Tuniq Tower 120 vs Zalman 9700?

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reactin6

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Jul 16, 2004
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which one of these should i get for my E6600?

assuming I have a hot ambient inside the case =/ (no A/C to help me cooling everything up) anyway I got 4 high rpm case fans to cool things up.

the tuniq is about 65$ and zalmans 60$
 
I've got the Zalman 9700 on a QX6700 overclocked to 3.4 GHz, I haven't seen the temp rise above 43C. That's my recommendation, but me not having a Tuniq Tower 120 before I'm kind of biased.

Regards,
Howard
 
Tuniq a little better overall based on all the comparative reviews I have seen - and a little quieter as well. I'm using it with a modestly oc 6800 with 2X7950's and am more than pleased with cooling and noise levels. No experience with the Zalman I am certain you can find a better price than $65 - should be around $55 - although the main issue is finding one in stock when you are ready to buy.
 
which one of these should i get for my E6600?
the tuniq is about 65$ and zalmans 60$
Click to expand...
I'm using both coolers for my 2 different builds with C2D. My experience with both coolers is the Tuniq Tower 120 is more difficult for me to install than the Zalman 9700. Both require to remove the motherboard from the case to install a special back plate underneath the mobo. I have a little bit problem with tightening the 4 screws for the tower because you have to hand tight the screws from the side instead from above. That's may be the reason why I don't get a good cooling with the tower. My temps are around 41C in idle and 58C under load for both builds where I expect lower temps for the tower.
 
I don't have direct experience with either of these, but I do have a Zaqlman 9500 which keeps my OC'd FX60 at abput 50c max. The 9700 is supposed to provide about 2c more cooling, not good enough for me to change, but if I was buying new, then a reson to buy that instead.

The Tuniq tower is supposed to cool a bit better then the 9700, but has a problem with physical size and weight, so its neccesary to measure your case to make sure it will fit. Various people have said the Tuniq Tower is cheaper, but your reported price is the opposite of that. For myself, I'm planning on trying the tower on my next build around June. At that time, I'll find out if its all that its made up to be and either bless it or curse it.
 
I no experience with the Zalman 9700, but I did have the Tuniq Tower. It's probably a really nice cooling solution, but when they manuctured the screws that you have to tighten, they manufactured them in two pieces. So when I tightened the screws, the heads popped off the screws rendering the cooler useless. I'll probably go with the Zalman--once bitten, twice shy.
 
If the screws are two piece, you could try a computer shop and buy one piece screws. But the tower should have good screws in the first place. No reason for them to be cheap when it comes to some screws.
 
Should have is the key word there. I couldn't believe they just came apart like that. Three of them busted. I suppose I could go to the store and get some more, but dang...
 
One nice thing is that as you do more builds, you have a lot of spare parts sitting aroung. That's what happened to me, so if one screw doesn't work or is missing, I have a bunch of spares to pick through, along with other spare parts. You're right, but dang, why couldn't they have spent the 5 cents extra and put good screws in the first time.
 
One nice thing is that as you do more builds, you have a lot of spare parts sitting aroung. That's what happened to me, so if one screw doesn't work or is missing, I have a bunch of spares to pick through, along with other spare
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Sailer, those 4 screws are special screws. I don't think you'd have these screws as spare parts lying around from your previous builds. I've done a lot of builds myself, but never have seen these special screws before. But wait, this bring me to another idea. Remember those "tool-free" screws that are used to seal the left and right side doors in modern cases? Those screws can be tightened by hand w/o any other tools. I'm wondering if we can use those screws as replacement for the tower 120 in case one of the 4 screws breaks his head of just like PongRules describes?

But the tower should have good screws in the first place. No reason for them to be cheap when it comes to some screws.
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BTW, the 4 screws from Tower 120 don't feel like cheap screws at all. They look fairly heavy to me. But still, I'd prefer they would use a better construct to ease the screw tightening job a bit. With the current construct, it's difficult to know when it is enough tight, because if you keep tighten the screw, it may break the head off; if you tight it enough, you'll get high temp. That the problem with the tower, or it's just me don't know how to install the tower, perhaps. :?
 
Yeah, I thought I'd hand tighten them until I couldn't turn them anymore. I, too, was afraid of not tightening them enough and maybe I ended up tightening them too much. But still, a single piece screw would be a much better choice than the head being machined seperately.
 
Tuniq Tower 120 is better than the 9700 based on several reviews. Check out at FrostyTech.com for the reviews. Don't get me wrong the 9700 is a great cooler and looks really nice, probably the best looking cooler. The Tuniq Tower 120 on the other is the best cpu heatsink/fan right now.
 
Without question, they are indeed. Shame about using cheap screws. It's like looking at a woman with a smokin' body, but unfortunately she has a butterface.
 
I_love_tacos will be along shortly, proclaiming victory for the Tuniq Tower. There was a MASSIVE thread about this a month or so ago. I will pre-empt his visit and say that yes, the Tuniq Tower 120 does offer slightly better cooling if you have the skills/space to fit it.
 
Hi Rob,
actually four instances of 95 got me up to 39 or 40. The highest temp I got when I was running Oblivion at max resolution and immediately checked out the temps using the Nvidia Monitor software.

Two caveats, I should mention it's winter and cold in my room plus, I'm using Nvidia monitor which is I have heard not always accurate.

Third caveat I have all my fans on med or high in my Antec 900. Hope this helps.

EDIT: no only ran 95 for an hour, figured it was stable and cool enough.

High Regards,
Howard
 
Whoa! I'd never seen one installed before, but I'm not sure if massive covers it. With my messed up fingers, I'm not sure if I could manage to get all the motherboard screws in or not, much less work on anything else in there. That is one big monster. 8O
 
Whoa! I'd never seen one installed before, but I'm not sure if massive covers it. With my messed up fingers, I'm not sure if I could manage to get all the motherboard screws in or not, much less work on anything else in there. That is one big monster. 8O
Click to expand...

I guess that's why Tuniq tower wins most benches 😛

Tacos will be here anytime, I'm taking bets.
 
Tuniq Tower 120 is better than the 9700 based on several reviews. Check out at FrostyTech.com for the reviews. Don't get me wrong the 9700 is a great cooler and looks really nice, probably the best looking cooler. The Tuniq Tower 120 on the other is the best cpu heatsink/fan right now.
Click to expand...

I actually haven't seen direct comparison tests between the 9700 and the TT. If someone has seen any, please post a link

By the way, I also didn't see the Tuniq on Frostytech.com
 
holy cow that thing is huge. i'm building my first rig and im planning on getting a tuniq. after seeing that, is it going to fit in my antec 900 case that i got on sale 8O??
 
with out a doubt tuniq tower is better i have both zalman 9700 and tuniq tower
temps with zalman 9700 @ 3.6 were idle 43/39/36/36 AS5 fans on high. ambient room temp 70F
temps with tuniq tower fan on LOW**** idle 37/35/3434

hope this helps

when i first installed the tuniq i wanted to throw it against the wall its a pain in the $%#%#$ to put in
 
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