Now, the CNPS5000P ships with the fan mounted in an exhaust orientation, but since the heatsink performs much better with the fan in an impingement orientation (blowing down) we are basing its performance on those test results.

Just for comparison, with the fan in its original orientation (pulling air though the fins and out the top) it produced a temperature reading of 48.7 degrees on the large copper die template, and 55.8 degrees on the small copper die template. Comparatively, with the fan flipped over, the temperature on the small copper die template dropped down about 7 degrees in our example.

There is a slight increase in noise when the fan is blowing down into the copper fins. Overall on these first set of numbers the CNPS5000P scores very well, coming in only slightly behind the CAK38 - and looking much better we might add.

Conclusion:

The results of the the tests in the rise above ambient temperature show that Zalman have managed to improve upon their previous design. While the difference is not that large on the small copper die template, it is quite significant on the large copper die template. This should be expected if the CNPS5000P is going to be capable of taking on Socket 463 processors like the Pentium 4.

This latest Zalman design is a bit quieter than the CAK38, but not nearly as silent as the original flower heatsinks are. While requiring much less case room to install, the CNPS5000P is limited to motherboard with mounting holes around the socket. So unfortunately anyone interested in running this cooler on an older FC-PGA chip, or a socket A board without the mounting holes will be out of luck.

What the CNPS5000P does offer, is some really fancy stylings and some very good performance cooling. While it is not quite up there with the CAK38 or MC462 heatsink, it is a might size smaller, lighter and quieter. Something many of you may be interested in.

On the other hand, the mounting procedure will require removing the motherboard on most systems so it is not as simple and installation as other coolers. The screw-in mounting does offer greater stability, and as each of the mounting screws is spring tensioned, there is less possibility of chipping the corner off of an Athlon's core.

All things aside, the CNPS5000P offers very good cooling characteristics when the fan is reversed into the impingement orientation, and would be a great heatsink for anyone to consider.