ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler

Pros: Cools like everyone else says. Plus if you research comparison tests, this Zalman is always one of the top rated. Installed on a eVGA 680i motherboard with a Intel E6420 Core-Duo 2.13GHz processor. Then I overclocked to 3.3GHz with no problem at all. ;) Use Artic Silver 5 (not cheap/generic thermal grease) on the CPU before you press the Zalman down, a MUST for the lowest temps! My temps are usually in the mid-30s even after 1+ hours of hard core gaming (COH, BF2142, FEAR, etc.). The unit itself looks very cool with the green LED fan, make sure to get a case with a window!

Cons: Wow, it is huge and heavy. The install booklet instructions are not very good. Plus they have directions for both Intel and AMD CPUs right next to each other so it is a bit confusing (plus there is hardware for both types of CPUs in the box). Then when I installed it for my 775 Intel core-duo CPU on a eVGA 680i motherboard I was holding my breath....as I pushed the middle clip down across the heatsink to screw it into the MB it seemed so high up & far to go to get it secure...I was thinking 'man, I hope this is not putting to much pressure on the CPU'...then I heard a crack sound and was hoping it was not the chip...it wasn't, so everything was OK, whew! I guess it takes a good amount of pressure & tension to hold the cooler onto the CPU. Plus remember that

Overall Review: I was almost going to give this 4 stars because of the instructions & installation, but that is not really fair. The thing is huge & you just need to be careful. When installing take your time and do not force anything. Use the black plastic 4 hole square bracket - it goes underneath the MB to give the cooler extra support. When you screw in one end of the 'see-saw' clip that goes across the middle of the heatsink, do not tighten it totally, just halfway. Then gently, but firmly push the other end down with a screwdriver inserted into the screw to the 'screw-hole' on the MB....pay attention and focus so it does not slip off the driver. Screw it in and then tighten the other side all the way & you are done. Last thing...I installed this to the CPU & motherboard OUTSIDE of my case & then put everything in and attached the MB to the case. You may want to do it with the MB already inside (make sure to put the black bracket below first if you do), for me it was more room outside on a table.

Pros: Works well. Temps hold at around 49 C at load

Cons: Very loud. Mine worked fine for about a year, then it got much louder. I can't tell what's wrong exactly, but if I exert light pressure on the fan while it's in use the noise goes away. It's as though the fan has become loose ever so slightly, and it makes a loud rattling noise despite the fact that it's still working. The noise is very annoying. Went to get support on Zalman's site, but there's a nice big server error on the RMA form page, so I can't get any support. The copyright on zalmanusa.com hasn't been updated since 2009. Not sure if anyone's home at Zalman, and not sure I will buy one of their products in the future.

Overall Review: None