Verdict: Quiet, but not particularly effective.

The CNPS7500-CU LED is Zalman's latest CPU HSF and adopts the same open-flower shape as the CNPS7700-CU.

Unlike many modern HSFs, the CNPS7500-CU LED lies flat on top of the CPU with the fan directed downwards, which means that it also blows air over the VRMs around the processor socket. The CNPS7500-CU LED doesn't have any heatpipes, but the fins are made from copper, which has a very high thermal conductivity.

Several blue LEDs are embedded in the 110mm fan, and a Fan Mate 2 fan controller is provided too, which can adjust the speed of the fan from between 1,150rpm and 2,300rpm. At minimum speed, the fan is essentially silent, and while it's audible at high speed, it isn't unpleasant.

The CNPS7500-CU LED simply clips onto the standard mounting bracket on Socket AM2 motherboards, so it's very easy to install. Unfortunately, at minimum speed, the CPU ran so hot that it overheated and shut down. At maximum speed, however, the CPU was 7ûC cooler than it was with the AMD reference HSF. Mounting the CNPS7500-CU LED on a LGA775 CPU is a lot more involved, as you have to install the supplied retention bracket. At minimum speed, the CPU was 10ûC hotter than it was with the reference Intel HSF, and 3ûC hotter at maximum speed, which is a poor result.

Although the CNPS7500-CU LED isn't very powerful, it's much quieter than the reference HSFs. However, at £30, it's overpriced.

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