360° View - Zalman CNPS7700-Cu LED Heatsink
Information on Frostytech's test
methodology is available
here. | |
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The Heatsink Fan: The
120x120x25mm fan spins at 1000-2000RPM with the aid of the Fanmate 2 fan
speed controller. According to FrostyTech's real world sound measurements, this translates into a noise
output that varies between 35 dBA and 50 dBA. The heatsink
draws power from a standard 3-pin motherboard fan header, and supports
RPM monitoring. The fan's seven-bladded translucent impeller is internally illuminated by a
couple red LEDs. Since airflow is directed downward, components adjacent to the
CPU socket are also cooled to some degree. Motherboards
must have a 136mm of clearance around the center of the CPU, where no
capacitors or other devices stand more than 39mm tall for the CNPS7700-Cu LED
to fit. The lack of a fan guard can be an issue if there
are many errant wires in a system. |
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Heatsink Top: Removing
the fan gives us a clearer idea of how the entire heatsink is
made from an assembly of individually punched out sheets of
0.4mm thick copper. The central base section is 41.5mm wide, and from tip to
tip the heatsink measures approx. 136mm x 136mm. The cut out in the center of the base
section is for the clipping mechanism which applies pressure at the center of the Zalman CNPS7700-Cu LED heatsink. Each copper fins extends 55mm out, with progressively more spacing between the fins. |
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Heatsink Side A: Standing 67mm tall, the
Zalman CNPS7700-Cu LED is a fairly compact heatsink in the vertical
sense... but 136mm in diameter. The copper fins are spaced about 2.0mm
apart at the outside edge. The spring clip system is mounted to the heatsink just under the
integral 120mm fan. Two types of clips are used to fasten the heatsink, depending on what socket the processor is, "type-s" and "type-L." |
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Heatsink Side B: From this angle we can see how the copper fins gradually come together
at the
base to form the body of the Zalman
CNPS7700-Cu LED heatsink. Compressed under high pressure the fins make intimate contact at
the base which is then machined absolutely flat.
The bevel in the shape of the heatsink is so it will clear
the certain heatsink retention frames, and any capacitors placed near to the
socket. Accordingly, Zalman recommend that no component be higher than 39mm
if it is within 136mm of the center of the processor socket. |
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Heatsink Base: The copper portion of the base measures 26mm x 35mm in area, but the overall
length of the mounting surface is 42mm if we include the two aluminum
blocks. Since the copper fins are the base, thermal conductivity is as direct as could be expected. The copper base has been machined razor flat and so surface roughness is equivalent
to ~8 microinches. That is considered excellent. The stainless steel slots where
the two types of mounting clips slot into are just visible on
either side of the base. |