Zalman VF700led-alcu

[Vinny]

I'm thinking about getting the VF700led to replace my Silencer 5 for my X850XT. The only reason I chose the led and aluminum version was because it's the cheapest at the moment on Newegg. I don't exactly have money to spend... otherwise I'd get the copper version.

My Silencer 5 was nice... but it was huge and a pain in the ass- taking out the power cable was a b*tch (well, for my PS anyway). And after 6 months, the fan became ultra sensitive to external vibrations from my table where it rests (like when I close my drawer, close the front door panel on my case, etc.).

The Zalman looks like it'll be just as good... but I'd rather hear from some of you before I buy it.

 

[raven_87]

hmm, not sure if it would be entirely worth the money....

your call though

 

[nukemaster]

was this not posted already?

You can use a power extension cable. Then it stays on the video card and u unplug at the other end....worked for my X850. In my case it was just to make sure the fan was always plugged in, but it should work for you too

As for the AC being sensitive, why not see if you can RMA it?

 

[decripple]

I recently bought an eVGA 7600GS AGP 256MB and after only 1 minute of ATITool artifact testing it was running 73C from a idle of 43C WITH a pci fan below it exhausting air out of the case. I installed the Zalman VF700LED - ALCU with a small dab of the included heat goop plus all 8 ram sinks. I was VERY pleasantly surprised by how well it cooled it. At idle w/stock clocks: 400/350 (700 effective) it was 9C cooler idle @ 34C and an amazing 29C cooler @ 44C load after 10 minutes of ATITool artifact testing. It gave identical temperatures even with a 20% Overclock: 480/420 (840 effective). I also used ATITool to find max core and it went all the way up to an astounding 648MHz AT THE SAME LOAD TEMPS OF 44C!!!... Then my computer froze. But it stabley kept those temps at 500/840, too. Haven't had any problems yet.

Even with my positive experience, be wary and make sure you scower over reviews and try to find the biggest, best cooler possible. If I was you I would mow someone's lawn or something and pay the extra cash for a VF-900Cu which will definetly have plenty of cooling power for your card.

 

[theprod]

i have the all copper version for my 7600gt and it stays pretty cool. i bet the alcu version is tops one or two degrees hotter then the all copper.

 

[billdcat4]

was this not posted already?

You can use a power extension cable. Then it stays on the video card and u unplug at the other end....worked for my X850. In my case it was just to make sure the fan was always plugged in, but it should work for you too

As for the AC being sensitive, why not see if you can RMA it?

Arctic Cooling stuff comes with 6yr warranties. Try it

 

[patchez]

how much more is the Cu over the Al-Cu?
i'm just wondering cuz the difference here is negligible here, < $1(CAD)


i got the vf700 led cu a while back, it was quiet and performance was so-so on my 6600gt(agp). i was still able to get that card up to 600/1010

 

[ethel]

I had a VF700ALCU on an overclocked X800XL, and it worked very well.

It couldn't cope with an overclocked X1800XT though, but that's a different proposition entirely, so go for it.