Zalman CNPS10X Flex CPU Cooler Review

Low Speed Fan Performance Results

2.6GHz

It seems that while this cooler does have a lot of flexibility built into its design, low speed fans (with ultra low static pressures) are just not one of its strong points. This is not necessarily a bad thing since if you are looking for a rock bottom noise envelope for your Flex, you can always stick another fan on it and get decent results without increasing the noise all that much. This is one of the things which separates this CNPS10X from the so called CNPS10X “Extreme” since the Flex does come with less fins than its more expensive sibling. However, neither cooler is designed with such low speed (and static pressure) fans in mind.

3.42GHz

While these numbers are not as terrible as the previous ones they are far from being award worthy. Though to be fair and balanced, this is an extremely tough test with a chart that includes only the best of the best. We wouldn’t be too surprised if we were to add 10 more coolers to this chart that the Flex would still only have four or five coolers beating it. Also as expected the CNPS10X Extreme does widen the gap once again due to its slightly larger fin array.

3.8GHz

While the results may not look overly stellar, the Flex still has enough thermal mass to pull off a pass on this test but we have to remember that it really hasn’t been designed with these test parameters in mind.