Which heatsink to choose ?? Zalman or Cooler Master ?

[Furieux]

I'm torn between :

Zalman CNPS10x Performa

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2498


Cooler Master Hyper 212+

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2419



I'm leaning toward the CNPS10X because of the heatsink base surface which is very smooth according to frostytech which prove to give very good performance over the other heatsinks. And as far as applying thermal paste goes, it would be a lot easier to apply it on the Zalman and create a good contact between the CPU and the heatsink....

I also like the fact that the Zalman come with a resistor to reduce speed and noise. Still, the Cooler Master seems to be more quiet at full speed than the Zalman.


Finally, I'm a bit lost about which one to choose. I feel like the heatsink base of the 212+ could cause problem when applying thermal paste because of the gap between the copper pipe and the aluminium base. Also, the installation of the Zalman seems a LOT more easier than the 212+.

Do you guys had good experience with these heatsink ? Which one would you recommend ?

Thanks a lot

 

[Volumetrik]

Well, what type of CPU are you cooling ?

The Hyper 212+ is generally considered around here an excellent performer for the $$$.
I never heard of the zalman one, but IMO, I would go with the proven design of the Hyper, but then again, it all depends on witch CPU are you cooling, are you planning on OCing ?

Its all info that matters when comparing heatsinks.

 

[jameseboy]

I have the zalman. Its great. but you really need a long screwdriver to fit it with ease. The mounting screws are a tad awkwardly placed. other than that its terrific.

 

[Black C5 Z06]

Cooler Master

 

[Furieux]

Well, what type of CPU are you cooling ?

The Hyper 212+ is generally considered around here an excellent performer for the $$$.
I never heard of the zalman one, but IMO, I would go with the proven design of the Hyper, but then again, it all depends on witch CPU are you cooling, are you planning on OCing ?

Its all info that matters when comparing heatsinks.

Here are my specs :

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2,8 GHz
ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3
G.SKILL DDR3 2x4 GB 1066 MHz CL7
XFX Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular High Performance Power Supply
Thermaltake Element G Black ATX Mid Tower




I don't know how to OC, i'm new to this, but I feel like I have a pretty decent setup so why not ??

 

[muddocktor]

I personally would say "None of the above".

I would go with a higher end Thermalright product such as a TRUE Rev. C, Silver Arrow, Archon or Venomous X. Thermalright has a very excellent AM2/AM3 mounting adapter. I don't know about the Zalman CNPS10 AM3 mount, but the one on the CNPS9900Max isn't as user friendly as the Thermalright mount.

 

[Furieux]

I personally would say "None of the above".

I would go with a higher end Thermalright product such as a TRUE Rev. C, Silver Arrow, Archon or Venomous X. Thermalright has a very excellent AM2/AM3 mounting adapter. I don't know about the Zalman CNPS10 AM3 mount, but the one on the CNPS9900Max isn't as user friendly as the Thermalright mount.

Would you suggest this one ??

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=8_129&item_id=040792

Cause the Silver arrow is twice the price of the Zalman ! :S

 

[jameseboy]

oh, id also like to add. the am2/am3 mounting for the cnps10x is terrible! the intel ones not too bad/

 

[Furieux]

oh, id also like to add. the am2/am3 mounting for the cnps10x is terrible! the intel ones not too bad/

What you mean by terrible ?? Is it easy to make it sit well on the CPU ?

 

[jameseboy]

well, by terrible i mean, its hard to get access too. If you mount it before you put it in your case its makes mounting the heatsink easier. however due to the positioning on it, it can make it hard to get the mobo screws in. also seen as the screws are at the top and bottom on amd chips, it can be tricky to get a screwdriver into, or at least i found it hard on my 3800+

 

[muddocktor]

Would you suggest this one ??

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=8_129&item_id=040792

Cause the Silver arrow is twice the price of the Zalman ! :S

I am presently looking at (read reviewing) that one right now. I haven't tried mounting on AM3 yet, but the Intel mounting system isn't bad at all. And since it uses the same backplate for AM3 and looking at the install instructions, I don't foresee any problems mounting on AMD. It's a good choice for cooling your system, IMO. With that said, I can't put any numbers to this yet, since I haven't made any runs with it yet. The mount will let you mount in either a north-south or east-west orientation though, which is good. But, you can't use any other Thermalright mounting system with it because Thermalright cut down on the size of the base and the other mounts won't work with it. They show the wrong base dimensions on the drawing on their web page. They show it as 50 x 40 and it's actually 42 x 40. They also cut down the height of the base too; a regular base that uses the other type mount is 15 mm tall and the Macho is cut down to 10 mm tall on the base material.