ZALMAN CNPS8900 Quiet 110mm Ultra Quiet Slim CPU Cooler

Pros: Quiet (have never heard the fan)
cool (no OC here so temps stay low)
inexpensive (sale and rebate help)

I originally bought one for my server (C2Q) to replace the previous model CNPS8700 that I used in my previous HTPC for years. Just bought another and put it in my current HTPC connected to PWM. Again I don't have either OC'd so those complaining of noise may need to rethink.

Cons: none so far

Other Thoughts: Not a con, just an oversight on my part. my server had plaenty of clearance room being a standard ATX but I have to get low profile RAM for the HTPC being a micro-atx with slots closer to the cpu.

Running a Core i3 3220T @2.8Ghz in the HTPC and a C2D Q9500 @2.83Ghz. Both churning along happily.

Pros: Capable of cooling an i7-2600k in LIAN LI PC-Q07B without a case fan. Fairly quiet at ~500rpm with ~35C idle. Just clear of a low profile ram on my ASrock H67M-ITX (but blocks the PCI-E slot). Don't forget to put the ram in before the fan!!

Cons: PWM control is useless. Really loud at 1000rpm, which is the minimum PWM speed, and just blows cool air. Plug it to a 3-pin header if your board supports system fan control.

Pros: Nice low profile, should fit in any case. Quiet with 4-pin PWM, cools surrounding board components including DIMM.

Cons: Blocks last DIMM slot with conventional DDR3 memory.

Other Thoughts: Work around; Crucial Ballistix Tactical Low Profile Desktop Memory (Model BLT2K8G3D1608ET3LX0) slips in around already installed heatsink cooler!

Pros: Used this in a HTPC build with a i7 ivy. Works great, even in a Silverstone ML03B case. I cannot hear it and I have 4 SilenX 80 mm case fans going at the same time. The Blu-Ray drive is louder than the rest of the system. It makes me wonder why I bought the drive.

Cons: I cannot tell you how cool it runs, but I know how quiet it is.

Other Thoughts: Its good for the money.

Pros: Looks nice.

Cons: This unit does not have good clearance - a problem with almost, if not all, air coolers. I even use low profile ram with standard heat spreaders that don't stick up.

I normally lap heat sinks before I put them on but gave up on this one. I use a nice piece of granite to lap. I worked on this one for about a half hour with 320 and didn't even get down to where the whole surface had material removed. Most of the material came off the tubes. While the tubes are meant for direct contact, the surface contact area of the tubes is about half the area of the processor heat sink. The heat transfer equation includes the area. Contact area is a big deal.

This isn't copper. This is copper-plated, but not full copper. The description says fins:aluminum/base:copper. The base is not copper. The tubes seem to be copper though.

Other Thoughts: I tried this on an old mini-ITX and newer z68 mb.

I am easy to please and give products the benefit of the doubt trying to get things to work.

While I have had very good success with Zalman and will continue to consider their products, this one is a dud.

Avoid.

Pros: I have the cnps8900 in a silverstone gd06b htpc case that is buried into a cramped entertainment center. The case & entertainment center do not have good airflow. Even after running the 3570k at 100% for hours, it keeps the cpu at 44c(22c ambient)

Cons: When I initially installed the cooler, the fan would hit the heatsink while spinning. I'm not sure if came from the factory that way or if one of my little ones messed it up. Either way I just had to push the fan back into position(a little force required) and it didn't hit the heatsink anymore.

Other Thoughts: A bit pricey for what it is.

Pros: Low profile. I had to buy this as it is the only non-stock cooler that would fit in my current setup that wasn't water-cooled.

Cons: Loud! A constant, fluctuating loud buzz. There is no way this should be marketed as a quiet cooler. If it wasn't the only thing that'd fit, I would have returned it the second day I had it.

Other Thoughts: If you have a choice for something else, jump on it. Any claim of being quiet is a lie.

Pros: Beautiful looking.

Cons: Loud! This cooler is anything but quiet. Also, the cooling isn't great. It is better than stock, but overall this is a mediocre product for the price.

Other Thoughts: It is too loud to be marketed as a quiet cooler. It could be the one I got though. Zalman has been anything but consistent. I don't think I'll order another product from them.

Pros: Delivers on quiet, without sacrificing cooling. Comes with thermal grease so no reason to buy others. The one they give is 2-3x better than most, so make use of theirs.

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: It was slightly quirky to install the back plate portion, however those that have used Zalman's or non stock (snap in) coolers will likely have seen this configuration before.

Pros: This cooler works very well with the Core i3 I paired it with, even at the lowest fan speed setting. Sound wise, it's pretty quiet, so this cooler strikes a very good balance of acoustics and performance. If I were doing a higher performance build, possibly with some overclocking, I'd definitely give this cooler a try there too.

Cons: It would be nice if they included some wiring adapters to slow the fan speed down even more for ultra-quiet operation.

Other Thoughts: This isn't the quietest cooler, but it's still quieter than most forms of indoor background noise, and it performs very well too. Installation isn't too bad, and the slim profile is very convenient. The price is also very good. Unless you're looking for complete silence, definitely consider this cooler.