Introduction

Zalman has been around for what seems like forever, and considering they were founded in 1999, that will certainly seem to be true for many. They have been around since PC gaming really began to grow with the release of NVIDIA's GeForce 256. Since those days, Zalman has continued to grow, reinvent, and ultimately remain relevant—be it through their coolers and products that bring about a feeling of nostalgia for some or just by going crazy with their designs, as with their spider-like fans. Suffice it to say, even with the company's ups and downs, they certainly have shown they are here to stay.


In today's review, I look at Zalman's CNPS10X Performa Black; while it has the CNPS name attached to it, the cooler forgoes the bright ARGB lighting or exposed copper of past designs and instead is a stealthy all-black cooler that, rather than garnering attention, looks to fly under the radar. It may not be flashy, but should be a good fit for almost any build visually as it will be less of a focal point, letting your beastly GPU or fancy system memory grab all the attention. With all that said, let's get down to business and see what Zalman's latest cooler can do.

Packaging

The packaging for the CNPS10X Performa Black matches the cooler's design aesthetics. While that means nothing for performance, it does mean information and images on the box are not as visible as they could be. For example, on the front is a render of the cooler, but it is basically black on dark gray, so it doesn't really stand out. Either way, Zalman does list the supported sockets as well, making the information easy enough to find, which is nice. Next up is the left side, which gives the specifications of the cooler, including height, width, fan CFM, RPM range, etc., noted on the previous page, along with the supported sockets. On the back, you will find a quick summary of the cooler's features in various languages. These features include the cooler's asymmetrical design, Direct-Touch Heatpipe base, and "powerful 135 mm Turbine Bladed fan."


A look at the right side gives us details on the same features, but this time with some images for good measure. As for the top of the box, it has the product name and Zalman logo, but there is otherwise nothing more to see here.

Contents

While the outer box is sturdy enough, the plastic packaging used to protect the cooler leaves a bit to be desired. It feels flimsy, and while the cooler did arrive safe and sound, upon removal from the box, the two halves of the plastic packaging simply popped apart. So in summation, it does the job but leaves a bit to be desired.


Socket support is good with support for your more common CPU sockets, such as anything LGA115x, LGA1200, and, of course, AM4. Support for Socket LGA2011 and LGA2066 is also provided. However, there is no support for older AMD sockets which, while a bit of a shame, isn't surprising, to be honest.

Common parts supplied for mounting include:

• 4x Backplate nuts
• 4x Backplate side caps
• 4x Mounting bracket nuts
• 4x Universal stand-offs (LG115X, LGA1200, AM4)
• 4x LGA2011/2066 stand-offs
• 4x Washers
• 2x Fan clips
• 2x Spring-loaded bolts
• 2x Universal mounting brackets
• 1x Universal backplate
• 1x Heatsink
• 1x 135 mm fan
• 1x Packet of thermal paste
• 1x Instruction manual
• 1x Intel loading block
• 1x AMD loading block