Geoff, I 'd like to know how the RPM varied on the stock AMD cooler (it's temperature controlled, right?) during testing and especially what was the RPM when noise level was measured. Thanks.

Zeroing the graphs to 0° C doesn't really make sense -- the zero point for temperature is actually at -273.15° C.

xbitlabs reviews this thing a while ago, and their results seemed to show that it keeps their p4 ~10C degrees cooler than the 7700. anyone see a major difference in testing method or anything?

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/zalman-cnps9500_6....

The real question is this: how much money is a few db of quiet worth to you? Not $62, at least not for me.

The stock cooler does just fine, it comes with your CPU (assuming you bought retail), and it is pretty quiet to boot, too.

Why Why WHY! Why doesn't anybody review this cooler compared to the 100% copper version 7700? I think it's a conspiricy. I think the 100% copper version is cooler and just as quiet. Anyone seen a review comparing the 100% copper 7700 to this one at quietest settings?

Though the ALCU should be the same noise... but not the same temp...humm.

Check out my results in the cooling forum.
http://techreport.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=34740

BTW, I really love the HS reviews. It is what caused me to buy the vf700-cu for my video card. Keep up the good work.

/me hugs my $80 watercooler setup running @ 40 load (read: F@H)

Nice review, but it's definitely not art.

First: Thank you for this review. Like Usa, I appreciate the HSF reviews. And I've been curious about this HSF since Zalman started talking about it.

Second: Like FlyingFox, I was surprised to see a K8 get so hot, but you did remark that the FX53 was one of the hottest.

Third: I was also suprised that the cooler didn't do better! It bested the stock cooler by only 5deg at load, and that on high. And that was it's largest margin. Like muntjac I saw the Xbit piece a while back and held this cooler in higher regard until your review. I feel like Vrock - it simply isn't worth the price, and if you actually want a temp drop over the stock HSF, then you have to deal with more noise! This review really surprises me because I have the Zalman 7000-cu and it is a fabulous HSF, and it is at least 10deg cooler than the stock solution. That's on a socket A system.

What is the baseline on the noise level? It's hard to know how "loud" the heatsinks are without knowing how loud the rest of the system is. Judging by the low RPMs of the fans, it seems like the baseline might be just a couple db lower? I think this would be useful information to form a comparison.

BTW, anybody have an experience with the Thermaltake Sonic Tower? Huge, heavy monstrosity, but no fan. Supposed to be able to handle the thermal load of most processors (any idea if it can do the X2 4400+???).
http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/4in1heatpipe/cl-p0071SonicTower/...

I am looking into buying it since I'm trying to eliminate all fans from the system except for PS and 120mm case fan. Going passive video, NB, etc.

First page of the review instantly crashes Firefox 1.0.7 on Ubuntu Linux, even with the flash plugin removed.

Edit: working now - thanks!

I thought the K8 CPUs never get over 70 degrees. And yet the benchmarks had some that approached that?

I leave my machine running 24/7. It seems to me like more wear and tear powering it up every time i want to use it.