share a bit. Zalman is an incredibly good company. If you need to know if their heatsink will fit your motherboard their website has all that info you need with measurements you need to take to determine if it will fit, they also have a motherboard listing telling you if it fits or not. Zalmans mounting are always very good and simple to install. They also release future mounting brackets so your heatsink will fit future CPUs making for a long term investment.

I'd say go for the Zalman. As far as which model go for the look you want. When I originally bought the copper it was very sharp looking compared to the flat silver aluminum heatsinks most where made of at the time. Then I upgraded to a Zalman with an LED and it was a letdown. The LED was barely visible. The silver and black looks cool and would match an Asus striker board nicely. Although if I had an Asus I'd go shoot myself and not bother buying a heatsink at all. I'd go copper to match the shite brown board on the Abit you should own

Lets remember that this is computer modding and upgrading and looks do matter. That's why your getting a heatsink with an LED isn't it. You want something that will look cool and will impress your friends and people who look at your computer. If this is the case copper may be better. Uneducated people will look at the silver heatsink, think its all aluminum and inferior and say you should have an all copper heatsink its better. Whereas if they look at the computer, see a big chunk of redish copper they will go "wow that's a big chunk of copper, must be awesome"

Copper has that wow factor to it, no matter how nice the silver/black heatsink is.

1 Other thing. Zalman is quiet and cool both at the same time. Don't be misled into other heatsinks being quieter, cause it could be with a speed controller at low setting but with worse temps. There is very few that can match Zalman, several can but few. If in doubt a Zalman is a good choice.

 

[B3ler3fonte]

First of all thnx a lot each and every one of u for your replies!!

I made up my mind finally 😛 and i bought the 9700 (not the NT one). As soon as i opened the package i was tottaly amazed by the size of the cooler! 😱 😱

The installation was extremely easy and the results just unbelievable!

With my AMD X2 4600 running with the default cooler at the temps 47-51C in idle mode and 60-62 while performing simultaneously different tasks now with the Zalman one installed i have a dramatic decrease of 22 degrees both in idle and in operation mode!!! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

What can i say?? I am totally speechless with the result..It totally deserves every pound i gave in order to buy it!! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it!! And not to mention that i don't have any problems with the available space!!

Yeah Zalman U Roooooock!!

 

[gondo]

Don't you just love how the Zalman installs with screws and not a spring clip? Awesome. No more prying on the spring clip with a screwdriver, slipping, and gouging the motherboard, lol!!!!

 

[stefx]

With my AMD X2 4600 running with the default cooler at the temps 47-51C in idle mode and 60-62 while performing simultaneously different tasks now with the Zalman one installed i have a dramatic increase of 22 degrees both in idle and in operation mode!!!

...an increase of 22 degrees?

 

[dragonsprayer]

you could save money and get a Vanessa s its half the price and its works.

or you could save a little and get a thermalright and get better performance

 

[ausch30]

you could save a little and get a thermalright and get better performance

The Thermalright doesn't come with a fan so you have to figure that into the price/noise/performance. I am a fan of Zalman, they make quality products that have a good balance of noise to cooling level. That said I have always liked Thermalright's products and I would be very interested in seeing the two head to head as I will soon be in the market to purchase one myself. One really nice thing about the Thermalright is the option to passively cool.

The main differences between the NT and the regular version are the LED color and the fan connector. The regular version uses a 3 pin connector while the NT uses a 4 pin. If your MOBO only supports 3 pin it will work but only at it's slowest speed.

 

[clue69less]

The CNPS9700 is on sale again at Newegg, this time for $55. Not as good as the $45 sale back at Thanksgiving, but still a good deal.