One last try
In a last ditch attempt to make the CNPS7700-AlCu stumble, I threw the cooler into an old school Antec mid-tower case with a single 80mm exhaust fan. Since all my testing was done on an open test bed, I wanted to see if the closed confines of a relatively poorly-ventilated case could overwhelm the cooler's lowest fan speed setting. The CNPS7700-AlCu handled the environment like a champ, though. After more than 20 hours of crunching Folding@Home at its lowest fan speed setting, the Zalman cooler's processor temperatures matched—and were occasionally a degree lower than—AMD's stock Athlon 64 cooler.

Conclusions
The CNPS7700-AlCu is available online for a surprisingly affordable $33. Considering its compatibility with a wide range of sockets and excellent performance, that's a pretty good deal, and it's only a couple of dollars more than the 92mm fan-based CNPS7000-AlCu. To be fair, the CNPS7700-AlCu isn't much quieter than its 92mm predecessor. However, the 7700's larger fan helps it maintain lower processor temperatures, especially under load. The CNPS7700-AlCu also boasts mounting hardware for LGA775 processors, which the CNPS7000-AlCu lacks.

Size is certainly the key to the CNPS7700-AlCu's success, but the cooler's gargantuan proportions can create clearance problems for some motherboards. Fortunately, the clearance issues we encountered were minor at best, and Zalman's web site lists a wide range of boards that have no problem accommodating the monster cooler.

About the only real gripe I have with the CNPS7700-AlCu is its lack of a BTX-style four-pin power connector for LGA775 systems. All told, that's a minor issue. Still, I can't help but wish the cooler were more compatible with the temperature-driven fan speed control on LGA775 motherboards.

At the end of the day, the Zalman CNPS7700-AlCu provides excellent processor cooling with impressively low noise levels, all without the wallet-busting price normally associated with exotic silent cooling. If you crave quiet, and if your motherboard's compatible, it's hard to go wrong with the CNPS7700-AlCu.