Zalman has long been a producer of quality cooling products and have had good overall success in our reviews. I took a look at their CNPS8000 early last month and was far from impressed. It was actually the first Zalman product I’ve used that left a bad taste in my mouth. It had good intentions, but simply didn’t perform well enough to be considered by anyone. Then I received the CNPS9700 LED, which I knew had to impress me more than the 8000. Why? Because it’s a larger version of the 9500LED which both Greg and I had great experiences with.

We were not the only ones who enjoyed the 9500LED however, as they sold incredibly well and received good reviews the world over. So, it only made sense to follow up with a larger version for even better cooling ability. The primary difference between the 9500 and 9700 is the size. The 9700 LED has a 110mm fan as opposed to the 9500s 92mm. Thanks to that fact, this is one large cooler, but still managed to fit inside my NZXT Apollo case without issue.