| Zalman CNPS8000 Low Profile Heat Pipe CPU Cooler
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Installation:
This review will be conducted on an Intel LGA 775 motherboard, so we will focus on the installation features of such a system. The test system for this review included the following components:
» Intel Pentium D840 (3.2 GHz Dual-Core) CPU
» ECS Elitegroup RC410L/800-M Pentium 4 mATX Motherboard
» Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 500GB SATA 3 Gbps Hard Drive
» Buslink DVD R/RW Optical Drive
» OCZ 1GB (2x 512MB) Platinum XTC PC2 5400 DDR2 Memory
» Soly Tech 400W Power Supply
» CentOS Linux 4.3 x64
Of all of the cooler mounting mechanisms I have used, I have to say the one designed for the CNPS8000 is about my least favorite for many reasons. The main component is show below, which is a square frame with screws in each corner. You slide the two halves together around the cooler base, and small knobs lock it into place.
The below left image shows the first half slid around the copper base, and the below right image shows the second half slid on and mated with the first half. If you look closely at the below left image you can see one of the small knobs that are designed to catch on holes on the mating piece to lock this all together. Once assembled I found that this didn't provide the best fit, and that the mounting bracket had a good deal of play in it, and that the knobs could easily be knocked out of the locked position while trying to get everything arranged.
 
Another negative aspect of the installation was that you need to remove your motherboard in order to use a custom plate on the back side that receives the screws from the top side. I really dislike removing my motherboard for CPU coolers, and I imagine many end users would rather not have to deal with that, either. As I mounted the cooler to the board I also realized that there were no springs on the screws to help distribute the pressure. You are just screwing this down until it can't go any farther, and even while using an alternating pattern to tighten the screws, my confidence in a good fit was a bit low (and for good reason as we will see soon).
The below left image shows that you need a thin screwdriver as the shaft needs to pass between the frame and the fan in order to tighten the screws. It wasn't a problem for me, but if you have stubby handled screwdrivers you may be in trouble.
 
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