Pros: This is nice cooler, i purchased mine on an impulse buy at a retail store which was a mistake. Fits my itx board without hitting the memory slots when a real low profile (ID) cooler won't. Mines quiete

Cons: This is NOT a low profile cooler. A low cooler is about as thick as 2 fingers-maybe. This thing 3.x" high

Other Thoughts: Installed fairly easy. It needs (included) a back plate-brace Has to be lapped as all coolers do when new.

After i read the specs and reviews, i knew if this thing can cool 125/145/165 WATT AMD CPU i was sure it would cool
my 85W i7-4790K with no issues at all. I was right.

Pros: This cooler works great with my AMD FX-9590 CPU.. Keeps the temps down in the teens at idle and I've only ever seen it go as high as the 50's under load. It was also very easy to install with no complex bits like I've seen on some coolers.

Cons: When I got it the thermal paste included in the package was punctured and leaking all over the inside of one of the parts bags.

Pros: I bought this because I bought a CPU without a heatsink. It does a great job and my motherboard can easily control the fan and the noise level.

Cons: I have none.

Other Thoughts: If you're complaining about the noise or the fact that you were expecting dramatic temperature difference, then maybe you should think about water cooling.

Pros: I can't think of any.

Cons: The mounting system is awful. You don't screw anything directly into the backplate - you stick some plastic grommets on the backplate and then some metal fasteners plug into the grommets. The fasteners have threaded holes on the top so you can screw your CPU cooler into them, but the fasteners themselves don't screw into the grommets, they just get pushed in. This means once you get your CPU cooler screws into the fasteners the backplate can still just fall off the motherboard. I guess they think the double-sided tape is enough to hold the backplate and entire cooler on? I don't know what they were thinking.

I tried for almost an hour to get this thing to work, but it's the worst mounting system for a CPU cooler I have ever seen. I don't understand what they were thinking when they made it. I hope I didn't damage my motherboard trying to put this thing on.

This is actually the second of these I have purchased. The first one came with a cracked fan out of the box, so I had to RMA it. Once I got the second, and saw how bad the mounting system is, I can't believe how much time and money I have wasted on this thing. Since this second one is used, I won't bother with an RMA - I will just be throwing it out. Zalman has lost my business - I don't ever want to see one of their products ever again. It was nothing but bad design with low quality parts.

Other Thoughts: I have also ordered another (different model) CPU cooler, but that one didn't come with a backplate so I can't mount it. This makes 3 coolers I've received so far, and still haven't been able to assemble my PC. Why can't I get a complete AM3 CPU cooler, all parts included, with a simple mounting system? This shouldn't be such a issue.

I also don't understand why this has so many good reviews for it - apparently everyone else got something I didn't.

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: I got this in today from newegg, took the OLD CPU cooler and backplate off to install the new zalaman backplate and the zalman paste & cooler, TEMPS dropped MUCH lower!! I use Fahrenheit for my ASUS PC Probe for Win 7, I went from 132 F idle to 86 F. Idles around 86-95 F! Much better

Cons: Right now, none!

Other Thoughts: Well worth every cent I paid for this guy! I will make a note to buy a 3rd party cpu cooler for PC builds in the very near future!!

Pros: great compact size for HTPC setup

Cons: was a pain to get the brackets on to mount the cooler for a LGA1150 socket.

Other Thoughts: so far performance is not that much better than stock Intel cooler.

Pros: Keeps temps cool and steady. Quiet too!!!

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: Even the Thermal Paste was higher quality

Pros: Keeps the CPU cool, low profile, and QUIET! Outside of my water-cooler, this is the best CPU cooler I've ever used on a system. I really bought it because of it's low-profile and it fit nicely inside my HTPC case. I'm surprised that in spite of it's size, it keeps my i7-3770K cool no matter what I'm working on. It's quiet even though the holes on my case are directly above the CPU and I can even see the fan inside the case from sitting on my sofa. Whether I sit 10 feet away or standing right next to the TV screen (near the HTPC), I still can't hear this fan.

Cons: None at all.

Other Thoughts: Zalman has a super performer in this cooler. it is excellent and I'll definitely purchase another one for my future build(s).

Pros: Very quiet and very inexpensive with rebate. Best used in a HTPC or in a mini itx, although with all the parts it comes with it seems to fit any need.

Cons: Not a con at all but I have a MB with and AM2 socket and I found that I had to follow the install instructions for an Intel socket 775.

Other Thoughts: Buy one if you need a small, quiet, inexpensive cpu cooler.

Pros: Compact for cases with minimal width, clears board components on all AM2/AM3 boards I have tried it on.

Cons: Only 5-10% better cooling than stock AMD fan (though extra case cooling helps this gap increase).

Other Thoughts: Great bang for the buck when tower coolers like the Coolermaster 212 and larger Zalman units won't fit.