Zalman VF900 - very disapointed...

{0}Salamander{0} · Apr 7, 2006, 05:55 PM

Hey there guys,

I bought a Zalman VF900 cooler for my X1900 as I was rather concerned about the constant high temps when under load.
This is my first Zalman product I have purchased, I had heard only good things about Zalman coolers, so felt assured that the product would be of good quality.

I have just spent the last few hours playing around with it, and running some tests.

My conclusion is that it does a poor job of cooling my card.

Comparing both fans at 100% whilst idling in Windows...

Stock 36C
Zalman 33C

Under load, I ran at 700Mhz overclock for the GPU and ran ATi tool's artifact test.
Both fans running at 100%

The stock fan kept temps at 62C
The Zalman had temps rising into the 70's and eventually corrupted and rebooted.

I tried 2 different brands of thermal paste (Cooler Master and Arctic MX-1) and the results were more or less the same, 1C cooler with the Arctic.

The only job that the Zalman does better than the stock fan is that it has a lower idling temp of 33C compared to 36C, however when under load and overclocked, the Zalman just drowns and the performance is no where.

The one thing that the Zalman has going for it is that its super super quiet, however I am going back to the stock heatsink for now, and I guess i'll just have to wear earplugs!

By the way, if anyone wants to buy the Zalman off me im open to offers (that is if you think ive been doing something wrong with the installation and you KNOW the fan to be good etc).

Cheers.

DaJMasta · Apr 7, 2006, 07:33 PM

WOAH!

I had my stock cooler dynamically controlled but moved up ~%15. It is a good cooler, but I guess noise wasn't a factor for you?

I went from 86-89 load to 60s-mid 70s with mine and am completely happy with my investment.

Sorry it didn't work out for you....

krolg · Apr 8, 2006, 04:35 AM

no way you get corruption and crashes because of too high temperatures. These cards are designed to be fine up to 85-90 C (and maybe much more) - that´s what you get with stock cooling, open case and dynamic fan. Temperatures in the 70´s with the Zalman are quite an achievment compared to stock cooling. If Arctic Cooling won´t sell the HIS ICEQ3 cooler separately somewhere in the near future, then I am getting the Zalman too.

{0}Salamander{0} · Apr 8, 2006, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krolg

no way you get corruption and crashes because of too high temperatures. These cards are designed to be fine up to 85-90 C (and maybe much more)

Not when your overclocking by 75Mhz on the core.

The temperature threshhold will be much lower if you are reaching for sky high clocks.

I reseated the Zalman twice and re-applied thermal paste twice, and had good contact on both occassions.

Besides, I would not have got lower idle temps if the cooler was seated incorrectly.

Jodiuh · Apr 8, 2006, 12:28 PM

Check hforum and ocforums. There are about 5 or 6 real world users that have gotten EXCELLENT results with the accelero.

http://www.rage3d.com/board/showpost...9&postcount=64

mobilemadness · Apr 9, 2006, 05:33 PM

Well if no-one wants the Zalman off you I'll have it!

Even if it is nackered I dont think my GF3 will mind too much!

Apr 7, 2006, 05:55 PM	#1	Advertisement (Guests Only) Login or Register to remove this ad
{0}Salamander{0} Radeon Man Returneth Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: B'ham/London - UK Posts: 2,613	Zalman VF900 - very disapointed... Hey there guys, I bought a Zalman VF900 cooler for my X1900 as I was rather concerned about the constant high temps when under load. This is my first Zalman product I have purchased, I had heard only good things about Zalman coolers, so felt assured that the product would be of good quality. I have just spent the last few hours playing around with it, and running some tests. My conclusion is that it does a poor job of cooling my card. Comparing both fans at 100% whilst idling in Windows... Stock 36C Zalman 33C Under load, I ran at 700Mhz overclock for the GPU and ran ATi tool's artifact test. Both fans running at 100% The stock fan kept temps at 62C The Zalman had temps rising into the 70's and eventually corrupted and rebooted. I tried 2 different brands of thermal paste (Cooler Master and Arctic MX-1) and the results were more or less the same, 1C cooler with the Arctic. The only job that the Zalman does better than the stock fan is that it has a lower idling temp of 33C compared to 36C, however when under load and overclocked, the Zalman just drowns and the performance is no where. The one thing that the Zalman has going for it is that its super super quiet, however I am going back to the stock heatsink for now, and I guess i'll just have to wear earplugs! By the way, if anyone wants to buy the Zalman off me im open to offers (that is if you think ive been doing something wrong with the installation and you KNOW the fan to be good etc). Cheers. __________________ Why doesn't batman dance anymore?

{0}Salamander{0}'s System Specs
Motherboard	Asus P6T Deluxe V2
CPU	Intel i7 920 D0 stepping
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Memory	6GB Corsair XMS3 DDR1600 CL7
Display	HP 2207
Hard-Drives	1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1
Optical Drives	Pioneer DVD-RW
Power Supply	Thermaltake 750W
Case	Antec P160
Operating System	Windows 7 Pro - 64bit

Apr 7, 2006, 07:33 PM	#2
DaJMasta Baffoonist Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 7,743	WOAH! I had my stock cooler dynamically controlled but moved up ~%15. It is a good cooler, but I guess noise wasn't a factor for you? I went from 86-89 load to 60s-mid 70s with mine and am completely happy with my investment. Sorry it didn't work out for you.... __________________ Desktop: Intel Core i7 860 : 8GB Corsair DDR3 1600 : Sapphire HD5750 1GB : Gigabyte P55M-UD4 : Asus Xonar DX : Intel X25-M 80GB and 500GB 7200.11 SATAII hard drives : Corsair 400W PSU : Samsung T240 24" Monitor : Windows 7 Pro x64 Laptop: Asus Eee PC 900HA : 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 : 2GB DDR2 800 : GMA 950 Integrated : Intel 945GSE Chipset : 160GB Seagate Momentus 5400.4 hard drive : 36W Power brick and battery : ALC262 Integrated Sound : 8.9" LCD : Windows XP Home Lil' Red: Intel Pentium Dual Core e5200 : 4GB SLI Ready OCZ DDR2 800 : GeForce 9300m Integrated + various low end discrete cards: Zotac 9300-ITX Wifi Motherboard : 100GB Hitachi 7200rpm SATA laptop hard drive : 80W power brick and picoPSU150 XT : Integrated HD Audio : Windows 7 Pro http://www.medpants.com/

Apr 8, 2006, 04:35 AM	#3
krolg Radeon HD 5750 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Czech Republic Posts: 189	no way you get corruption and crashes because of too high temperatures. These cards are designed to be fine up to 85-90 C (and maybe much more) - that´s what you get with stock cooling, open case and dynamic fan. Temperatures in the 70´s with the Zalman are quite an achievment compared to stock cooling. If Arctic Cooling won´t sell the HIS ICEQ3 cooler separately somewhere in the near future, then I am getting the Zalman too. __________________ System: Asus P5B Deluxe E6400@3480 MHz Noctua NH-U12 with Scythe 800rpm fan 2048MB Corsair DDR2 800 CL4 Sapphire X1800GTO2 @ 700/800 Creative X-FI Enermax 620W power supply

{0}Salamander{0}'s System Specs
Motherboard	Asus P6T Deluxe V2
CPU	Intel i7 920 D0 stepping
Graphics	Sapphire 5870 1GB
Memory	6GB Corsair XMS3 DDR1600 CL7
Display	HP 2207
Hard-Drives	1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1
Optical Drives	Pioneer DVD-RW
Power Supply	Thermaltake 750W
Case	Antec P160
Operating System	Windows 7 Pro - 64bit

Apr 8, 2006, 12:28 PM	#5
Jodiuh Radeon HD 5670 Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 79	Check hforum and ocforums. There are about 5 or 6 real world users that have gotten EXCELLENT results with the accelero. http://www.rage3d.com/board/showpost...9&postcount=64 __________________ DFI Expert . Opteron 165 . Zalman 9500 . 2 x 1GB Patriot PC3200 CL2 CM Stacker 810 w/ Window . 4 x Silverstone 1200rpm . OCZ Powerstream 520 SLI X1900XT . Viewsonic VA2012wb . WD 150GB Raptor . 2 x Hitachi 250GB . 2 x BenQ 1655 DVDRW X-Fi Xtrememusic . M-Audio Studio Pro 4 . Sennheiser HD580 . Logitech Ultra X . Logitech MX518 . Razer Exactmat

Apr 9, 2006, 05:33 PM	#6
mobilemadness I am pepe the king prawn! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: York, UK Posts: 457	Well if no-one wants the Zalman off you I'll have it! Even if it is nackered I dont think my GF3 will mind too much! __________________ LAPTOP Dell Studio 15 : Core 2 Duo T5750 (Merom) : 4GB DDR2-667 : Radeon HD3450 256MB : 320GB 5400rpm : 15.4" WXGA 1280x800 : Blu-Ray LAPTOP (DEAD) Mobile Athlon 64 4000+ (Newark) : Via K8T890 : 1024MB DDR333 : Mobility Radeon X700 128MB : 100GB 4200rpm Fujitsu : 15.4" WXGA 1280x800 : 5601 3DMark2003 DESKTOP (DEAD) Althlon XP 2500+@3200+ (Barton) : Abit NF7-S2G : 1024MB Geil DDR400 : GF3@240/540 : SAMSUNG SpinPoint P 160GB SATA : TT Tsunami Dream : TT Butterfly 480w PSU : 1281 3DMark2003

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