If you remove the fan and the fastening plate, you can see the soldering between the pipes is not uniform:

Yet this is just a cavil on my side. More important is that not only the meeting point of the pipes but also the places of contact between the copper base and the pipes of the “bowl” be soldered together well.

The aluminum plate screwed to the base and covering the pipes performs the function of a foundation for the mounting clip and has no contact with the pipes.

The fan impeller is fastened to it too by means of two aluminum feet:

The Zalman CNPS8700 LED employs a 110x25mm fan, i.e. a standard impeller of a 120mm fan. The fan is marked as ZF1125BTH and runs on two ball bearings. Its speed is regulated by means of the included Fan Mate 2 controller within 1150-2350rpm. When connected directly to the mainboard (without the Fan Mate 2), the fan speed is 2550rpm at 35.5dBA of noise.

The cooler’s base is flat and perfectly polished:

It’s been a while since I last saw such a high-quality cooler surface. Bravo, Zalman!