Zalman CNPS 10X Extreme CPU Cooler Review

A Closer Look

With the cooler out of the packing we can get a good look at it, and it looks very nice. The black pearl finish covers the entire cooler. The fan is attached with 4 screws to the main shroud.

The shroud is attached with clips to the fins and wraps around the top of the cooler

Looking at the top of the cooler we can see the PWM Fan Mate controller. The controller is detachable and Zalman provides an extension cable so you can remote mount the controller. The cable is long enough to be routed out the back of the case and around the side to the front.

The PWM Fan Mate controller allows the fan speed controlled either by preset levels or variable speed control.

With the fan removed we can see the fin profile and the main shroud mount. The mount clips in place into channels in the fins. The fins themselves are aluminum, the base and heatpipes are all copper.

Moving to the base we can see the heatpipe arrangement. The CNPS 10X Extreme has 5 U shaped pipes giving 10 vertical pipes to help transfer the heat to the fins.

The bottom of the base is very nice. It’s flat and has a mirror finish so nice that you can make out a finger print on my camera lens.