Zalman 9500 heatsink on ASUS P5Kx

[adrianxw]

I was just about to order a Zalman CNPS9500AT heatsink when it struck me that the heatpipes on the ASUS P5Kx series MoBo's run pretty close to the CPU. I was wondering if they would prevent the heatsink from mounting correctly. Has anyone fitted such a heatsink to such a MoBo?

 

[Aragorn]

Think this thread needs a bump.

 

[wstcoaster07]

Any reason you chose a zalman 9500 over the ninja or tuniq 120??

 

[adrianxw]

I have always used stock Intel heatsinks until now. I do not overclock, but do run my CPU's at 100% load 24/7 (BOINC) and reckoned my new Q6600 would be happier with a better heatsink. After a few hours browsing various sources the Zalman 9500 seemed to be a good choice, it looked like it would fit in my case, (although the heat pipes on the MoBo bother me - hence this thread), it was reasonably priced and available from several online retailers in Denmark.

I have never heard of the others you mention. If they are bigger, then there may be space issues, and probably the same question I asked at the top. I had already ruled out a Zalman 8700 because the clearances required were not achievable in my case, the fins would impinge on the PSU.

Edit...

I just saw a review of the tuniq model and indeed, it looks to be a better heatsink, but it also looks a lot larger and is much heavier.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/tuniq-tower120.html

 

[adrianxw]

The answer to the original question in the thread is "yes". You can fit a Zalman 9500 to a ASUS P5Kx MoBo, I did it this afternoon.

If the MoBo comes with an Intel 775 cooler support, you can remove it. The Zalman comes with it's own back and front plate which you bolt to the board, (easy but...).

Be careful! You need to align the CPU side component such that the lever that opens the CPU socket has the little "nick" in the corner of the top side of the Zalman bracket available. The install instructions are real vague there, but if you look at the thing, it is readily apparent which way you should mount the top plate. You need to open the lever into the cutout nick. In my case, the "helpful" arrow which I took to indicate the airflow direction, was 180 degrees wrong. The install instructions that come with the unit refer you to an item 14 in the diagrams, which while it exists, is of no help whatsoever.

The heatsink is large, and needs all of the 56mm it quotes North/South of the processor socket. Not an issue on the P5Kx with a regular PSU. I installed it under my somewhat tighter tolerance Tayan PSU and there was enough still 5mm clearance.

The screws for pulling down the cooler onto the die are not large and are tightened with a supplied Allen Key. I advise clamping the screw nearest the back first as you need to be bending the retention clip in order to get the "second" screw to bite - it is easier if that is the front one, there is more space to operate, but watch out for the fan as it gets in the way. I'd have thought there could be a better engineering solution to this, but that is what you get.

Avoid handling the copper. Your greasy fingers will ease adhesion of crud to your Copper Treasure, and will make it more difficult to blow said crud away with an air-duster.