ZALMAN CNPS 7500 AlCu LED 2 Ball CPU Cooler

Pros: The fan is quiet and the heatsink and LED are stylish.

Cons: I wish it had a four pin connect so my PC could auto-control the fan instead of a manual control

Other Thoughts: I built my PC to produce music and needed a quieter fan, and this baby works great. It makes some noise on its highest setting, but it keeps my PC cool on its lowest setting, so I am pleased with it. Also I was worried it wouldn't fit an AM3+ socket...but it does. Also if your fan header is 4 pin, the 3 pin wire will fit it. Very versatile.

Pros: Lights up, looks neat, moves air.

Cons: Noisier than the stock AMD cooler it replaced, even with the controller set around mid-way. What's the point???
Perhaps I got a bad fan? I'm unsure how noisy they generally are, but I can hear a distinct motor noise over the sound of the air off the blades, SERIOUSLY obnoxious, unless the fan's knocked all the way down.

Other Thoughts: Honestly I've sorta half-wanted one of these for awhile now, never really had a need until I built a media server that constantly runs in the livingroom. Guesswhat? I'm back to the stocker. With the cost and hassle of sending things back, I seriously doubt I'll bother. Gues I've got yet another spiffy paperweight.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear valued customer,

We sincerely apologize for the issue. Please contact our customer service e-mail support.usa@zalmanusa.com or via toll free number 1-888-925-6266 for further assistance.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Zalman USA Customer Service

Pros: It does what I need it to do and its very quite

Cons: none

Pros: -Does the job
-doesn't obstruct anything
-pure eye candy if you case has a window

Cons: -This thing sounds like a jet engine.

Other Thoughts: It is VERY loud. I have the NZXT phantom and thought it was the 200mm fan, but after turning off the case fans, i discovered it was this. Its probably also due to the fact that my case has a grate, not acrylic as a window, so the air moving creates the sound. But when I'm engrossed in a game, it just fades out into the background, and i dont notice it unless i think about it, so the 5th egg stays

Pros: -Very efficient cooler
-VERY quiet, even at maximum RPM
-Comes with external fan controller
-Blue LED light is pretty cool, if you're into that

Cons: -It's way too big.
-It's WAY TOO BIG.
-It's got one of those see-saw latches
-Very difficult to install

Other Thoughts: Bought this to mount on an ASRock ATX Z77 Pro3 motherboard. The huge dissipating fins on the cooler extend so far out that they cover the first RAM slot on the motherboard. Very glad I only had two sticks of RAM to put in the computer. Another thing is that it's VERY hard to get the latches to come down on the plastic bracket you mount the cooler on.

However, it's a Zalman product. It's one of the most efficient and quiet coolers I've ever strapped to a processor. Keeps my i5-3750k very cool and the external fan controller is WONDERFUL.

Pros: This is a great heatsink/fan if you have an older motherboard with 3pin fan connection and not a 4pin pwm. Moderately quiet at low rpms. Comes with thermal paste.

Cons: needs clearance around the socket because it's a weird design. check dimensions before buying.

Pros: Works great and looks beautiful. Replaced the stock cooler for the AMD FX-8150 and the cooling is better than I expected. I ran a torture test with Prime95 and maxed out the internal core temperatures to 51C.

Cons: Maybe a LITTLE loud for me, when accompanied by the other 4 fans inside my rig, but I guess I can't really complain when my rig stays this cool.

Other Thoughts: I Have this cooler inside a Thermaltake v9 black edition (replaced the red flan with a blue fan) and the whole rig looks fantasic!
I did want a different Zalman cpu cooler, but my case was a little too small for the other ones.

Pros: Chilly: Much cooler than stock heatsink & fan. Design allows for heat dissipation in all directions, cooling memory, N. bridge and backside of video card. It fits in my HTPC case (Thermaltake LANBOX Lite VF6000BNS) with clearance in all directions. External fan controller is a plus, though I don't use it. Dropped my CPU temps from 36c-54c to 28c-45c. 30c @ 0 RPM :D

Cons: Carne: BIG. Comes very close to (my) ram, so if you have ram heatsinks or fans, they may obstruct the cooler. Odd buzz in medium-speed spin.

Other Thoughts: Be sure, as I did, to measure your case to ensure clearance. Nothing is worse than being stoked for a part and finding that it doesn't fit in your case. It does function without the fan controller, it is just an extension of the power cable from the fan to the motherboard.

Pros: 1. Does Its Job - Keeps my AMD Phenom II X6 1100t running at around 36 degrees idle and just under 50 degrees under load. It should be noted that I am NOT OVERCLOCKING, so if that is your intent your mileage may vary.

2. Stays Quiet - I can't hear this thing unless I turn it up to maximum speed, and even then it can barely be heard over my case fans.

3. Great HTPC Size - Fits perfectly in my Apieva Q-XPACK on my ASUS M4A88T-M micro-ATX motherboard. I have all of my RAM slots filled with GSKILL Ripjaws modules with pretty tall heat spreaders, and it still fits fine.

4. Easy to Install! - At least if you're using an AM3 socket. It attaches right to the standard AM3 mount with absolutely ZERO fuss. Easiest cooler I've ever installed.

5. Easily Adjustable - Includes a nifty gadget that sticks to the outside of your case and allows you to manually adjust the fan speed on the fly!

Cons: 1. Easy to Bend - This thing is made of mostly of aluminum, and the fins are very thin and easy to bend. I wouldn't recommend putting any serious pressure on them. Fortunately, installing this on an AM3 socket is so easy that this isn't required.

2. TERRIBLE Thermal Compound - I never intended to actually use the thermal grease that came with this, but I did squeeze some onto a paper towel to look at it and see what all the other reviewers were talking about when they said it was horrible. Believe me, it is. Come on now. You probably spent upwards of 200 bucks on your processor. Are you seriously going to avoid spending an extra twelve on some Arctic Silver 5?

Other Thoughts: I used Arctic Silver 5 when installing this, and I highly recommend that you do too. See my comment above. If you've read the other reviews here and you're scared of the installation process, you only need to be if you're using an Intel chip. This thing clips right onto the standard mount for AMD chips just like the stock cooler would.

There is another version of this cooler available that is made entirely from copper and costs about five dollars more. If I had seen that, I probably would have bought it. Copper coolers are superior to aluminum ones, but this thing has done GREAT for me so far, so no big deal.

I've only had this for a few days, and its performance continues to improve as the Arctic Silver 5 gets broken in. I expect to see my temperatures fall a bit more from their already very low levels.

Overall, this is a GREAT heatsink. I recommend it highly.

Pros: Good quality.

Cons: none