Intel Core i7 / LGA1366 CPU Cooler Roundup

Zalman CNPS10X Extreme Installation

Actually installing the 10X is fairly easy and unlike some past reviews, we don’t have a problem with the overall process at all. What we do have an issue with however is the fact that this massive cooler doesn’t make use of a back plate to help distribute its substantial weight. Rather, it uses a somewhat flaccid hybrid mounting setup consisting of four screws with plastic sleeves that mount atop the main retention bracket. The only time a hybrid mount is a good idea is when you’re dealing with low-weight water blocks. But here we have damn near two pounds hanging off your motherboard with only small plastic sleeves to keep those brass screws from stripping out the i7 mounting holes. Yikes.


The trick is to thread these screws through the four holes and then stick the small plastic washer/ sheaths into the holes. Then, you have to mount a large yet flimsy plastic structure over the screws which seems to be used to avoid damage to or flexing of the motherboard’s PCB. But wait, we’re not done yet!


Once you have this skeleton bracket in place you then mount a metal bracket right on top of it. The only upside to this is the metal bracket uses captured tension springs on the four corner bolts which means you can’t over tighten the screws. This combination does allow for even mounting pressure as long as that plastic bracket doesn’t warp in any way, shape or form.


Continuing on this theme of “what were they thinking” mentality, the metal bracket has two small tabs which are all that comes into contact with the cooler’s base. Unfortunately, this means the 10X is allowed to spin around much like the original Thermalright TRUE and can actually slide enough that its base hangs partially off the side of the CPU.


On the positive side this cooler seems to be custom designed for an East / West setup with the fan pushing air towards the rear exhaust fans of your case. This certainly a good thing as this is the typical setup for nearly every user out there.

As you can see, the fin array starts up high and does not block, rub or even come near most of the heatsinks surrounding our motherboard. On the ram side, things are tight but as long as your ram is a typical width the height shouldn’t matter too much.


Well those pictures say it all and this cooler was certainly not designed to be an AMD cooler first and foremost. The biggest and most obvious issue is the ram slots being blocked. This could be just due to our DFI motherboard layout…but we doubt it. The next issue and the one which really seals the deal for us is that this cooler can only be orientated in a North / South orientation on AMD systems. This is due to the simple fact that the heat pipe orientation and the standard AMD retention system orientation are incompatible with a more typical East / West orientation.

Ok, its official: we don’t like the installation of this cooler and it is easily one of the most ill conceived, poorly executed, unintuitive, under-thought, “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory” setups we have ever seen. What makes this really bad is we can see the glimmer of potential and with only a few small tweaks it could have been great. As we said, earlier if this cooler used an honest to goodness back plate, the top sub-frame was not made from plastic and the securing tabs were bigger and thus more secure, this could have really have allowed the X10 Extreme to shine. As it stands we wonder how big a liability this setup is going to be. And don’t get us started with the ass-backwards AMD mounting…