For several years, Zalman has relied on its circular "flower" design to bring some very unusual — and successful — heatsinks to market. The CNPS7000 was untouchable when it was first released and is still a respectable heatsink, despite the fact that it doesn’t have heatpipes. More recently, the CNPS9500 has found considerable success in the high end market and is notable as much for its design elegance as its excellent performance.

The CNPS8000 marks a departure from Zalman’s traditional design. It is surprisingly conventional for a modern heatsink, with four heatpipes to transfer heat from a copper base to a bed of aluminum fins and a proprietary fan to provide airflow.

The motivating force behind the CNPS8000 seems to have been size; Zalman lists compatibility with "Slim and Low Profile" computers as the first feature. However, it’s a little unclear why Zalman needed to produce such a heatsink. At 62mm, it is no shorter than the CNPS7000 — a design that has already proven itself for Zalman and is available for about US$20. The CNPS8000 will need to provide significantly better performance than its predecessor if it is to provide better value for money.