ZALMAN VF900CU

[DasFox]

My GameRig listed in my sig is running two Evga 7900GT KO Superclocks. Now cooling has never been an issue since I use a small vornado blowing into the case to cool it.

http://www.vornado.com/products/circulators/530s.htm

But the fans on these Evga cards do tend to get a bit noisy when spinning up, and I wanted to know, does the ZALMAN VF900CU vga cooler really cool better then the stock heatsink fan, that comes with these Evga cards?

I think at this point in time quiet is more what I'm after, but if it does a great job at cooling, as well as my little Vornado blowing into the case, then I won't need this desktop fan anymore.

Also is that Fan Mate really worth using? Personally I'd rather just leave the fans running at one constant speed, to me, one less thing to worry about.

Zalman has this to say on their site about the cooler;

"The use of an exhaust fan positioned on the rear side of the case is recommended for enhancement of product performance."

Oh well since there are no fans on the case near the cards, I guess I won't be tossing out that Vornado anytime soon, might as well keep to vent some of the heat out too.

ALOHA

 

[a123456]

I don't have an answer for you, but I'm also interested in the VF900 for my X1950 Pro. It seems like it would be quieter and might be cooler, judging from the reviews. The card is currently getting a little hot for my tastes, but

1) Does the VF900 even work with a X1950 Pro?
2) I don't have the best case circulation, so will it help that much or just heat up the case. 2 CPU fans, 1 memory fan, 1 side case fan, no front fan, and no slot PCI cooler.
3) Will installing one void the warranty from ASUS?

I probably also have to figure out if I have a motherboard connector for it since I don't feel like searching around for a PSU converter.

 

[G Gewen]

Hey guys...1st post for me. I bought a Geforce 7900GS about 2 months ago. The idle temps were around 45c and 52-54c during heavy game play. When I ran 3DMark06 I would get some slight artifacting towards the end of the final test. I figured that maybe the ram chips on the video card were getting too hot since there was not kind of heat sink on them at all. So I purchased a Zalman VF900 and everything has been great since. Idle temps are now 36-37c and 45-47c with load. I had no problems with the install...very simple and straight forward. Just be sure to clean the GPU and ram chips off real good with alcohol before applying the heatsinks and cooler. I do believe this product is worth every penny.

As far as the fanmate controller...I don't use it. I just set it to maximum and leave it alone. Even at maximum the sound is not too loud. I do believe you can install the cooler without the fanmate attached at all.

to a123456
1) it will work on ATI X1900 Series cards per Zalman's site
2) don't know why it would heat up your case anymore than the stock video cooler
3) I do believe your warranty would be void if installing a different cooler. I think EVGA allows other coolers to be installed, as well as overclocking, without voiding the warranty but I could be wrong

 

[liquid51]

I second that ^^

The vf900 cools way better than the stock hsf. I vmodded my 7900gt (see sig) and idle temps are around 38 (10 lower than stock hsf and stock voltage) and load peaks at 60 (thats at 1.55v on the gpu vs 1.2 stock while running rthdrble and atitool).

This cooler is definately worth it and I am even contempleting it for my 7900gto's. Whether or not one of the other available aftermarket coolers is comparable (or better maybe?), I don't know. But I can vouch for the vf900.

 

[aznrice54]

Originally posted by: liquid51
This cooler is definately worth it and I am even contempleting it for my 7900gto's. Whether or not one of the other available aftermarket coolers is comparable (or better maybe?), I don't know. But I can vouch for the vf900.

The stock 7900GTO/GTX cooler is one of the best stock coolers out there. It performs very well and is extremely quiet. Don't bother getting VF900s for them unless you don't like the bulkiness of the stock coolers, because they are already more than adequate. However the VF900 is a very good heatsink for something like a 7900GT.

 

[DasFox]

WoOt G Gewen FIRST POST! ------> 2250 for me, LOL

Well here's my card the 7900GT KO Superclock

http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=256-P2-N567-AX&family=22

ALOHA

 

[liquid51]

Well, my 7900gto's idle and load several degrees higher (almost 10) than my 1.55v 7900gt with the vf900, and thats in the same case with the exact same airflow. The 7900gto gpu ships at 1.4v too.

So, while I have heard great things about the stock cooler, I'm not completely sold yet. Notice, not COMPLETELY sold . I still might keep them, but I need to do a bit more research on how they'll handle a vmod.

oh, and DasFox, go get those vf900's right now!

 

[SpeedZealot369]

Yes, it will cool your card a lot better, probably lower temps by 9-10c's average.

-SZ

 

[Waylay00]

I personally don't think that aftermarket coolers are worth it, UNLESS you are doing some major overclocking.

 

[DasFox]

Originally posted by: Waylay00
I personally don't think that aftermarket coolers are worth it, UNLESS you are doing some major overclocking.

You're not 100% correct, "UNLESS" should of included a "QUIETER" solution too.

I'm going more for the silence. As I mentioned before here is my cooler;

----> http://www.vornado.com/products/circulators/530s.htm

ALOHA

 

[liquid51]

Das, I use one of those in my bedroom; primarily for ambient noise so i can sleep. Yeah, you need a quieter cooler

 

[BernardP]

All your questions and more are answered in this

Full Review of the VF900-Cu on XBit Labs

 

[Skyguy]

I have both the Zalman VF700 and VF900, and also a 7900GTO.

I'm very impressed with both Zalman fans, the 700 blows air across the mem chips better IMHO. Both are great and both are silent.

I'm also impressed with the stock GTO (GTX) HSF. Silent as well. So I'm debating whether I should bother putting one of the Zalman's on it.....doesn't seem like it's worth the hassle to be honest.

However, if you own a 7600GT, 7900GT, X19xxXT(X) series card, then the Zalmans are a necessity in my opinion. I used to own an X1900XT and that stock HSF sounded like a frickin leaf blower when it rev'd up......BRUTAL.

Either way, can't go wrong with the VF700 or 900....though the 900 is overpriced I think

 

[a123456]

I think I need better case circulation. I opened my case and the GPU temps dropped 10C.

 

[Nocturnal]

I have it on my 6800GT and prior to installing it my temps hovered around 60-70 sometimes this was idle. It would obviously go higher under stress. After installing the Zalman it idles at around 50-52. Never goes higher unless it's under stress.

I just thought I'd add that I have an Antec P160 with no side panel, 1x120x38mm fan that blows at a constant 2700RPM, and an intake fan, 120x25 that sucks in at 3100RPM. I have the Zalman fan blowing at its full speed.

 

[soydios]

I have the VF900-Cu on my ATi Radeon X1900XT. I would say that it doesn't cool any better than the stock heatsink/leafblower, but it does so while being my quieter (running at 12V, it's quieter than my rubber-isolated Seagate hard drives when they seek). The stock ATi dual-slot cooler is exceptionally good in terms of raw performance, but it is *very* loud at maximum fan speed. Both cards cool the RAM nicely: the stock cooler directly connects the RAM with the main heatsink, while the VF900 blows a significant amount of air straight down over the RAM heatsinks (provided you attach them, which you should; a tip, put the RAM heatsinks on before mounting the VF900 itself, and don't worry about clearance, if Zalman says it'll fit, it means they've tested and confirmed that it will).

Numbers:
VF900-Cu on X1900XT stock idle: 40 Celsius
VF900-Cu on X1900XT stock full load: 60 Celsius (this is the entire system under full load, so the air hitting the fins is also noticeably warmer)

I run my VF900 at 12V fan speed (you could run it at 7V with an nVidia card, or 5V with nVidia card and very good case airflow). I have only two 120mm fans for cooling my system, one intake in front of the hard drives at the bottom-front of the case, and one output at the back of the case behind the processor, below the powersupply, and above the graphics card. So, the VF900 heatsink is in a dead spot of airflow in the case, and it does a pretty decent job, IMHO.

 

[Captante]

I recently tried a VF900-Cu on my X1900XTX & although it was very quiet, it simpy wasn't able to cool the core suffiently under load (oc'ed to 690/800) & I started getting frequent VPU-recover induced resets in FEAR & Oblivion after maybe a half-hour of gaming. Core temps under load were topping 90c with the Zalman fan running at 100% in a full tower Lian Li case with a 120mm fan blowing air over the card, while with the stock cooler they peaked at 78c with the fan fixed at 85%, needles to say I swapped back.

However for a 6800GT/7900GT or similar card which doesn't generate the same kind of blistering heat, the VF900 is a great choice & should do a much better job cooling the card then the stock HS/fan.

 

[thestain]

The New Thermalright HR-03 cools better and is quieter.

That is how I plan to cool my future beast.

 

[Cenarius]

Originally posted by: Captante
I recently tried a VF900-Cu on my X1900XTX & although it was very quiet, it simpy wasn't able to cool the core suffiently under load (oc'ed to 690/800) & I started getting frequent VPU-recover induced resets in FEAR & Oblivion after maybe a half-hour of gaming. Core temps under load were topping 90c with the Zalman fan running at 100% in a full tower Lian Li case with a 120mm fan blowing air over the card, while with the stock cooler they peaked at 78c with the fan fixed at 85%, needles to say I swapped back.

Is it possible your choice and application of thermal compound was not optimal?

 

[eljaye925]

I have one on my 7900GT. GPU Volt-modded to 1.4 runnning at GTX speeds (gpu & mem). Completely stable

 

[DasFox]

Originally posted by: thestain
The New Thermalright HR-03 cools better and is quieter.

That is how I plan to cool my future beast.

Thanks for the info, I'd like to see some FACTS, that back this claim up.

http://www.thermalright.com/a_page/main_product_hr03.htm
http://www.thermalright.com/a_news/main_news_hr03.htm

As a passive cooler Thermalright even had this to say on their site:

GPU from ATI and Nvidia. In our own test lab, we ran the HR-03 passively without a fan on a Nvidia 7950GT against the stock cooler and it performed shoulder to shoulder with stock cooling.

That certainly looks like when used as a passive solution it's going to be similar to stock, but with a fan better. Now running SLI adding in that fan seems like it's going to be one tough squeeze, then again I'm not sure what a 9cm fan looks like either.

ALOHA

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: sum1

Originally posted by: Captante
I recently tried a VF900-Cu on my X1900XTX & although it was very quiet, it simpy wasn't able to cool the core suffiently under load (oc'ed to 690/800) & I started getting frequent VPU-recover induced resets in FEAR & Oblivion after maybe a half-hour of gaming. Core temps under load were topping 90c with the Zalman fan running at 100% in a full tower Lian Li case with a 120mm fan blowing air over the card, while with the stock cooler they peaked at 78c with the fan fixed at 85%, needles to say I swapped back.

Is it possible your choice and application of thermal compound was not optimal?

Nope... AS Ceramique applied properly, the HS was tightly mounted to the card & making solid contact with the core... I think the problem is that theres just not enough mass to the HS to handle the amount of heat this card generates... compared to the the stock HS its light as a feather.

I also tried lowering clockspeeds back to default & the lockups/resets pretty much stopped, but it was still running a lot hotter then with the stock cooler.

 

[DasFox]

So the VF900-Cu on a X1900XTX should cool it better then the stock heat sink fan?

ALOHA

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: DasFox
So the VF900-Cu on a X1900XTX should cool it better then the stock heat sink fan?

ALOHA

Some people have gotten better results then I did, but I had lots of problems with mine ... it was barely able to handle the card at default clockspeeds & overclocked to 690/800mhz I was getting frequent lockups due to overheating while the stock cooler had no trouble with the fan fixed at 85%.

 

[DasFox]

Hmm I wonder if the fan wasn't spinning as fast as it should.

ALOHA