Zalman CNPS17X Air CPU Cooler Review

A Closer Look

Out of the box and looking at the Zalman CNPS17X, it seems pretty clear that the aesthetics of this cooler has certainly been one of the key features of its design. Even without the ARGB lighting in action, it looks pretty fantastic and especially so with that truly unique 4D fan design. As is always the case with coolers, however, there are always several components that go into the overall product. Let’s, therefore, take a closer look at some of the key aspects of the Zalman CNPS17X.

Contact Plate

WIth 5 heat pipes leading away from each side of the contact plate, this is already a pretty good indicator that this is a high-performance design. Even despite all of the initial aesthetic razzle-dazzle that may have initially led you to believe that the Zalman CNPS17X was only about the looks.

The contact plate itself is nice and large meaning that it should provide excellent coverage for both Intel and AMD processors. Admittedly, upon removing the protective covering, we did find that a lot of sticker residue remained on the contact plate and, as such, prior to installation (and in something that forms general good practice anyway) we strongly recommend that you give this an extra clean. This isn’t uncommon and can often occur when products have to travel a long distance before reaching you.

Radiator

Although often representing one of the most generic aspects of air cooler designed, the radiator on the Zalman CNPS17X is actually more than a little interesting. Starting off with the biggest eye-catching factor, you’ll note that the central fins haven’t been coated and instead Zalman has left the copper completely exposed. While we’re certain that Zalman will cite that this choice will provide consumers with improved performance, it’s hard to deny that, perhaps against a lot of expectations, that this actually (on an aesthetic level) looks really nice!

The radiator fins have a rather interesting layout as they come slightly curved on the exterior edges but also allow a large amount of overlapping. While such a system certainly isn’t unusual, Zalman really has crammed in about as much coverage into this radiator and specifically its fins as possible.

Although in many cases this might cause airflow pressure problems, we fully expect that the exceptionally unique 4D fan provided with the Zalman CNPS17X has found a means of overcoming this and, overall, so far things are looking very promising in regards to the ‘high-performance’ aspect of this coolers design.

Fan

So, as you’ve probably already guessed by this point, the fan provided with the Zalman CNPS17X is arguably the biggest party piece this air cooler design has. Getting things off to a bit of a shaky (or at least unusual) start, however, is the fact that it doesn’t come assembled out of the box. You have the fan, you have the frame, but unless I’ve really missed something huge here, you actually have to fit the thing together yourself. While this is certainly no difficulty (it’s just 4 screws), I fail to see exactly what the point of this was. Is this something unique about the design, or is this just a very odd bit of cost-cutting from Zalman?

As above, fortunately assembling the fan takes no more than a minute and, when put together, it certainly seems to represent a very unique design both in terms of design and aesthetics. Touted as a ‘4D’ cooling solution (whatever that’s supposed to mean), one of the most interesting aspects of it is that it features larger exterior fins, with a smaller set to the center. One can only presume that this is a design choice to compensate for the unusually large coverage offered in the radiator and to ensure that higher air pressure is specifically applied to the copper exposed central point.

Of course, this is also where all the ARGB action happens, and don’t worry, we’ll get onto that shortly, but overall the fan, despite being a little quirky, again only speaks of something that would be utilised in a high-performance air cooler design.

ARGB Lighting in Action!

I don’t always feel inclined to take a video of every ARGB/RGB product I encounter, for the Zalman CNPS17X, however, I simply felt compelled to make an exception. It is, of course, one thing to tell you how good the ARGB lighting effects on this cooler are, it’s another to show you a few pictures, based on how impressed I was with this, however, I thought it best to just show you them in action and let the video speak for itself.

Overall

As we have noted more than once before, the Zalman CNPS17X is an exceptionally attractive air cooler and some may misconstrue this as that it flatters to deceive. In other words, it’s looking good, but the design or performance might be a little more mediocre.

Based on what we have seen so far, however, the Zalman CNPS17X appears to be every bit as well designed as it presents itself aesthetically. Although we are clearly pending the results of our performance testing, I have a strong suspicion that this is going to be good.

Before we get onto the performance, however, we have to take into consideration just how easy this is to install. A great cooler can, after all, be limited by just how complicated it is to work with. So, let’s get this strapped down and find out!