Introduction

Founded in 1999, Zalman has been around for a very long time. As such, you could say they are one of the old guard, having formed back when PC gaming first really began to kick off with NVIDIA's release of the GeForce 256. Fast forward to today and Zalman has expanded into multiple markets and categories, not just coolers and fans, but also cases, power supplies, all-in-one liquid coolers, keyboards, and much more. Even so, they are perhaps best known for their legendary CNPS 9500, 9700, and 9900 CPU coolers, which were so well received they sky-rocketed the company's popularity within the DIY community.


In today's review, I look at Zalman's CNPS17X, which on the surface appears to be half of a CNPS20X. However, the CNPS17X has one less heat pipe. Even so, it is rated to handle up to a 200-watt TDP, which is still fairly impressive for this slimmer single-tower design. When it comes to marketing, Zalman has really pushed the envelope here, describing the cooler as having 4D Stereoscopic corrugated cooling fins and an RDTH "Reverse Direct Touch Heat pipe" cold plate. Honestly, the marketing is a bit much, but considering the CNPS20X is in the same family, it wasn't unexpected. So without further delay, let's take a closer look at what the CNPS17X has to offer.

Packaging

Zalman uses a glossy black box for the CNPS17X, which is very similar to the box for the CNPS20X. The cooler and its unique ARGB fan are shown off front and center, along with support for motherboard sync and Z-sync for lighting control. Zalman also listed the supported CPU sockets on the front. On the left side, you will find the specification table, and while fairly simplistic, it gives you everything you need to know, including the height of the cooler, which is listed at 160 mm. Various features, such as the use of RDTH (Reverse Direct Touch Heatpipes), are listed here as well. On the back, you will find a better look at the cooler and its overall dimensions with the fan.


Taking a look at the right side and top, we just find "CNPS17X" in a bold font along with some more mentions of the 4D fin design. There is nothing else to see here.

Contents

The cooler comes packed with the fans and mounting hardware in separate boxes to one side and the cooler on the other, and everything is partially surrounded by foam, which is always nice to see.


At first glance, the mounting hardware appears relatively simple and straightforward. However, a quick look shows the retention screws are not attached to the mounting plate, but since the CNPS17X is smaller than its larger sibling, the CNPS20X, it likely won't be as problematic.

Common parts supplied for mounting include:

• 4x Fan screws
• 2x Fan clips
• 4x Washers
• 4x Standoff nuts
• 4x LGA2066 / LGA2011-V3 / LGA2011 standoffs
• 4x AM3 / AM4 / LGA115x standoffs
• 4x Backplate nuts
• 4x Backplate side caps
• 2x AMD brackets
• 2x Intel brackets
• 2x 140 mm ARGB fan
• 2x Spring bolts
• 2x Fan guides
• 1x Universal backplate
• 1x Tube of thermal paste
• 1x Heatsink
• 1x Installation manual