Installation Tips

Zalman CNPS9300 AT is compatible with all contemporary processor sockets. Despite its relatively small size, the manufacturer still provided a special scheme that will help you determine if the cooler is going to fit into your system case:

As you can see from the pictures above, this small cooler will fit even in compact system cases with components packed pretty tightly. Since we didn’t have a case like that at our disposal at the time of tests, here is a picture of Zalman CNPS9300 AT installed into ASUS ASCOT 6AR2-B:

The installation is fairly simple and doesn’t differ from the installation procedure for Zalman CNPS9700 or 9500 coolers we tested before. The cooler is pressed firmly against the CPU, it doesn’t shift or rotate on top of the processor heat-spreader. LGA775 frame has four retention holes and the retention plate may be inserted in-between the heatpipes, so you will be able to turn Zalman CNPS9300 AT facing any way you like on this platform. However, Socket 754/939/940/AM2(+) mainboards allow the cooler to face only one of two ways, because the retention clip should catch on to the hooks on a standard plastic frame, which will in the end determine the direction of the cooler’s airflow.

In conclusion I would like to offer you a few shots showing the new Zalman CNPS9300 AT side by side with CNPS9700 NT, the largest cooler of the same topology:

As you can see, Zalman CNPS9300 AT is 10mm shorter, 16mm narrower and ~28mm smaller in depth than CNPS9700. Besides, the new cooler weighs nearly half as much (407g against 813g).

Zalman cooling systems have never been cheap, unfortunately. New Zalman CNPS9300 AT features MSRP of $49.95, which is $20 less than MSRP for CNPS9500 and $30 less than MSRP for CNPS9700. However, if we compare it against the competitors’ solutions, the price will definitely strike as way too high for a cooler of this class and efficiency.