Home > Consumer Reviews > Zalman CPU Fan With 70mm Fan LED (CNPS9500 LED-CU)

This cooler is the perfect way to keep your system quiet. I have a AMD FX2 CPU and I've had six different coolers/fans to try to keep my computer as quiet as possible. I recently purchased a high-end graphics card with passive (no fan) cooling and this made the situation worse because the CPU fan was having to pick up the slack and move more heat.

Zalman has a great reputation and I thought this fan might do the trick.

It did.

My system is whisper quiet, even when I tax the CPU heavily and the video card, -even at the same time. I never thought my computer could be so quiet.

Some things to keep in mind.

1) Take your time, read the instructions, and be careful of the fins, they're sharp.
2) Make sure you face the fan in the right direction, it's not in the logical direction you might think. In my case the fan is on the far side of the back of the case and you might think otherwise when you first look at it.
3) Instructions need to followed if your installation is going to work. It's a bit of a puzzle, especially if you only use the printed instructions.
4) I strongly recommend you USE THE ZALMAN WEB SITE for help with the installation. Go to their web site, find this cooler in their product list, and once you're at this product's web site you'll find an installation tab with a very, very good animated installation guide.
5) Be sure you select your correct CPU for instructions, the Intel and AMD instructions are VERY different (due to the way they mount to a motherboard).

Considering the cost, and the 30 minutes to install, I think this fan is worth the time and effort and cost.

An excellent product!

This device saved my ears, believe me. The OEM Intel fan cooler used to spin at such high revs than the buzzing was starting to drive me mad.
A friend of mine told me about this excellent accessory -she has it installed in her home PC- and I get it in a rush.
Problem solved. Even in the most demanding photo-processing tasks I put my PC to work, it runs smoother, cooler and more silent.
Be very aware of the compatibility issues with some motherboard/chassis configurations, since it's a pretty larger device than the OEM. Check in the manufacturers site for a list of compatible main boards.

This is my first review (compelled by this beauty).

Pro's

1. My hyperthreading CPU is down to 35 degree celcious (from almost 85)
2. I can run NIS 2005 (Norton antivirus, without my system getting shutdown due to overheat)
3. I even overclock my CPU by 10%(MS Windows don't like if I rampup to 20% or more)
4. Did I mention I turned down two other noisy fans?

Con's

1. I hear all other outside noise (cars, room heater etc) I held Zalmon responsible for this :-)
2. Guilty feeling that I tortured the CPU earlier.



Last year, I spent some $$ on best out there. Say silent case like "sonata" and the P4C800-E motherboard from ASUS and Intel's Hyperthreading CPU - nothing but a pure heat generator!!! But fear not! I discovered Zalmon. Of course there may be someone better and I might have overpaid but I would like to pay more to Zalmon. Yeap this thing is worth every penny and more.

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What makes the CNPS9500 really stand out is the fact that its design allows for broad motherboard compatibility. [...]

I am running a PD 830, and was using a Masscool aluminum cpu fan. My cpu was 48 idle and nearly 60 load. I want to overclock so I wanted to lower the those temps. I ordered this Zalman 9500. I had no trouble fitting it into my mid-tower case. I did have to remove the motherboard to put the back mounting plate. I was hoping it would fit into the rear mounting plate that the other one used, but unfortunately not. Anyway, after installing the fan with Arctic Silver 5 thermal grease, I booted up the computer and my system was running 50 idle and nearly 78 load! I took it out several times and re-screwed it in to see if maybe it was loose or the heatsink surface was concaved, still nothing. I then got on Newegg and Tigerdirect and read some reviews, and found a lot of bad reviews (a ton more good reviews though) about the same problem that others were having it too. So I decided that the fan was junk and was going to order another one. But then I thought, what the heck, one more try. I took it out, wiped off all of the Arctic Silver 5, cleaned the cpu surface with rubbing alcohol, reapplied a thin layer evenly using an edge of a hard piece of plastic, and screwed the fan in, as tight of a fit as I could. Then, since the fan is mounted on a bracket, I started twisting it very gently clockwise and counterclockwise, to even out the grease and remove any air bubbles that might have gotten trapped. I re-booted up the computer, and, BAM, idle temps of 29-30, load no higher than 35.

I went from hating this fan to LOVING it! It dropped my idle temp 18 degrees from the Masscool fan, after I installed it correctly that is.

So, my advice would be to definitely order this fan if you want to drop your temps, especially on dual core cpus. And if you install it and the temps dont change or go up, re-install again slowly, and PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL!!

Other thoughts about it: Well, the LED isn't really that bright, the picture on here is horribly misleading, but combined with all my other blue led lights, it's a nice touch. Installation requires removal of the motherboard, which can be a pain. To attain maximum performance, you have to be very particular about details when installing. When installing, the only thing you have to hold on to are the copper pins, so be careful, they are kind of sharp. Otherwise, pretty straightforward and a great product with expected results.

This is the best improvemnt to your system. Runs silent, unreal diffrence in comparison to standard CPU cooler. The temperature droped by 10c and is stable around 32c even when running heavy programs like 3D CAD and many open windows on four monitors. CPU with Zalman CNPS9500 LED will last much longer.

State of the art technology. It has copper heat pipes and all copper heatsink. (Others use aluminum heatsink.) Copper is a better heat conductor thats why this Zalman is the best cooler. Copper is expensive, so it will cost more.

Installation requires some technical skills. I am not computer guy, but managed to install it without any problem. Just a warning, you need to remove the matherboard to install this cooler. This is a major task, if you did not do it before.
My system is ASUS P5GD1 motherboard, P4 HT, full tower case. This cooler is larger than standartd one and it is not easy to fit all in. Smaller case would have a problem.

I considered Zalman Typhon and it is a monster that would not fit in the case.