Zalman CNPS3100G Gold FHS Heatsink

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Gold heatsinks? Yes that's right, gold-plated heatsinks are officially here. What could be better than a gold plated heatsink for that ultra-chic look in your computer after all?

The CNPS3100G is the first gold plated FHS we've ever seen. If you've seen the review of the CNPS3100 then you've seen it all. Except for the gold plating the two heatsinks are virtually identical. For those of you who haven't, read on!

"FHS" stands for Flower Heatsink, and describes how all the Zalman heatsinks are built. More traditional heatsinks use extrusion dies to create the design of their cooling fins from liquid aluminum. Extrusions are typically a single solid piece of patterned metal so the thermal paths are very solid. The designs are generally limited in scope however.

What the CNPS3100G does is combine many very thin gold plated copper fins into one large bunch. This bunch of fins is then solidly bound together and the base is machine milled flat and smooth. The end result is a solid and well performing heatsink with some special noise characteristics.

Designed for: AMD Athlon, Duron, K6-2. Intel FC-PGA, PGA. VIA Cyrix III.	The Zalman CNPS3100G FHS Model: CNPS3100G (50) 0.3mm thick copper fins. 80mm fan case-mounted Fan Dim: 20x80x80mm, 12V, 2.04W FHS Dimensions: 100x52x65mm LxWxH Weight: 296 grams Surface area: .28m2 Thermal resistance: 0.35C/W Machine milled base Made & Sold by: Zalman Tech Co. Cost: ~$48USD
Comes in a box with the following: 80mm fan, heatsink clip, syringe of thermal compound, (6) screws for attaching the fan to the case, the "silent mode" adapter cable and Instructions.

More than just a heatsink: Noise Reduction System

I know some of you are very determined to eliminate all noise from inside your computer. Whether this be because you work in an sound studio, leave your computer running 24x7, or because you run DVD's off of it in an entertainment room, it makes no difference. If quite is what you're looking for, then pay very close attention to the CNPS3100G.

The "CNPS" in CNPS3100G is an acronym for Zalman's philosophy of a "Computer Noise Prevention System". They actually offer low noise power supplies and hard drives in addition to the range of heatsinks. The goal they state is to cut traditional computer system noise from 30dB or higher, to 20dB or lower.

The FHS heatsink is patent-pending and works by having a short path for heat to travel and a surface area which Zalman claim is 3 to 10 times larger than traditional coolers. Consider for a moment that there is .28m² of surface area on the CNPS3100G! Lets take a look at this golden heatsink of unique design a little closer.