Zalman CNPS20X - NH-D15 beater!

[martin-w 3,254]

I posted a video regarding this in another thread. Seems the Zalman was beating the Noctua NH-D15 by a full 7 degrees and noise was identical. Well it seems they have now tested again, but with a different D15 cooler and the margin has reduced. The tests now reveal that the Zalman is only a couple of degrees cooler than the D15. But still seems like the Zalamn remains another option for those looking for an air cooler. 

 

 

 

[Mikelab6 89]

and Zalman looks way better than the Noctua. I understand Noctua are so popular because of their performances, but really dont understand  why they gives them this ugly look.

Mike

[martin-w 3,254]

5 hours ago, Mikelab6 said:

and Zalman looks way better than the Noctua. I understand Noctua are so popular because of their performances, but really dont understand  why they gives them this ugly look.

Mike

 

It doesn't look better than my Noctua Mike. 😊 To be honest, I don' mind the brown and beige fans. However... the D15 is now available all black. Black heat sink and black fans.

https://noctua.at/en/nh-d15-chromax-black

Black has been an option for ages to be honest, in regard to the Chromax range. My D15S has black Chromax heat sink covers and black Chromax fans. So yes, even those who bought their D15 prior to the black version being available can still convert it to black. 

https://noctua.at/en/products/accessories/heatsink-covers

 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2020 by martin-w

[Christopher Low 5,388]

I have no idea why so many people think that the Noctua coolers look ugly. My Noctua NH-U14S looks great, and that has a brown and beige 140mm fan.

[sgreen91 182]

I cannot even see my computer as it sits beside my desk out of view so the Noctua I have installed is never visible.  I buy cases and fan for cooling performance, not looks.

[martin-w 3,254]

3 hours ago, Christopher Low said:

I have no idea why so many people think that the Noctua coolers look ugly. My Noctua NH-U14S looks great, and that has a brown and beige 140mm fan.

 

Yep, agree Chris. I've never had an issue with beige and brown. In fact with my old Lian Li case, I deliberately replaced all the fans with Noctua fans because they perform better, are quiet, and yes.... I liked the colour scheme. 😁

I appreciate that liking or disliking such things is purely subjective, but I do wonder if it's just a something people have latched on to in the PC world, the thing to do to complain about Noctua colours. Don't think they would have sold in droves if it was really a big issue. 

[martin-w 3,254]

2 hours ago, sgreen91 said:

I cannot even see my computer as it sits beside my desk out of view so the Noctua I have installed is never visible.  I buy cases and fan for cooling performance, not looks.

 

I guess it depends on what kind of PC user you are. Some build their PC's purely to function. Some build their PC's not just as a functional tool but also as a kind of art piece, to appreciate its aesthetics too.

I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. I do attach some importance to the way a PC looks. And when I do remove the side panel I like it to look nice inside too. No different to a car enthusiast adding parts to a car to make it look better. No different to decorating the inside and outside of your house to make it look nice. Human beings do tend to gain pleasure from such things. We do gain pleasure from how things look, not just how they function. 

After all, basic aesthetic preferences of humans are argued to have evolved to enhance survival and reproductive success. It is claimed that things like colour preference,  body ratios you find attractive, shapes, certain emotional ties with objects, and numerous aspects of the aesthetic experience can be explained with reference to human evolution.

 

[Christopher Low 5,388]

Now that I have built my first PC, there is no going back. I want to build more of them!

As for aesthetics, I do like my own PC to look neat and tidy. I never really thought about fancy lighting in the past, but the Asus Maximus IX Hero motherboard has lights that change colours when powered up, and those beautiful Trident Z RGB RAM sticks that Rob gave me look well cool next to the Noctua fan

[vortex681 806]

On 2/5/2020 at 12:47 PM, martin-w said:

Well it seems they have now tested again, but with a different D15 cooler and the margin has reduced. The tests now reveal that the Zalman is only a couple of degrees cooler than the D15.

Three or four degrees cooler is still a really significant result for the 20X when you're comparing it to the previous market leader. What is just as interesting is the difference between the two D15s. I don't think I've ever seen anyone carry out a comparative review of 2 copies of the same cooler before. I'd be curious to know if it was down to the cooler itself or something related to the way it had been mounted - an issue with the thermal paste, for example. It would also be interesting to see if the mounting system for the 20X was as robust as the one used for the D15.

[Mikelab6 89]

15 hours ago, martin-w said:

 

... the D15 is now available all black. Black heat sink and black fans.

https://noctua.at/en/nh-d15-chromax-black

Black has been an option for ages to be honest, in regard to the Chromax range. My D15S has black Chromax heat sink covers and black Chromax fans. So yes, even those who bought their D15 prior to the black version being available can still convert it to black. 

https://noctua.at/en/products/accessories/heatsink-covers

 

 

 

Hi Martin,

Was not aware of black version of Noctua. Thanks for sharing, good to know. All pictures of Noctua cooling I have seen were always brown and beige.

I have a big tower with a window on the left side, so I can see all my red and black components inside the tower because red leds illuminates them. The brown and beige Noctua was not a nice fit for me.

Mike

[martin-w 3,254]

18 hours ago, vortex681 said:

Three or four degrees cooler is still a really significant result for the 20X when you're comparing it to the previous market leader. 

 

Yep, it "kind of" is. Which was why I regarded it as "remaining another option for those looking for an air cooler". Three or four degrees isn't huge of course, when two degrees or so is usually the margin of error in testing, but it's something. When coolers are this close though in terms of thermals and volume, we consider other advantages or disadvantages, aesthetics, ease of mounting, price, fan sound quality etc. 

 

Quote

What is just as interesting is the difference between the two D15s. I don't think I've ever seen anyone carry out a comparative review of 2 copies of the same cooler before. I'd be curious to know if it was down to the cooler itself or something related to the way it had been mounted - an issue with the thermal paste, for example.

 

Yes, that interested me too. The most likely explanation is the thermal compound application. I guess we can be confident he wasn't daft enough to use a different brand. Application method can make a difference of a degree or two, that coupled with the margin of error in testing might explain it. As tests by Gamers Nexus demonstrated, you can do some pretty crazy things with thermal compound and not make a huge difference, but a couple of degrees sounds plausible. 

Another possibility is mounting pressure. I'm not sure if heat pipes lose their efficiency over time, but if true, and given that the higher temps were with an old cooler, perhaps that enters into the equation. 

I think we have to consider as well though, that none of the tests these YouTube guys do is scientific, there could well be all kinds of variables at play. Juts like with scientific research, replication is key. When other testers carry out the same comparison we will have a better idea what is going on, how well the new Zalman really performs. 

Edited February 7, 2020 by martin-w

[martin-w 3,254]

11 hours ago, Mikelab6 said:

Hi Martin,

Was not aware of black version of Noctua. Thanks for sharing, good to know. All pictures of Noctua cooling I have seen were always brown and beige.

I have a big tower with a window on the left side, so I can see all my red and black components inside the tower because red leds illuminates them. The brown and beige Noctua was not a nice fit for me.

Mike

 

They look pretty good now Mike. I purchased my Chromax covers and fans quite some time ago. You do have to pay extra for the Chroamx covers and black fans of course, if you have an older D15. Think it was about 2017 Chromax heat sink covers and black fans arrived. 

But yes, nice that you can get the D15 all black from new now. There are other coolers in the range all black now too.