Zalman CNPS8900 Quiet Heatsink and Fan (Socket 1155, 1156, 1366, 775, FM1, AM3+, AM3, AM2+, AM2, Powerful Cooling Performance, DTH Technology)

TL:DR - I love this cooler, it cools as well as my older Hyper 212, makes less noise and fits in my low profile htpc case! If you need to stay in a space budget, a sound budget, or are just tired of cumbersome cooling solutions, this cooler really made me smile with its combination of size, performance, quiet operation, and looks. Well done Zalman!There are monstrous tower-sytle coolers, dual fan coolers, obnoxiously loud coolers, and more. Some of them may cool your CPU a few degrees more, although most will not. I am usually not one to write a review of a product unless I am really compelled to do so by something exceptional, and with that in mind I will give you a short view of my experience with this heatsink/fan unit.First off, I highly recommend reading the frostytech review of the 8900 extreme. Their review is for the extreme version of this heatsink, but the 'low' fan speed measurements they did will be comparable to the quiet version in question here.Keep in mind that this heatsink is only 60mm tall! This was of utmost importance for me, since I was taking my 'old' gaming pc and shoving it into a poorly ventilated htpc case that then got shoved in a tiny poorly ventilated shelf under the TV. I had some real concerns that my 6-core Xeon CPU would not be happy without the massive tower heatsink I had on it previously, but I was shocked to find that this Zalman heatsink not only kept my frying pan of a CPU between 32-38 C (real temperature using HWMonitor, not fake temperature from BIOS readings) during idle (2-3 degrees less than my old Coolermaster Hyper 212 heasink in a well ventilated case could manage before), but also managed to keep it under 60 C at full load using various unrealistic CPU maxxing tools (OCCT, CPUburn, etc.). This is outstanding performance in an environment that stacks the deck against the heatsink.Installation was easier than some heatsinks I've used in the past, but you will need to remove the motherboard the first time you install it (just like any other performance heatsink), but other than that it is well engineered. I've already taken the heatsink on/off several times as I troubleshot my new build and I would choose this mounting mechanism over anything else I've used incuding the coolermaster or stock intel heatsink.The sound this heatsink makes has made me re-evaluate many of my other component choices in the past several years. Simply put, you can't hear it at all until the CPU gets to its absolute hottest temperature and the fan goes up to its highest speed. For my HTPC build this make all the difference in the world. The last thing you want is obnoxious fan noise in the background when watching a movie. I dont care what the dB meters say, this fan has a better sound profile than anything else I've ever used.Another thing I found interesting is that it appears that Valve decided to use the smaller version of this heatsink when designing their reference 'Steam PC' - they custom engineered many other parts of that enclosure, so it says something that they went to Zalman for the heatsink when they needed a good balance of cooling size and noise for their living room product.In all, this heatsink made my HTPC project turn out better than I could have even hoped for. I've always been interested in the Zalman products, but never pulled the trigger due to thier higher prices. I wouldn't hesitate to buy this same heatsink or other Zalman products in the future based on my experience with the CNPS8900!

This is the second of these I had used, the first on a mid level gaming PC for my Step-Father and this particular one for a 'silent' HTPC build. It's sat on top of a i5 3570K in my build and maxes out at 58 degrees when running the Large in-place FFTs test with Prime 95.I haven't overclocked yet but that level of performance is pretty awesome in a cooler that is about 6cm high!DESIGN POINTSFirstly, this is obviously low profile but the new design wraps the heat pipes around the cooling fins. An earlier design I saw didn't do this and I think this make a lot of difference when using it with over-clocked CPU's or some of the 'frying pans' others are have mentioned in their reviews here.Unfortunately, particularly with the AMD attachments, it can be tricky to get to the screws to tighten up the fixing plate. I have a bendy adaptor for my screwdriver set and even that struggled to get in. On the Intel fitting it seemed to be easier for some reason and I used a thin driver at a slight angle. You may want to look at getting a short right angled driver for your needs if you aren't confident coming in at a slight angle with the risk of rounding the screws being greater.NOISEWell, it's pretty quiet until you hit the really heavy loads and then you can really hear it. I have this in a case with a Corsair TX850M and some low RPM case fans and they are basically silent (especially as the TX850M fan doesn't even turn on at low loads) so this cooler has a lot to live up to, but it holds it's own well.My case (a Silverstone SST-GD08B) is sat on top of a cabinet next to the wall mounted TV with nothing around it to attenuate the noise it makes, so being quiet was a must and this cooler delivers.Don't get me wrong, you can hear it, just as you can hear all fans no matter what the db meters say, but it's about the best/quietest I've heard when it comes to coolers (apart from those with no fan obviously).SIZE AND RAM CHOICEOthers have pointed out its about 6cm high. It's got a pretty large diameter though so take care with your RAM choice if you are filling out all the slots or are using it in an ITX build. I'm using 2 RAM sticks with tiny little heatsinks on a standard ATX board and it fitted OK (I didn't use the closest RAM slot to the CPU) but you'd need to take care on an ITX build to get something that is low profile for a smooth build.Even normal RAM with no heatsink is going to have trouble with this cooler on an ITX board, or if you are trying to use up all the slots on an ATX board, so do take care when choosing this cooler and make sure it fits your specific needs.Oh, and make sure to fit the RAM sticks before you fit the cooler as it's a pain/impossible slotting in the sticks after you have fitted the cooler!COOLING PERFORMANCEIdling I'd say it averages about 30 or so degrees with my CPU. The case is very well ventilated though so that's a little flattering. Probably 35 degrees in normal 'hidden' HTPC setup or a less well ventilated case. On full load it's happily keeping my non-overclocked 15 3570k at a fraction under 60 degrees (probably about 58) without even reaching 1500 rpm - so it's still reasonably quiet even under stress.CONCLUSIONThis is a fantastic cooler but it does have the big downside of really affecting the RAM you can put in, particularly on an ITX board. If you purchase it knowing that as I did I don't see why it doesn't deserve 5 stars. It does everything you could ask of it and it does it silently.If you are on an ITX build where the RAM slots are very close to the CPU or have high performance RAM with large heatsinks then you will need to look elsewhere if you want an easy build. Those with experience can probably get things to work but it won't be easy in those circumstances.For my needs it has been fantastic and very deserving of its 5 stars.

Mi sento di dare 5 stelle a questo dissipatore nonostante ci siano alcune piccole pecche (non troppo pesanti).Lo scopo era sostituire il dissipatore stock per un i7 6700 e devo dire che le temperature sono scese di circa 12 gradi a fronte di un dimezzamento del numero di giri della ventola. Arrivo al massimo a 79 gradi di picco (su singolo core) dopo molti minuti al 100%, in una configurazione mini itx che fornisce ben poca aria, dunque sono soddisfatto. Le temperature di solito stanno un po' più basse anche in full load.Le dimensioni sono tali da entrare in un case Cooler Master Elite 130 con motherboard mini-itx ASUS z170i. Questo è forse il più grande dei dissipatori compatti ad entrarci, non ci sono modelli Noctua con le stesse prestazioni che vadano bene con quella scheda madre.In secondo luogo la silenziosità è superiore alla media, anche rispetto ad altri modelli più grandi.Rispecchia appieno le mie aspettative e dunque è consigliato.Per quanto riguarda il montaggio, è un po' laborioso e per la pasta termica è meglio ricorrere a qualcos'altro rispetto a quella nella confezione che è scomoda da applicare.

Lo instalé en una caja slim, una placa con lga775, y cabe perfectamente. El complicado de montar y, como es muy ancho, hay que tener cuidado con los componentes de alrededor de la cpu, pero una vez en funcionamiento, no te das cuenta de que está girando: es súper silencioso.Vale lo que cuesta.

As other reviewers state, you do have to install this cooler with the motherboard out of the case. This is a fact of life, for nearly all low-profile coolers; you save height clearance by removing the stock motherboard bracket with the fan clip holders on it, and using a backplate so you can screw the heatsink's bracket directly to the motherboard.It's also a fact of life for HTPC and SFF builds; they are always more difficult, and you have to do the build in the order specified by the case manufacturer, to fit everything into the special compact case. So normally you would start by installing your low-profile RAM onto the motherboard, then your CPU, paste, and this fan. (It's best to sit the mobo on top of some anti-static foam while you're working on it; hopefully you have some from the motherboard's box or another piece of electronics you bought.) If the mobo, memory, and CPU/fan all fit together OK, then you proceed with the build according to the case's instructions.Other reviewers have also pointed out that the included instructions have small print; however you can download the manual online and see it much bigger. (It's 2013, this is a computer part, who cares about printed instructions.) The instructions are mostly pictures, not unlike assembly instructions for international furniture. So pay really close attention to the orientation of the clip items as you add them to the backplate and fan.Also, you will have a much easier time installing this fan, with another pair of hands. It's do-able by yourself, because they include some two-sided tape to help hold the backplate in place while you install the fan. But it's much easier with a friend holding the board still, while you align the backplate and tape it on. Then your friend turns the board over, and holds the board & backplate steady for you on the work surface, while you install the CPU, paste, & fan. The rest of it's easy, especially with the included (custom?) deep, spring-loaded screws making it easier to apply even pressure to the CPU & paste as you tighten the heatsink down.If you've already built your computer and just want a clip-on fan, you might want to consider something else; but this is a really great, quiet, efficient, cooler, and well worth the extra installation effort.Once installed, it's just as effective as my older Zalman HTPC model from 5 years ago from this same line. It runs quiet under low CPU load, and doesn't make much noise under heavy load. It drops the temperature over the stock CPU cooler, by at least 10° C. This is even with the Arctic Silver still fresh; that paste has a 'curing' period of 200 hours before it achieves full cooling power, so the fan is having to work harder than it will after the curing completes.I went for this fan, over the similar CNPS8900 Extreme, because it has a lower noise rating, and because it has no distracting LED for an HTPC build. The Extreme has more cooling power, but I don't need that much, because I am using a low-wattage (65W) CPU. The heaviest tasks this computer does are watching my HDTV tuner & HD video files/streams, and maybe some day upgrading it with a Bluray player. Also I usually have *tons* of Chrome tabs open (literally up to 100 sometimes). Sometimes I stream full-screen 1080p Y*uT*be on one of those tabs, and it does this fine, even for videos that last an hour or more. It also runs HD Amazon Instant Video, and that *other* big streaming video service in HD, just fine.I expect the fan will outlive the rest of the HTPC, just like the older Zalman in my last HTPC build did. If you're trying to cram a microATX or miniITX mobo into a crowded case, the CNPS8900 Quiet is definitely the best fan to keep your CPU as cool and quiet as possible. If you need a little more cooling power, and don't mind the LED and a little bit of extra noise, go for the CNPS8900 Extreme, also available on Amazon for the same price. Either way get yourself some Arctic Silver, and this fan will be more than capable of cooling everything with a 100W or less processor. The CNPS8900 Extreme with Arctic Silver would probably cool a 125W OK, but I couldn't say that for sure.

After using a stock HSF for my AMD Phenom II x4 905e, I was tired of the noise instantly. I needed something quieter. After some researching, it seemed for both the money and for the category of "low profile cooler", this was king. I put this in together with a ASRock 960GC-GS FX Motherboard in a Silverstone ML04B case and it seem to fit perfectly. It still had some head room to the lid of the case (around 1/4-1/2").The fan seems screwed in from the bottom with two screws and is on there solid. Despite looking copper, the fins are aluminum. This should help a lot with cost and weight. The base/heat pipes are copper, which is where it really counts. The mounting brackets screw on the bottom, pending Intel or AMD. The surface was pretty rough on the bottom of mine with plenty of pits and could definitely using lapping for those looking for perfection, but I installed it despite to see where it sat in performance.The install was somewhat easy, but I've also done a lot of cooler swaps with custom hardware in the past. The stock motherboard mounting system had to come off, then install their custom plate. One thing about the plate is it didn't feel very balanced against the back of the board. For my AMD setup, the instructions required 4 nuts with 4 plastic snap-in ends to retain them. It also called for a plastic center piece that I believe is causing the feel of lacking balance, as it seems a bit too tall. It didn't hit any of the components under the CPU, so I give them that. The back plate also doesn't hold to the mother board on it's own and seems to require the heatsink installed to keep in place, which is another downside to it. The CPU screws were a little awkward to put in, as the size of the heatsink makes you come at the screw head at an angle. Do not try to put the screw in at an angle or you will cross thread and cause issues! Make sure the screws go in straight, but the screw drive itself will be forced at an angle to install. After everything is tightened up, you can then put the motherboard in. I didn't use the paste that came with it (instead, I used AS Ceramique 2)Cooling wise, it works awesome. I have my motherboard setting the fan at the lowest possible settings and it has yet to get much over 45*C with my setup. At that fan setting, it's nearly inaudible. If you have the fan in your hand and manually spin it, it makes no noise, yet you can feel a bit of air being pushed through the fins. I'd say this design is solid for quiet cooling.One thing to note is this is a tight fit. With my motherboard, using standard height DDR2 ram with heat shields, it would not fit. The orientation of the heatsink was perfectly against the ram. After forcing off a the heat shield on one side of the ram stick it was hitting, I was able to get everything to fit, though the heat pipe is touching and perhaps putting a touch of pressure on the PCB of the ram stick itself. This didn't cause any issues, but it is something to note. My board supports DDR3 as well, which is a single slot over and would probably solve this issue (as long as the ram doesn't have tall heatsinks on it).All together, if you are building a silent, slim, HTPC like I was, this thing isn't going to be beat by any other air cooler at this time, especially when considering the cost. However, overclockers may feel the need to modify this heatsink for maximum cooling and the average user may have issues with fitment into their setup.

Hatte einen Athlon 8Core in der boxed - Version gekauft. War im Winter gerade noch erträglich. Im Sommer drehte er immer mehr auf und war einfach nervig. Durch meine PC- Gehäuse war ich gezwungen einen flachen Kühler zu verwenden. Test habe mich zu dieser Lösung geführt. Musste das MB wieder aus und einbauen, für mich kein Problem. Wenn ich jetzt zum PC gehe denke ich immer er ist aus weil nichts höre. Himmlische Ruhe.