The Basics:

The Zalman CNPS10X Performa heatpipe CPU cooler arrived in a beautiful, retail box in the classic Zalman tradition. The black background really makes the stock images pop. The front of the box, shown in the below left image, let's you know some of the highlights of the unit. The below right image shows you the back of the box, which gives you some promotional shots and the features, including the myriad of sockets supported.



Once out of the box, the first thing you notice is the size of the Performa. It's quite large and has a really good weight to it. The size of the cooling fin area is very close to other socket 1366 coolers we've seen (such as the Prolimatech Megahalems and the Cooler Master V8) and the weight is certainly on par.



In the below left image you can see the nice finish on the copper base. While it isn't a "mirror finish" like other coolers we've seen, it still has a really nice polish to it. The scratches you see are quite minor and may have actually been caused by me in preparing the pictures, or it could just be the way the light is reflecting off of the surface. Either way, they shouldn't have an impact on performance. Also, you can see the four mounting screws that surround the die-cast base. These are used to attach the various mounting brackets to the cooler itself.



The above right image shows a "top-down" angle on the Performa. The interesting shape of the fins add to the overall design of the cooler and looks really sharp when mounted in the case. The notches on the sides of the cooler allow for two fans to be mounted.