Zalman CNPS10X Extreme base is and indisputable example of impeccable evenness…

… as well as remarkable finish quality:

How did they manage to achieve such unique quality? The thermal compound imprints on the glass surface and CPU heat-spreader also turned out ideal. Moreover, the cooler stuck so well to the CPU that we had to wiggle it sideways in order to get it off (that is why the imprint is a little smeared):

The heatsink is topped with a 120x120x25 mm fan that is attached to the frame with four self-tapping screws. The fan has seven wide blades made of semi-transparent plastic:

The interesting thing is that it is very easy to remove the fan, however, not so easy to put it back on, because you have to aim the four-pin connector so that the fan contacts sit right against the pins. It will also be pretty hard to replace the default fan if necessary (without removing the default frame and a cover with the regulator).

The fan is built using a dual ball bearing with the promised MTBF of 50,000 hours (seems to be too little for the bearing of this type). According to the marking on the fan rotor, the maximum fan power consumption shouldn’t exceed 3.6 W:

The unique peculiarity of Zalman CNPS10X Extreme is the implementation of the rotation speed control function for its fan. There is a small PWM Mate regulator that is installed into the cooler top plastic cover. The first peculiarity of this regulator is that it can be removed:

In other words, if you decide that you have picked a better spot for it, just slide it out of the cover and stick to the place of choice with a piece of double-sided tape and then use the bundled cable to connect the regulator with the cooler top cover. Very simple and convenient.

The next peculiarity of the fan rotation speed control regulator is the four operational modes it supports:

The thing is that besides a small wheel, there is also a button that allows you to choose one of the three PWM fan modes or enable manual control function. When you set any of the PWM modes, the button closest to the button will light up. Blue color indicates that the rotation speed will vary between 1000 and 1500 RPM with 20-28 dBA of noise, purple color indicates 1000-1950 RPM and 20-35 dBA intervals, and red color indicates 1000-2150 RPM and 20-39 dBA intervals. If at some point the second indicator lights up green, you are in the manual control mode and can change its rotation speed with a little dial wheel in the entire supported range. This is a truly multi-functional regulator :) And seriously speaking, Zalman did a great job on this extremely convenient and functional regulator.