Which do you want, silent computing or an overclocked rig? That is the question Zalman has answered in spades. Time and time again Zalman has offered solutions for both, most of the time with one product. Zalman never really stopped there though and they are always looking to improve their products which includes the look and options for the end user. The 7000 series heatsinks from Zalman have been a big hit ever since there initial release. I can’t believe it’s been over 3 years since the release of the 7000 series heatsinks on the world market.

Over the years Zalman has improved on many things but the design has stayed the same. Incase you are wondering what they have improved on over the years. The mounting brackets went from one piece to an interchangeable clip design to easily switch between different sockets. The fan mate went from version 1 to version 2. For those that like to show off their gear Zalman added LED fans. So what is new with the CNPS7700-AlCu LED.... well, it has a red LED fan. For those of you that have liked the looks of the Fatal1ty’s red LED fan. Zalman now has a lower priced and a lower weight solution.

Package:

Shipping was the normal well packaged UPS box. Sharka Corp has always packed their shipments very well. With that being said, let’s take a look at the CNPS7700-AlCu LED.

The clear clamshell container displays both sides of this large heatsink as if it were in an art gallery. The packaging displays the heatsinks vitals and outlines the installation. You will also notice the nice long product name/initials on the package. Now, like I said earlier the 7000 series heatsinks have been out for sometime now and incase you’ve forgot what all the initials stand for I will re-cap them for you now.

CNPS: Computer Noise Prevention System

Zalman has long been one of the first and biggest producers of quiet, if not silent, solutions for the PC. I might add that not only do most of their products do this, they do it with performance. Kind of funny to go from a silent PC and with a turn of a knob (on the Fan Mate) you have a heatsink that performs just as well for overclocking.

####: The numbers of course represent the series model and version.

Image courtesy of Zalman

These model numbers go all the way back to one of the first fan style heatsinks, the CNPS2005-Plus.

Al & Cu: With any common sense one would figure out that Al stand for aluminum and Cu is for copper.

While we take a trip back to science class these are the element initials, do you remember the chart of elements? Now I’m not going to school you in science but I just wanted you to know what the initials are and where they came from. Personally I am waiting for the initials Ag and Au (Silver and Gold) to show up, which is sooner than you think. Now for the boring part, the details on the specs:

CNPS7700-AlCu LED

- Dimensions: 136(L) x 136(W) x 67(H) mm
- Weight: 600g
- Base Material: Pure Aluminum & Pure Copper
- Dissipation Area: 3,268 cm2
- Bearing Type: 2-Ball
- Speed: 1,000 ~ 2,000rpm +/- 10%
- Thermal Resistance: 0.19 ~ 0.28¡ÆC/W
- Noise Level: 22.7 ~ 37.1dBA +/- 10%

FAN Speed Controller (FAN MATE 2)

- Dimensions: 70(L) x 26(W) x 26(H) mm
- Weight: 20g
- Output Voltage: 5V ~ 11V +/- 2%
- Allowable Power: 6W or lower
- Connector: 3-Pin

Features:

1. Pure Copper and Pure Aluminum base material ensures excellent heat dissipation.
2. Supports Intel Dual Core Pentium / Pentium 4 (Socket 775), Intel Pentium 4 (Socket 478), AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core, Sempron / AMD64 (Socket 754/939/940) for broad compatibility.
3. The large 120mm fan inside the FHS maximizes cooling performance by providing sufficient airflow even at low fan speed.
4. The large 120mm fan provides air flow over a large area, cooling not only the CPU, but the VGA card, Northbridge, FET, and RAM as well.
5. The high intensity red LEDs will operate with sufficient brightness even in low operating voltage.
6. The adjustable fan speed controller (FAM MATE 2) enables control of noise and fan performance.

With that out of the way, let’s take a close look at the old heatsink with a new look. You have to admit the aluminum/ copper fins do have “bling” written all over it.

The included Fan Mate 2 has a long enough cable to mount almost any where inside most cases. The fan mate plugs into a fan header on the mother board and manually controls the supplied voltage to the fan. Depending on the needed cooling performance it can be turned down as low as 5 volts for silent operation or wide open to 11 volts for maximum cooling.

The mounting hardware is still limited to Intel sockets 775/478 and AMD sockets 754/939/940. Zalman’s instruction/user manual is, as always, easy to read and understand. If by some chance reading instructions is not your thing, the end user can always watch the installation videos Zalman offers on their website.

Workmanship is top notch with Zalman. The surface of the 7700AlCu is near perfection. Bolted together on both sides of the 19 copper fins is 23/22 aluminum fins. This reduces the total overall weight down to 546 grams. This is still heavier than the AMD and Intel recommended maximum weight of 450g. The FS-C77 weighed in at 910g, this is the all copper version that is dyed red for the Fatal1ty series. They both have the red LED fans.

Speaking of the Fatal1ty series, the fan on the 7700 ALCU is the same as the Fatal1ty heatsink. Looking at the underside of the fan I found the product number ZF1225BTX. The fan does have a high 2400 RPM rating however using the fan mate it’s rated at 11volts and 2000 RPM +/- 10%. With the fan bracket off, one can really see how the fins are pressed and then bolted together to create the famed "flower" design.

Now before I install this heatsink I wanted to show off the difference in the LED fan with the fan mate on high and low. There is a slight difference on the lighting, so this could be a factor if purchasing this for the LED fan.