The Basics (continued):
Taking a look at the under side of the cooler shows that there is a total of four heatpipes that all leave the copper base on the same side, rise up to the aluminum fins, and then run the length of the cooler in order to optimize heat transfer. The aluminum fins are quite thin and arranged in a tight array to allow the air to rush down over them as the fan spins. While many heatpipe cooler now have the fan mounted upright, blowing parallel to the motherboard, I prefer the design of coolers like the Zalman CNPS8000. By having the air blow down through the fins towards the CPU, you receive a secondary cooling effect on other components like voltage regulators, motherboard chipsets, and system memory.
 
As we could see through the package's peek-a-boo rear window, the CNPS8000 has a smooth, flat copper base that lacks a mirror finish.
Many believe that a mirror finish is essential, but Zalman never uses one and I'd have to agree with them that you really don't need one.
 
Below we have a look at all of the accessories included in the package. You have a user's manual, retention brackets for various CPUs, a Zalman Fanmate 2 fan controller, a power lead for using the fan mate, a very tiny tube of thermal paste, double stick tape for mounting the Fanmate 2, and a Zalman case badge. The tube of thermal paste really is about the smallest I have seen, and there was barely enough for two installations (and you will see why it had to be installed more than once later).
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