Hello, my name is Aaron, and this is basically my placeholder thread for what I am hoping will be quite possibly the most comprehensive guide on how to fit a Zalman CNPS9500 on to your motherboard, and possibly how to make a gaping hole in the side of your case to fit the monster.

While I'm at it, I'll show you the whole vibration dampening thing for those who think they have loud computers. Perhaps this is a budget way to keep your system cool and quiet, especially when it's only ?1.50 per 80mm fan, and probably about ?2.00 for a 120mm.

I let Skillers know that I ordered a Zalman CNPS9500-Cu LED (to cool the processor) and a Zalman VF700-Cu (to cool the graphics card), and a vibration dampening kit for the power supply. Since then I changed my order by dropping the VF700-Cu and the power supply vibration dampening kit, and replacing them with a Vantec Stealth 80mm fan (almost inaudible) and 3 x 80mm fan vibration dampening brackets. I have 4 case fan's, but the top fan would not be able to cater for anything other than the fan, since it is fixed height and the silicon layer would cause the top fan mount to break!

I think that the most useful thing to come of this guide is to show you just how much thermal paste you need to use on your processor, and indeed, how to remove the thermal paste on your processor ready for a new load! I personally would always use Arctic Silver 5 as a thermal compound between by CPU and HSF. I also use ArctiClean 1 Thermal Material Remover and ArctiClean 2 Thermal Surface Purifier to guarantee the best heat conductivity possible!

This will be an extremely dial-up unfriendly post with lots and lots of images taken with my new Canon Digital Ixus 750. I hope you enjoy it.

I'll get the components tomorrow, so I'll start then!

A picture of the Zalman CNPS9500-Cu LED:

Ah, but I hear you saying all of a sudden: 'What does your case look like now?'

Well for those who don't know, and for those who should, I am using a Coolermaster Wavemaster, silver in colour. The thing about these cases is that they only use 80mm fan's, and they are quite thin compared to other cases of it's caliber.

I must apologise for the poor lighting conditions in my room, all the tricky bits will be done in a well lighted area without the stupid lightbulb cover I have at the moment. I put a halogen heater behind me to try and lighten things up a bit, and didn't use a flash for two reasons - it will reduce the quality of the image by reflecting too much off the shiny aluminium interior, and it also illuminates all the dust in my case, which I will get rid of as soon as that motherboard and tray are out of the way!

Right - so here they are:

Looking towards the fan on the back of the case:


As you can see, the air is going to be blown across this new Zalman cooler and is going to be sent straight out the rear of the case through that 80mm fan (which will be installed with a vibration dampening bracket)... So it creates a sort of wind tunnel effect, which is extremely efficient!

Looking towards the drive bays:


Not much to say about the above picture, apart from the fact that you can see what a terrible cabling job I've done. This will all be completely changed when I fit the computer with the new cooler.

Head on:


Looks like those ATX powers cable are going to have to move!! Ooh! Looks at my tasty memory sticks, that's 2GB of super fast DDR I have you know.

Nice, though a couple of things;

1) I am actually Grim Reaper oin this forum, not Skillers, but I don't really care.

2) Be very careful with the graphics card HSF installation. The RAM and GPU are at different hights, meaning the HSF has to have two different hights. However, this is sometimes not done correctly, usually with the extra copper used for the RAM being too thick. This poses a problem as it means that the GPU may not touch the HSF, and you cannot see this due to the positioning of the components (you would be able to see the RAm not touching). So my suggesting is; don't be conservative with the TIM.

Anyway, good luck and report back soon.

(BTW, when we have the new site, hopefully during Summer, all users should be able to submit proper articles to the site with an easy form, only needing to be passed by myself as an admin [read it etc])

Well, I won't be getting the GPU cooler any more, just the CPU cooler.

I thought I wouldn't get the VF700 since it would only be cooling down the GPU rather than both cooling it down and exerting the hot air. By installing the VF700, I essentially downgrade myself by reducing effective airflow in my case.

So... City Link never seemed to deliver my package properly the last time I chose them, so let's see how they go this time. [url=http://www.city-link.co.uk/pod/podfrm.php?JobNo=CLA26547]Click here to see what they're up to[/url]

I would recommend Arctic cooling Silencers, they are very good (when installed right). However, the ATI coolers are quite advanced (maily cos ATI needs it *stab, stab*) with the ai extraction and such, only consideration would be noise.

My card uses an Arctic Cooling 5 based cooler anyway (not Arctic Silver 5, I know the difference!)

Besides, ATI's X1900XT-X is still going to be kicking the 7900GTX's ass in a few months time. Anyway, let's keep it on topic.

Are there any other pics you'd like me to post?

I've just received a text saying that my parcel has been delivered, although it doesn't say this on the City Link website (typical, really) ...

So you can all expect me to make way with this tutorial after I've fitted it all and took photo's through the entire process. I hope Photobucket allows me to upload all these images...

Stay tuned!

Maybe this article will bring more attention to these forums.. I haven't seen any new posts for ages!

So anyway, the parts will be with me in about an hours time. I delivered them to my mum's workplace - she can transport it home much easier than I can at my workplace, riding a funky moped and everything.

Right now I'm making preparations: I've got rid of all the photo's on my 2GB SD card, I'm charging my battery for my camera, I'm changing the lampshade so it doesn't shine green light everywhere (nightmares of Nvidia), and I'm even changing my bed so that animal hairs don't get anywhere... Don't ask why I have animals on my bed... Well if you must know sometimes the dogs sleep on my bed during the day hahaha!

Back to the subject, and the subject is waiting.

Cool, looking forward to it, though have you heard of the "Edit" button?

At last! I had a lot of trouble creating this photo gallery... I had a lot of problems trying to get my system back up and running again - first there was a loss of power to everything, and it turns out that I have a faulty card reader drive... it has been playing up for a while anyway, but now even just plugging in the data cable results in no power. And the other thing was trying to get the system back on after this! The system made a click sound, and didn't do much after that. I redid absolutely everything you see in this post again, and it seemed to work the second time, so maybe I forgot something very simple.

So here we go...

Here's a picture of all the new kit: The new CPU cooler, a new and almost inaudible 80mm fan, and 3 vibration reduction kits for 80mm fan's... unfortunately, I didn't realise these kits came in packs of 2, so I only needed 1 or 2 of these, not 3. Never mind.


I get prepared by polishing the oak desk to make sure I don't get any excess dust in the case:


Here's the trusty wristband and an even more trsuty cup of tea, which I haven't had in a staggering 7 hours!


So we start by unscrewing the case...


... and sliding off the sides...


... and we store them somewhere where they ain't gonna get scratched. So I figured that the other side of my bed would be a great place for this!


Here lies an open case:


I make sure that the power cable is connected and that the switch on the mains is on, but the switch on the power supply is off. This is crucial if I want to effectively get rid of any static charge I've accumulated by kneeling around on my carpet:


In wristband we trust!


I've unscrewed the motherboard tray and I'm sliding it out:


The motherboard tray is removed:


The motherboard without any memory or a graphics card, Grim Reaper will love this one, he'll say it's an improvement over my previous ATI solution! I've removed these to give me some room to breathe (or at least to move my fingers about).. The offending HSF is in sight:


So I start by removing the stock HSF - I lift the clip that's forcing it down to the retention plate. It jolts upwards slightly:


This is a glorious moment - seeing the stock HSF being removed, and seeing the old Arctic Silver 5 I put on my processor a few months ago:


And here's another shot of the stock HSF fully removed, and the old Arctic Silver 5 clearly in sight:


I'm one for close-ups... here's a flash shot of the old AS5 in detail (sort of).. Notice how it had a good spread. I must've used a good amount, although if anything maybe a smidgin' too much:


I'm getting prepared for the most gruelling task - removing the existing Arctic Silver thermal material, polishing the surface ready for a new dollop, and then dolloping! I get a piece of A4 paper ready so that the surface has some slick - the pins of the processor run a risk of bending otherwise... And of course, if I get a little messy, which I usually do, this will help me some:


Show us yer pins, mister Athlon64 4000+!!


A really good shot of the old AS5:


I've grabbed the ArctiClean 1 and I'm going to dribble my load all over the place:


I'm making sure to get every single bit of the old AS5 soaked up by the ArctiClean 1 fluid by using a clean earbud. it absorbs a bit of it, but it lets me spread it about a bit too (note, never ever ever use an earbud if you do this!!!):


Then I wipe it all off with some toilet roll (I really shouldn't use toilet roll because it can stick to the surface of the CPU's heat spreader, but luckily it didn't), this is after the first pass, and as you can see, there is still quite a bit of it left on there, but it has definitely done a good job:


So I put a couple more drops on there - notice how it instantly starts moving it about and breaking it down:


And this is the CPU heat spreader surface after the second pass. It looks clean now, certainly, but I can't see that familiar shiny reflection in it like I used to:


So I grab the ArctiClean 2!!! This stuff polishes down the surface and prepares it for the next thermal material you want to use:


I leave it on for a bit, and then wipe it off, and this is my result:


Then I do it once more, and it starts to look a little more fresh. I'll leave the CPU alone for a bit now:


I've removed the screws from the CPU HSF retention plate ready for the new Zalman CNPS9500-Cu LED HSF to go in!


And if you follow the instructions carefully in Zalman's instructions - you'd use an L-type bracket to go wherever it is required to go in the HSF. Mine is the most tricky to do because it requires moving the damn thing between the figure-of-eight heatpipes and then twisting it over the notch in the middle... I had to do this because my CPU HSF retention plate has the clips vertically rather than horizontally:


A nice blob of AS5, to be honest this is a little too much (in the second time round I used a little bit less). This tricky thing with AS5 is that it comes out the tube a bit funny, and it's stickier than you'd imagine:


And here it is after going in to the CPU socket, with the ZIF (zero insertion force) lever erected. I will need to push down the ZIF lever once I'm satisfied that the CPU has falled in to place correctly - which it did:


Then I start screwing (gradually side by side):


Here you can see how the airflow is going to go through the new HSF and straight out the back of the case:


As I put the motherboard tray back in to the computer, I was so shocked by the lack of clearance getting back in - the new HSF literally misses the side of the case by a millimeter or two as it slides back in. Here's a view from the outside/behind:


And here's a view from inside:


Here's the finished product with the case completely rewired:


And here's the wind tunnel I wanted:


I'll show you the whole installing the vibration reduction kit's tomorrow, because to be honest, I'm a little tired right now. I did have some problems installing the kit (only did it on the rear fan for now), but it was quickly resolved...

I hope you all thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and hopefully you learned something from it, because I certainly did!

Thanks all.

// Edit: I forgot to mention how cool my processor is now, so I've just added a picture below. Also - as for noise reduction - I've noticed a small reduction in noise, but I haven't reduced the speed of the fan on the Zalman cooler to the silent mode yet.

As for cooling performance - my CPU temperature beats most watercooling solutions - and remember - this is the CPU temperature without having left the Arctic Silver 5 for the 200 hour set in period, this is literally an hour after putting the system back together:



So what was my temperature before this? Well, I'd idle around 35 degrees celcius, and a decrease of 7 degrees celcius is massive! Would I recommend it? Certainly.. especially when it makes my bland interior look chavvy like this:

Nice work, though I do things slightly differently (for those who want to know);

1) I unplug the PSU and leave it on. I then press the power button, flushing all the charge from the capacitors, making it much safer. I then turn the PSU off and get a bit of random wire. I celotape this wire to the case and an exposed part of a nearby radiator (these are great for grounding). Make sure the wire is stripped at the contact points.

2) I leave the processor in when I clean it. I put a lint free cloth (this means no bits will come off) over my finger and press it to the top of the bottle. I then quickly invert the bottle and the narrow aparature on the bottle (it's got a cover thing on it) means I get a small amount on it. I then rub it on the CPU to remove it. The fact that it's all soacked into the cloth means it doesn't get on the circuitry. I leave it to dry for a while. NOTE: I have a different TIM cleaner - an old Akasa TIMClean solution that smells like lemons.

3) When appliying the TIM (Arctic Silver 5 here aswell), I put a small blob on the base of the HSF and on the CPU's heatspreader. I then take a credtit card and drag it accross the TIM until it is nicely spread out. This leaves a very thin layer of TIM over all the surface. I do this because the point of TIM is to fill any gaps, and if it is pushed into them all with an even surface before sealing, there will be absolutely no gaps. Just putting a blob on runs the risk of getting air bubbles trapped in it.

I just use an anti-static wristband, it's as safe as you can get.

If I left the processor in when I clean it there's not much room for maneuvering, and the lighting is not good enough either. Also, if anything runs off the surface of the CPU, I can easily clean it up without running the risk of short circuiting.

Also, I'd *never* smear the TIM, since I'd run the risk of slightly scratching the surface of either the CPU/HSF. I have been told not to do this by many and various sources. So regardless of it being shown in almost all of Zalman's instructions - DON'T DO IT!

iv found if u dont spread it it will always leave a gap around the edge making it less efficent cooling

Arctic Cooling site says differently. Only a tiny splodge is needed in the center.

//Edit: If you removed the CPU's heatspreader, you'd see that the CPU is very small in comparison to the size of the heatspreader. About the equivalent size of 1.5 grains of rice is required for an A64 CPU, this should just about spread to the end, but it's not important.

Most people into this sort of stuff do it the way I said, as it results in the best finish.

Blob in the middle, good amount of pressure; perfect spread.

Currently the temperature monitor is reporting 25.5C, but earlier it was saying 21.5C. Bearing in mind, this is probably when Cool 'n' Quiet kicks in, Vcore lowers, Multiplier goes down to 5x. Makes me run at just under 1GHz.

But even with these 'green' features enabled previously, I used to run quite a bit hotter! I see quite a bit of overclocking potential.

I disabled Coll 'n' quiet, I think. I don't like it going slow.

I think it's a brilliant idea. When I'm only doing something like using notepad, talking on Messenger, or browsing the Internet, it doesn't need as much power. You would never be able to tell it's going any slower, because as soon as the demand is there, it automatically adjusts.. having BF2 on makes it go to 100% without compromise for example.

OK, so on to installing the vibration dampening kits, and replacing my top fan. This is a simple one and you should all know how to do this...

The first fan to install the vibration dampeners on to will be the rear fan.. sadly this is the only fan I have installed it with yet, so stay tuned for the rest:

So I start by taking the fan grill off the back of the case, and removing the fan from the inside:


The first thing I grab is the silicon fan mount, which looks like this:


I put it around the fan like this:


This is how much it sticks out, and how much it covers the fan:


Bugger, it doesn't fit... the shape on the back of my case is pushing it up too high.. I'd have a real job trying to push self tappers through there!


Good thing the kit comes with silicon washers in replacement for the bracket, for 'pain in the ass' fan holes like mine, I need to put the silicon washers between whatever is moving and the case, so I put the fan grill back on the outside of the case, push the self tappers through it, and put the washers all the way down them, like so:


All I had to do then was put the fan back in line with the screws and start screwing! Simple stuff. Not really noticed any reduction in noise though.

The biggest reduction in noise came from replacing the fat <I AM INSULTING PEOPLE> in the top of my case... I start unscrewing the fan mount:


Here is a fan mount with a loud fan in it!


This is a <I AM INSULTING PEOPLE>, it is also what I'm donating to the Danjay:


This is more friendly.. I simply mounted it back in the fan bracket and screwed the bracket back in!


Hope you all enjoyed reading again.

Another great comprehensive guide. Keep up the great work Aaron.

I forgot to mention how I somehow managed to destroy my card reader during this process... When I connect the card reader USB controller in to the motherboard, it doesn't want to know - I get absolutely no power to anything, the red LED on the motherboard just cuts out. Keeping in mind this is just a data cable; not a power cable.

I'm not too fussed about it since it only cost me about ?10 at the time, but since I've put my new HSF in I've had to copy across all my pictures via a USB cable, which is a real pain in teh arze.

I hate it when components just give up the ghost without reason.

I did lose a rivet from my case also when trying to put the top fan mount back in, I was giving the screws some real force because 2 of them are almost blunt (they arrived like that unfortunately) ... Anyway it's no big deal, I don't think I'll be doing too many more modifications to my system.

My line manager reads this thread.

LOL, who would that be, or aren't they subscribed?