Review of the cooling system "Zalman CNPS11X Performa"

The Zalman CNPS11X Performa central processor cooling system from the renowned Korean manufacturer is designed to win the wallets of budget segment buyers who need an inexpensive, but high-quality and efficient processor cooler. In the face of tough competition in this market sector, the recommended price of "Zalman CNPS11X Performa" was decided to be set lower than that of similar high-tech solutions of competitors. And this automatically assigns him to the younger representatives of the lineup, which was reflected in the manufacturer's decision to arrange the packaging of the product in an uninformative way regarding the content. To create the desired effect, the image of the Zalman CNPS11X Performa cooler was removed from the front side of the packaging box.

At the same time, it was decided to leave a similar image on the packages of models with a higher added value from the same series, so that buyers would first of all direct their eyes to them.

And only on condition that the older models did not fit for economic reasons, did they pay attention to a more accessible system. Thus, Korean marketers have achieved a ranking of their product line and sales of "Zalman CNPS11X Performa" will not be reflected in the sales volumes of more "advanced" brothers such as Zalman CNPS11X Extreme. It should be noted that in this way manufacturers often hide products with very good characteristics and affordable prices, to which Zalman CNPS11X Performa belongs. Its predecessor, the Zalman CNPS10X Performa, gained popularity precisely because of its almost identical performance indicators with its almost twice as expensive cousins. The more interest is aroused among potential buyers by his descendant.

Section 1. Packing and packaging.

The cooling system "Zalman CNPS11X Performa" is packaged in a small box, decorated in a new corporate style, characteristic of the entire 11th series. Despite the budget orientation, the packaging of the cooling system does not look gray and dull. On its front side there is a catchy fiery mouth that has absorbed the stylized logo and this favorably distinguishes the novelty from the more modest predecessor of the 10th series. On the sides of the package there is an image of the cooler, its description and specification.

On the back of the box, advanced technologies implemented into the product are advertised.

A blister made of strong transparent plastic is conveniently located inside, designed to reliably protect the radiator fins.

Also in the cardboard box we find several sachets with the following contents: mounting frame, adapters for Intel and AMD processors, plastic seals, double-sided tape, a hex key, a set of fastening hardware, a branded sticker on the case, a packet of thermal paste "Zalman ZM- STG2 ".

The operating temperatures of this thermal paste are stated in the range from minus forty to plus one hundred and fifty degrees, which is quite enough. The cooler "Zalman CNPS11X Performa" is equipped with the same set as its older brother, except that the well-proven complete thermal paste inherited from the older models of the series is in a disposable sachet, and not in a standard reusable tube. This is to be expected. To reduce the cost, it is more profitable to produce one universal basic set, supplemented with "small strokes" as needed. The same applies to the lack of anti-vibration pads in the package. The enclosed manual is convenient only for those users who assemble the system according to the pictures.It has already become fashionable at Zalman to forget about the existence of Russian-speaking users, and even English-speaking buyers will have a very meager set of explanations.

Section 2. Design features.

The cooling system "Zalman CNPS11X Performa" uses the standard design for the entire 11 series. It consists of a V-shaped radiator, devoid of aesthetic delights in the form of a nickel coating, a protective plastic cap and a backlit fan in comparison with more expensive and "thoroughbred" brothers.

The radiator of the cooling system is pierced by four vertical heat pipes with a diameter of six millimeters. Its ribs are composed of fifty-three closely spaced horizontal plates. The thickness of each plate is 0.35 millimeters, and the distance between the heatsink fins is 1.7 millimeters.

At the top, the gap between the ribs and the "turntable" was covered with a special metal plate with a stamped model name.

It is designed to eliminate the parasitic air flow, which otherwise would inevitably be directed in this direction. Also, the plate plays the role of a structural reinforcement. It also has special stampings, similar to those along the entire radiator rib, which are grips for the fan mounting wire brackets. With their help, it very reliably "grabs" to the body of the structure.

Below is a similar plate, but already endowed with special slots through which, according to the Zalman engineers' idea, air should be supplied to cool the motherboard radiators near the central processor.

A half-kilogram processor cooler has more than modest dimensions of 154x135x80 mm. The heat dissipation area is 6,000 square centimeters, which is only three quarters of that of the older "brothers" and once again speaks of the budgetary purpose of the system. But not at all about the worst cooling efficiency, since it often depends on completely different factors. For example, from the use of newfangled and rather effective high-tech solutions. In our case, these include the base of the cooling system "Zalman CNPS11X Performa", developed according to direct contact technology. With this technology, the heatpipes are in direct contact with the processor heatsink cover.

Only now the gaps between the tubes are quite impressive, which leads to the formation of cracks in this zone and reduces the efficiency of heat removal.

In the imprint of the thermal paste on the processor heat exchanger, the traces of these cracks are clearly visible.

The cooling system "Zalman CNPS11X Performa" is equipped with a black "Zalman ZP1225ALL" fan. Its diameter is 120 millimeters. The fan has seven propeller-type blades.

This fan is equipped with a PWM control that automatically adjusts its speed from 1000 to 1600 rpm. In this case, the noise level will be in the range from 17 to 26 dB. The fan is built on a conventional plain bearing with a design life of 50,000 hours. And this is six years of continuous operation. To avoid premature failure of the fan, the manufacturer recommends carefully protecting it from dust.

Section 3. Convenience of installation.

Installation of the Zalman CNPS11X Performa processor cooler is standard for the Korean manufacturer's products for this purpose. First of all, you need to mount the adapter corresponding to the processor socket on the cooler base.

Then we assemble the mount and mount it on the back of the motherboard without removing it from the “pedestal”. Just be careful when "attaching" rubber dampers to the side branches of the center frame in black. The frame must be held so that it is facing the damper hole with the convex side when mounting Intel processors and the concave side for the AMD CPU.In this case, in the first case, installation is carried out on the side "horns", and for the second case - on straight lines. And don't forget to mount the plastic seals in the processor socket. So that the narrower side looks into the frame, regardless of the processor model.

Next, the thermal paste from the bag must be squeezed out onto the heat-distributing cover of the processor, and not at all on the base of the cooler, as many users unknowingly do. And from the front side of the motherboard, screw the adapter screws to the base using the hex key included in the delivery set. An ordinary screwdriver will not work for this, which is a very dubious decision on the part of the developers of the Zalman CNPS11X Performa processor cooler. What will the user do if the special key is lost? The final touch is to secure the fan to the radiator of the cooling system. Everything is easy, understandable and very convenient. Having once worked out the correct installation concept, Zalmanovites do not want to abandon it even in the budget models of their processor coolers. But the need to use a hex key is somewhat discordant with all this idyll, and after all, users used to do well without it. The Zalman CNPS11X Performa can be oriented in either direction, but usually the airflow is directed towards the top or rear fans.

Section 4. Conclusions.

The cooling system "Zalman CNPS11X Performa" proved to be excellent in real-life conditions and is suitable for cooling any modern processor. The exception is the extreme overclocking mode of the hottest CPU models in the upper price range. But it was not designed by the manufacturer for such tasks. Therefore, we can recommend it for real use in the system unit of an office or gaming PC of the lower and middle price segment. If we compare “Zalman CNPS11X Performa” with its direct competitor on the market Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Evo (RR-212E-16PK-R1), which has an identical price tag, it is recommended to prefer the Korean cooler from “Zalman” as it is more high-tech and efficient.

Benefits:

1) Low price.

2) Light weight.

3) Direct contact of the heat pipes with the heat transfer cover of the central processor.

4) Excellent thermal paste from older models included.

5) Convenience and versatility of the installation process with other manufacturer's coolers.

6) Possibility of mounting without removing the motherboard.

7) Fan orientation in any direction.

Disadvantages:

1. The leadership is deprived of the Russian language.

2. Disposable sachet of thermal paste.

3. Gaps between the base of the cooler and the heatsink cover of the processor.