Zalman CNPS5X Quiet Compact Tower CPU Cooler

An excellent value for money CPU cooler for sub 100W CPUs with Intel LGA1155 compatibility.

Zalman are well known for producing some of the world’s best designed CPU coolers. It is therefore rare for them to produce a cooler that is designed primarily for quietly cooling sub 100W CPUs, but that is exactly the job for which the CNPS5X is designed.

To look at the cooler you might notice that it resembles the CNPS8000A, although the CNPS5X uses one less heatpipe and is orientated differently. As a tower cooler, the CNPS5X is quite compact compared with some of the other CPU tower coolers available. This is ideal if space is at a premium within the chassis or if you just want to cool a sub 100W CPU.

Attached to the heatsink is a legendary Zalman 92mm PWM controlled fan which has a maximum noise level of 30 dB(A). However, running the fan at that noise level will not be necessary for most users as only CPUs above 100W will run the fan at this speed. If you use a sub 100W CPU, the slowest setting at just 20 dB(A) will be more than adequate. If you are unsure how loud 20 DB(A) is; you will need to put your ear next to the fan to be able to hear it!

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As already mentioned, the CNPS5X is ideally suited to sub 100W CPUs. You may think this means that it is not able to cool the fastest CPUs available, but this not entirely true! Intel’s new Sandy Bridge (socket LGA1155) CPUs are compatible. In fact at the time of writing, the CPUs are all 95W or lower, making the CNPS5X ideally suited to quietly cool these CPUs.