Zalman CNPS5700D-Cu

Low noise heatsink – Joe

SUMMARY: Can be run very quietly with modest cooling, or with somewhat more noise for better performance.

The good guys at The Heatsink Factory were nice enough to send a sample of Zalman’s CNPS5700D-Cu. This is one of the more interesting (and large!) P4 heatsinks I’ve seen – this one features a hood to direct airflow – it’s movable so it can be oriented in any direction you choose (note that the fan pulls air up through the heatsink).

Zalman includes a rheostat

with this unit which allows users to dial in fan speeds. The problem I see with it is that it’s not designed to mount in a readily accessible location – unless you intend to run your case without a side panel, adjusting fan speeds will require removal of the case’s side panel. This is fine if you intend to “set it and forget it”, but for continually tuning fan rpms, it’s not too handy.

At its lowest setting, I could not measure fan noise with a Radio Shack sound meter¹ 8″ from the fan – it’s almost silent, and in a case, I doubt you would hear it. At the high setting, it’s 57 dBA, moderately quiet but noticeable.

The base is formed by compressing the fins with two bolts:

The base is then polished to a flat finish – I found it to be very well finished and doubt that hand lapping will improve it. However, a closer look

reveals gaps in the base – this appears due to the manner by which the fins are bolted together. Further, not all of the P4’s IHS is covered by the heatsink’s base, which may compromise performance.

The mounting mechanism is a good one:

One side is fixed and the other is articulated. I found it one of the easiest to mount in the standard P4 retention bracket – a very nice design.

I tested the Zalman CNPS5700D-Cu on an Acorp 4S845A motherboard with a modified P4 1500 to read CPU case temps, and the P4 Simulator.