Zalman has taken note of the global crisis and is aware that not everyone today is willing to spend $ 80 on a cooler for its processor. With this in mind, the manufacturer returned to the drawing board and, trying to maintain the quality standards he achieved, came up with a new design, discarding the most flashy and sophisticated elements. Zalman has produced a more budget version than, say, the 10X Extreme. But is she really good?
Zalman CNPS10X Performa cooler is designed to cool the CPU. Made in Shenzhen, China. It is distinguished by the use of composite heat pipes, in which several types of wicks are used.
Zalman 10X Performa: Overview of Design Features
It is difficult to say how many other coolers use this technology. Firstly, because heat pipes are produced at YC Tech Co. And secondly, because manufacturers of microprocessor cooling systems rarely disclose data about which wick they use.
This structural element plays a decisive role in the efficiency of heat pipes, since the wick is a mechanism that returns the working fluid back to the place of maximum heating. The three main types of wicks, listed in order of effectiveness, are cermet powder, grooves, and metal mesh. The Zalman 10X Performa cooler uses a composite wick, consisting of copper powder around the central processor area and a groove in areas where the heat pipes pass through the aluminum cooling plates.
Standard Representative of the CNPS10X Series
Otherwise, the Zalman 10X Performa Cooler, the photo of which is given later in the article, is standard, especially for those who are familiar with the CNPS10X series. It is equipped with a 120 mm pulse-width modulated fan, the speed of which varies from 1350 to 900 rpm using the supplied RC24P resistor. The maximum speed is 2000 rpm.
With a height of 153 mm, the Zalman CNPS 10X Performa weighs 748 g and is installed on the Intel 1366, 1156 and 775 connectors. AMD microprocessor support is also wide - from the 940, 939 and 754 connectors up to AM3, AM2 + and AM2. A base made of die-cast copper plate is soldered to five copper heat pipes with a diameter of six millimeters, which pass through an array of aluminum fins with a height of 105 mm. Thus, the CNPS10X Performa is a classic tower cooler.
Zalman 10X Performa: specifications
The main technical characteristics of this model are as follows:
- Manufacturer - Zalman.
- Model Number - CNPS10X Performa.
- Materials - aluminum plates, heat pipes, copper base.
- Fan - Zalman ZF1225ALM.
- Fan specifications - 900-1350-2000 rpm (12 V, 0.20 A).
- The dimensions of the fan are 25x120x120 mm.
- Overall dimensions - 153x130x98 mm.
- Weight - 748 g.
- Options - mounting accessories, thermal grease, instructions.
- Compatible with connectors.
- AMD - 754/939/940 / AM2 / AM2 + / AM3.
- Intel - 1366/1156/775.
- The price is $ 45.
Design constraints
With a width of 130 mm, the Zalman 10X Performa requires a considerable 65 mm distance from the center of the processor socket. Owners of motherboards in which the cooler hangs over the connectors for RAM should keep in mind that under the aluminum fins there remains a 37 mm gap, and that’s all. On Intel platforms, the mounting hardware allows the CNPS10X Performa to be installed in any direction, and AMD users are limited by the orientation of the device holder.
Radiator design
15 aluminum fins in the center of the cooler have a wavy front and rear edges. Users note that it would be logical to place these ribs in the area behind the fan motor - this would have a muffling effect, but that's another story. Like many tower coolers, in Zalman the heat pipes pass through the cooling fins in a checkerboard pattern. Thermal energy is thus transferred to aluminum, where the highest air flow is created. The Zalman 10X Performa cooler comes with one fan, but if you want to install the second yourself, there are additional wires and mounting springs.
Each aluminum rib has a thickness of 0.3 mm, and the distance between them is 2.0 mm. At the base of the cooler there is a 37 mm gap for adjacent components of the motherboard. The thickness of the copper base is 3-5 mm, and the entire base is 10.5 mm. If you remove the fan, you can see that five 6-mm heat pipes made of copper are staggered along the outer contour of the cooling fins.
Installation method and hardware
The Zalman 10X Performa cooler can be installed on the Intel 1366/1156/775 processor socket and the full range of AMD chips with AM2 + / AM2 / 940/939/754 connectors up to the AM3 socket. One device fits all the main CPU options, which is good for those who plan to upgrade the processor in the near future. Installing the CNPS10X Performa is straightforward, although maintaining sufficient clearance should be considered. In general, this model is suitable for any modern motherboard, which has 65-70 mm of free space from the center of the microprocessor. Manufacturers note that at least 165 mm is required above the central chip itself, compared to the 153 mm that the Zalman 10X Performa cooler has in height.
We describe the installation procedure in more detail. The AMD mounting clip uses a standard cooler-holding frame. A stainless steel bracket fits over the center hub on the bottom cover and presses it into place using the mount on the AMD motherboard. The radiator should be oriented so that airflow is directed towards the rear of the case, if possible. If not, then the next best fan direction is up, toward the power source.
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The sockets for Intel Socket 1366 and 775/1156 processors use metal clips that are inserted into the space between the bottom cover of cast aluminum and the copper base plate . First of all, it is necessary to partially unscrew the four screws at the base of the device. Then, between the base and the lid of the heat pipes, you must insert the brackets so that their bend is directed away from the cooler. To ensure that everything is fastened firmly enough, a rear metal reinforcing plate for supporting the motherboard and mounting posts are used. If necessary, an overhead unit is glued to it.
Next, insert the screws into the reinforcement plate according to the type of connector and fix them with stoppers. Apply thermal grease so that it covers the surface of the processor, then install the cooler and tighten the screws. Using the brackets, attach the fan to the side of the cooler, setting it as low as possible. Connect the 4-pin connector of the cooler to the contacts on the motherboard. In this case, make sure that the control mode of the pulse-width converter is activated in the BIOS settings.
Fan Zalman ZF1225ALM
A single 120 mm fan is supplied with the Zalman CPNS 10X Performa cooler and, by default, operates at a speed of 900–1350 rpm. If you disconnect the RC24P resistor from the power conductor, the speed increases to 2000 rpm. Power is supplied from the 4-pin connector on the motherboard. Five copper heat pipes with a diameter of 6 mm are tightly stacked at the bottom of the device and extend upward over all 105 mm of the aluminum section of the cooler.
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According to user reviews, the fan should be installed on the bottom side of the aluminum fins, where the heat pipes are located closer to the edge. All aluminum plates are made of thermally raw metal. The polished copper bottom plate measures 39x37 mm; it is perfectly even in two directions. Five heat pipes are soldered to a copper base plate to reduce thermal joint resistance and improve thermal conductivity. If you loosen the four screws installed here, the steel mounting brackets slip between the copper and aluminum of the base components.
Finishing and base plane
According to users, turning the cooler around to inspect the working surface of the device is often a simple way to evaluate the overall quality of the cooler. In other words, its effectiveness is largely determined by the quality of its contact with the processor - the smoother and smoother it is, the better. Finishing the surface of the base is one of the important criteria that are used to evaluate coolers, and it includes two different aspects. The first of these is the quality of surface treatment, which is determined using the cooler roughness comparator and the equivalent surface of the average processor. Measured in microns. The second criterion is flatness. It can be checked using the reference plane. It is estimated on two axes. The base of the Zalman CNPS10X Performa is completely flat and has a very smooth surface. Its roughness is equal to or less than 0.4 microns, which is considered an excellent indicator. The next important criterion for the fan is the noise level, as well as the thermal test results of AMD and Intel processors.
Which cooler is the most silent?
Listening to the cooler noise allows you to establish what cannot be expressed by numerical indicators obtained using a sound level meter. The 120mm fan running at full speed of 2000rpm installed on the Zalman 10X Performa produces a noise of 58.7 dBA, which is quite loud. When the speed is reduced using the supplied resistor to 1350 rpm, the cooler noise drops to a modest 44.8 dBA. At the slowest speed of 900 rpm, the volume drops to a quiet 37.3 dBA. Users tested the cooler on Intel and AMD chips.
AMD Microprocessor Thermal Test Results
With a thermal load of 125 W and a full fan speed of 2000 rpm, the cooler shows heating, which compared to the ambient temperature was only 13.1 ° C. This is consistent with other models of the CNPS10X series.
By reducing the rotation speed to 1350 rpm, the cooler maintains the processor crystal heating level of no more than 15.8 ° C above the ambient temperature. At the slowest fan speed of 900 rpm, this figure rose to 19.1 ° C.
In other words, reducing the noise level from the unwanted 58.7 dBA to the noiseless 37.3 dBA leads to an increase in the processor temperature by 6 ° C. Obviously, the CNPS10X series is well worth the investment. In addition, there is a slight difference of 1 ° C in the cooler performance when installing the fan according to the Zalman manual (on aluminum fins from the side where the heat pipes are located farthest to the edge) and from the opposite side.
Intel Microprocessor Thermal Test Results
At a heat load of 150 W, the cooler supports CPU heating just 16.6 ° C above ambient temperature at a full fan speed of 2000 rpm (noise is 58.7 dBA). At the same heat load, but at a reduced speed of 1350 rpm, the noise level of the CNPS10X Performa drops to 44.8 dBA, and the temperature rises by 19.5 ° C compared to the surrounding temperature. And finally, at 900 rpm, the excess is 23.6 ° C, and the noise drops to 37.3 dBA.
With a thermal load of 85 W, which corresponds to the Intel Core and Core 2 Duo processors, the cooler does not experience any problems with maintaining the crystal temperature at a level exceeding the external one by 10.1 ° C, 11.3 ° C and 14.5 ° C at speed rotation equal to 2000, 1350 and 900 rpm.
Zalman 10X Performa cooler user reviews suggest installing so that the fan is not on the side specified in the Zalman manual, but on the opposite side. In this case, the processor temperature will be 1 ° C lower. The above performance indicators were obtained when the fan was installed in the correct position - from the side least distant from the heat pipes.
Verdict
Summing up, we can say that the Zalman 10X Performa cooler is able to provide the threshold levels of cooling achieved by other models of the CNPS10X series from Zalman, but only if the user is willing to sacrifice quiet operation. The device comes with a resistor that limits the speed to 1350 rpm, and removing the jumper allows you to accelerate the 120 mm fan to a full 2000 rpm to ensure maximum cooling of the central microprocessor. However, in this case, the noise level will reach 59 dBA, which today is too much for long-term operation.