Zalman CNPS9700NT

Performance and flexibility and a price that can't be beat.

The Zalman CNPS9700NT follows in the footsteps of some previous Zalman CPU coolers that have come before us, featuring Zalman’s ‘figure-eight’ heatpipe design, with the fins radiating from the centre of the heatsink.

Compatible with Sockets 775/754/939/940/AM2, the 9700NT features nickel-plated copper fins, a green LED and 110mm Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) fan, with the fan speed controlled via the BIOS rather than the usual pot. A bottle of Zalman’s STG1 thermal paste with brush applicator is also included, just in case you only have generic paste left, or even worse, none at all.

The retention clip for the 9700NT works differently depending on whether you have an AMD or Intel based system. For AMD, the clip is placed through the heatsink, with one end of the clip anchored to a tab on one side, while a second, smaller clip is used to secure the heatsink to the motherboard. For Intel, installation of a back plate and a retention module is required, with the retention clip being passed through the heatsink and screwed on both sides of the retention module so that it the 9700NT is secured to the motherboard.

Lapping the base of the 9700NT is not required, as it too has been nicked-plated so that it’s smooth and shiny and ready for action.

Strapping the 9700NT onto Chernobyl resulted in a temperature of 43 degrees with an ambient temperature of 27 degrees, with the fan producing 61dBA of noise point blank. This places it at the top of the pack in cooling performance but, as so often is the case, the cooling power comes at the expense of silence. This result was obtained with PWM disabled, which is the only way to go for maximum performance, and to pull a consistent reading.

The 9700NT offers flexibility at a price that can’t be matched, whether you are after performance or silence. The little of bit bling and the bundled thermal paste sweetens the already great deal.