BYTE.com > Chaos Manor > 2004
Cool World
By Jerry Pournelle
March 22, 2004
(Cool World
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Column 284 (Continued from the Previous Week)
Zalman Heatsink/Fan (1)
I have been told that the Zalman heatsink/fan combinations run Prescott chip systems cooler than the Intel heatsink/fan. For me at least that turned out not to be the case. My 3.2 GHz Prescott Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading Technology (HTT, but not to be confused with AMD's HyperTransport) system ran at about 53 degrees Celsius (with nothing going on) to a peak of about 65 degrees (with a lot of visual objects on the screen). That wasn't causing a problem but it was about as hot as any system I ever had, so I replaced the Intel heatsink/fan with a Zalman CNPS7000-AlCu. This is a circular radial system, rather large. The heat sink itself isn't as massive as the Intel, but there's more cooling surface.
When I did that, the same system ran at about 57 degrees Celsius when at rest; and I had to set the alarm peak at 75 degrees when there was a lot going on. Clearly this was no improvement.
Installing the Zalman CNPS7000 was fairly simple. The toughest part was getting the Intel heatsink/fan off. The plastic clip system attaches securely, and it never wants to let go once all four legs have snapped into place. I have never got one of those disconnected without losing some skin and muttering evil and potent curses on the ancestors and descendents of the person who designed that abomination.
There is a sort of trick to dismounting the thing. It involves two long thin-bladed slot head screwdrivers (Nour Singh used to call them "minus" screwdrivers, as opposed to Phillips head ones, which were "plus"). You use one to unclip one of the legs, then leave it in place so it can't click back in again while you use the second screwdriver to disconnect another leg. I've actually been tempted to get yet a third screwdriver into the act because sometimes the second leg will reach out and snap back into place as I am working on the third.
The Zalman mounting system is much better. There are some small metal legs that insert into the Intel chip holder assembly and the whole thing screws down.
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