ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-B 135mm Long life bearing CPU Cooler Blue LED

Pros: Works as advertised: reduced Intel i5-3570 CPU temp by about 15 degrees compared to stock Intel cooler. (no overclocking). Ambient temperature really makes a difference (I live in an un-airconditioned house in Hawaii...usually high 70's)

Very quiet even at max RPM. Quieter than my mid-grade case fans all the time.

Cons: The "quiet" setting is accomplished by a voltage-reducing (therefore rpm reducing) cable insert. kind of goofy.

Included alan wrench (hex key) tool was of very low quality.

Other Thoughts: This thing is HUGE. Get a ruler out that has centimeters, and MEASURE TWICE to make sure it will fit.

I had absolutely no issues with the install as other reviewers have reported. (no cables or ram interference, no bending, etc).

That said, my computer case gives access to the back of the cpu-mount on the motherboard without any dissassembly. The computer case is easily wide enough to accomodate the height of the heatsink. Cooler Master Storm Trooper.

Finally, this thing is HEAVY. In the fine print of the instructions, it says to REMOVE THE HEAKSINK before TRANSPORT!! to avoid damage to the motherboard.

Pros: great heat dissipation and the instructions were very clear in installation, the blue led is not overpowering but still easily visible in the dark, the fan is very quiet in my opinion, even at full speed.

Cons: installation may be very tough to do if the motherboard isnt first removed from the case, it is possible to cut oneself on the heatsink fins if not careful, the specs weren't lying, the cooler is very large and may not fit in many cases (do your measurements before purchasing!).

Other Thoughts: overall, this is an awesome fan. i wouldn't have paid $75 for it but the rebate made th price more tolerable. the fact that the fan lowered as much as 15c in idle temp for my processor speaks proof that it works. i used to idle around 40-44c and now it is 27-29c.

Pros: NOTHING is good about this CPU cooler.

Cons: Overpriced Piece of TRASH!

Other Thoughts: Do not buy. You will waste your money. Fins touch top of my video card. All the screws stripped very easily. Because the screws stripped, I cannot tighten the cooler down very well. CPU is running over 50c. I hope Zalman reads this, because get ready, I will be calling them Monday morning for a refund!!!!!!!!

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: Have not been able to install it to see any pros.

Cons: I assumed that I would be able to simply install this to my am3 board and get it working but I was wrong. Just as another reviewer posted, the instructions are junk to follow. There was at least a good 5mm between the screws and the nuts. I even removed the side caps and the loading block to see if I could get it to get close enough. I tried using the other bolts to see if they would get close, but still no good. Now I have a cooler that useless. It wont fit on my other AM3 boards either. If your planing to use this on an AMD board look for another cooler this on will give you trouble.

Other Thoughts: Zalman does make great products but I guess I got a rotten apple. I have a few other coolers from them that work on AM3 such as the ZALMAN CNPS9700 or the ZALMAN CNPS9500A. Just avoid this one and save yourself the pain.

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: Even my power supply is louder than this. Keeps my i7 920 cool. It is really cool looking in my setup.

Cons: It is sharp. it is a pita to setup. You need to go to the site to understand how it's airflow works.

The paste it comes with is a joke.

Other Thoughts: Toss the thermal paste and get some Arctic Silver Ceramique. Don't mess with it and let it cure to the processor. I've tried a lot of the fancy one that got better reviews and found my setup working better.

Pros: Cools FANTASTIC! It fits on very snug, thermal grease included was awesome as well. Keeps my i5 around 30c. $20 rebate was very nice to throw in basically for free. This thing is flawless when it comes to the performance it gives.

Cons: I'm not sure if it was just the tool I received or the bolts that screw to the backplate, but they basically stripped out due to the jank way you have to screw them in. The tool being too small or screw that gave me the issue was too big. I'm very very very afraid to try and take this thing off, lets hope it never comes down to that for AWHILE. But I usually try to apply new compound/grease every year. Lets hope it comes off and possibly get some new screws and/or tool from Zalman.

Pros: Cooling performance: My CPU idles in the mid 20s C and on load gets to the high 40s C. Haven't tried overclocking yet but I imagine I'll be able to easily boost my CPU performance.
Looks: This thing looks great and I love the LED light.
Sound: Pretty quiet cooler. I installed the regulator so it never gets to full blast. Still has great performance and not overly loud!

Cons: Installation: The installation of this thing is terrible. Make sure to watch some videos online before you try to install it. Also, don't try to install this if it's in your case. Do the work and take out your motherboard, it makes it a lot easier (but still very difficult).

Other Thoughts: Very happy with this purchase. Got it as a shell shocker and love it.

Pros: Shiny, big, probably works well?

Cons: Could not get the thing onto the GA-990FXA-UD3 motherboard - the screws on the heatsink were physically too far away from the bolts they were supposed to be put (Newegg won't let me use the verb form of "screw") into.

Other Thoughts: This thing is pretty big, and heavy, and covering its screws' tops, so you will have to remove the motherboard completely from the case if you're upgrading from another heatsink/cooler.

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: Appearance-wise, it's top notch. No imperfections at all on the base, very smooth mirror finish. The blue light is sort of a soft glow, not very in-your-face if that's what you're after.

Performance is real good for air cooling, at least as good or better than the other expensive heatsinks I've used (Coolermaster V8 among others).

I have an FX-8350 at 1.5v and 4.6ghz, and it's borderline too hot at 65C or so under a sustained heavy load, but that's good for air cooling, all things considered.

Cons: The included thermal "grease" is garbage. It's not a grease at all, more of a paste which is hard, if not impossible to spread thinly (it globs up). I have a feeling I could shed a couple/few degrees with better thermal interface material.

This was absolutely, the most frustrating installation experience I've ever had for a heatsink. Abysmal, dumb, not worth a (insert curse word here) are some words that come to mind. Halfway through the install I seriously debated pitching this thing across the room, else I was going to go ballistic and start breaking things, maybe strangle the cat (cause it's obviously his fault), or something equally stupid.

As one of the recent reviews mentioned, you simply cannot follow the instructions and reasonably install this thing on an AM3 socket. I too, had to ditch the plastic insulators, in hopes that the thin layer of black paint on the rear bracket was enough to ward off short circuits and such. Luckily on my board there were few, if any exposed traces and conductors in that area, so this could be a non-issue for some.

But one thing is for sure, if you try to use the plastic insulators/spacers the screws simply aren't long enough without bending brackets, or sidestepping the directions somehow. The instructions are fairly easy to follow, and I made sure I had everything in the correct orientation-- but the included hardware makes it impossible to follow the instructions 100% for AM3. Maybe Intel mounting is different, but this experience had me vowing never to spend another cent on a Zalman product as long as I'm alive. Zalman, I hope the few cents you saved on those short screws was worth it! Please consider firing the engineer that designed the mounting system, or maybe hire the guy from Coolermaster to help you design something that works.

Other Thoughts: It's finally on there and working, despite not using the insulators. That's the only reason it's not sitting in a box on it's way back to Newegg.

I'm already dreading the day I upgrade (probably a year or more down the road) and have to move this to another motherboard. I will probably Eee-bay it at that point, and pick up something whose installation will not put me at risk of heart attack or stroke from the fury, anger, disbelief, etc. installing this HSF again would cause.

Pros: None

Cons: Cable solder points become disconnected within days. Very poor construction. Not something I will be wasting money on again.

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