Zalman CNPS10X Performa VS. Noctua D15

[ToBeHiFi]

Well, I was wondering if I should go a head and replace my old and trusty Zalman Performa with a Noctua D15 (or U14S), for better temperatures, but before that, let me delve into some details:

 

Setup:

- CPU: Intel 7700k, OC to 4.7GHZ, at 1.25 vcore (No AVX offset)

- MB: Gigabyte Z170X-UD3

- Cooler: Zalman CNPS10X Performa

- Paste: Zalman STG2 (Bought it in 2011 or something, but it's still holding up)

- Case: CoolerMaster HAF912 Advanced with decent airflow (2x IN fans + 2x OUT fans)

- Ambient temp: around 27c

 

Problem:

First of all, I know the 7700k is a hot potato, but I would like to have better temperatures than the ones below:

- Gaming:                          72c max.

- Asus RealBench:            80c max.

- Prime95 v26.6 8k FFT:    81c max.

- Prime95 v28.10 8k FFT:  92c max.

 

Now, based on almost all of the reviews I have found online comparing the Performa with the Noctua D14 (which is close enough to the D15 anyway) says there's like 3-4c difference between the two at max, of course noise is a different story but I don't honestly care much about that:

 

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2498&page=5

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3199/zalman_cnps10x_performa_cpu_cooler/index6.html

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/zalman-cnps10x-performa-cpu-cooler-review/6/

 

Questions:

1- Is the performance difference between the two really that small?

2- Do newer coolers like a Noctua D15/U14S perform better on new generations CPU's than old ones or it doesn't matter?

 

What's Locally Available:

- Noctua D15   + extra AM4 kit: Almost new, used once for a review --> about $85

- Noctua U14S + extra AM4 kit: Almost new, used once for a review --> about $57

 

What to Do:

A )  Nothing, temps are fine as it is.

B )  Keep the Zalman but get a better thermal compound and maybe a better fan

C )  Buy the Noctua U14S, as it's almost the same performance as the D15 with lower price

D )  Buy the Noctua D15, it's the best

E )  Delid and use any of these coolers

 

 

Any thoughts or input is very appreciated!

Thank you in advance.

 

[WereCat]

7 minutes ago, ToBeHiFi said:

 

What to Do:

A )  Nothing, temps are fine as it is.

B )  Keep the Zalman but get a better thermal compound and maybe a better fan

C )  Buy the Noctua U14S, as it's almost the same performance as the D15 with lower price

D )  Buy the Noctua D15, it's the best

E )  Delid and use any of these coolers

 

 

Either option A.)

or if you really want to play some more I would highly suggest the delid (and keep the Zalman).

[sazrocks]

Delid that puppy and replace the TIM with LM.

[LogicalDrm]

The performance might be better. Not because heatsinks are that different. But 5 years of fan development is noticeable. Just noise levels will be lower. Temps, hard to say since comparison is made with D14 which is maybe 1-2C worse than D15.

 

D15 will be better than U14S. How much, depends on how high OC you are going for. I'd say about 5C in normal situation. I get max 67C with 4770K and I know people are running same CPU with D15 at ~60C max.

[WoodenMarker]

Your temps are fine. 

If you're ever itching to replace your cooler, the NH-U14S is hard to go with since it performs well but is in a more convenient form factor than thicker towers. 

The NH-D15 is good if you plan to push high oc's.

[ToBeHiFi]

On 9/30/2017 at 7:41 AM, WereCat said:

Either option A.)

or if you really want to play some more I would highly suggest the delid (and keep the Zalman).

 

On 9/30/2017 at 8:34 AM, sazrocks said:

Delid that puppy and replace the TIM with LM.

 

On 9/30/2017 at 9:18 AM, Strike105X said:

Well as a D15 owner i can tell you its a fantastic cooler, i didn't test it against the zalman but against a hyper 212 there was no contest it outperformed it by a lot, provided it has a decent airlow available. That said i funno if you can take proper advantage of it if you don't delid.

 

On 9/30/2017 at 9:41 PM, LoGiCalDrm said:

The performance might be better. Not because heatsinks are that different. But 5 years of fan development is noticeable. Just noise levels will be lower. Temps, hard to say since comparison is made with D14 which is maybe 1-2C worse than D15.

 

D15 will be better than U14S. How much, depends on how high OC you are going for. I'd say about 5C in normal situation. I get max 67C with 4770K and I know people are running same CPU with D15 at ~60C max.

 

On 9/30/2017 at 11:58 PM, WoodenMarker said:

Your temps are fine. 

If you're ever itching to replace your cooler, the NH-U14S is hard to go with since it performs well but is in a more convenient form factor than thicker towers. 

The NH-D15 is good if you plan to push high oc's.

 

Thank you very much everyone for your input, very appreciated!

Well, based on your replies (and others for the same question on overclock.net), I believe the best approach I should take is the following steps in order:

 

1- Have better case airflow:

As all I have for intake is 1x 200mm 800 RPM Coolermaster fan in the front but it's actually near the bottom (behind it is a small 2.5" HDD cage), and 1x 120mm Coolermaster JetFlow in the side panel running at ~ 800 RPM. So there's no intake fans in the upper half of the case (to blow fresh air directly to the CPU).

 

2- Apply better heatsink TIM:

As that old Zalman STG2 compound I'm using is fairly old (since 2011 I believe), and it's not one of the best either I think. So, a couple lower degrees would also help.

 

3- Delid (If necessary)

If the above steps didn't yield the expected results, I would go ahead and delid and use CLU for the best results.

 

4- Buy the Noctua D15 (If necessary)

I highly doubt I would need it if I went with the previous steps, but if necessity arises, it wouldn't be a bad investment at all (especially with the extra AM4 bracket).

 

How's that sound?

[ToBeHiFi]

On 10/4/2017 at 4:11 AM, Strike105X said:

One thing to note is that if you decide to buy the noctua make sure your case meets the height requirements for it.

Thanks for the reminder. It's the CoolerMaster HAF 912 Advanced, and according to it's specs page, it supports CPU coolers with max. height of 175mm. so the D15 should fit nicely.