Zalman VF900-CU Copper Dual Heatpipe any good?

[trunks512]

I was looking to buy a cooling solution for my 7800 gtx as it gets real hot when overclocked (80C) so i was looking what would be a good cooler in the market
without going water or thigns like that and I found the vf900.

does anyone know if this vga cooler is any good? does it drop temp by a lot? and is it silent?

thanks for your input

trunks

 

[Human1]

It works, but you have to have a fan on it. Good times!

 

[PhearChyld]

I have a VF900 and with my OC I am getting better temps than if I had not OCed it with the stock cooler. See OC on my sig this usually runs around 29-34C idle, max I have seen it go to was 43C.

 

[bront]

Read this.

Might help.

The answer is yes, but there are others that work better. It's still better than stock.

 

[sex_monkey]

i have also considered buying a vf900,im stuck between that and the accelero x1,on this article the vf900 comes out on top->http://www.virtual-hideout.net/reviews/Zalman_VF900/index.shtml
and yet in this roundup the accelero seems better -> http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=13&artpage=1800&articID=405
note both articles were on a 7800gt
in my opinion the vf900 would be better if you have very good airflow through your case,or maybe an exhaust near the card.you can use the vf900 on other cards also. the accelero seems quiter and cheaper,the only drawback is that it vents out hot air into your case which could raise the internal temp which would be bad if overclocking the cpu etc

 

[PhearChyld]

As Monkey was saying it is based on good airflow. I do have a 120mm fan blowing directly on the VF900.

(The pic below is before I installed the VF900 but it depicts the placement of the 120mm fan in conjunction with the VGA cooler)

The HL2 logo is just some neoprene (which is on both sides) to absorb any vibration.

The VF900 is going down in price fast but I had been waiting months for it to come out after the VF700 which cooled my 6600GT extremly well also.

 

[madshrimp]

i have also considered buying a vf900,im stuck between that and the accelero x1,on this article the vf900 comes out on top->http://www.virtual-hideout.net/reviews/Zalman_VF900/index.shtml
and yet in this roundup the accelero seems better -> http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=13&artpage=1800&articID=405
note both articles were on a 7800gt

but as you can see, the VH site does not test INSIDE a case; with high ambient temp inside a case the Accelero comes out on top. when ample fresh air is available the VF900 does very well.

 

[Arucard]

i have also considered buying a vf900,im stuck between that and the accelero x1,on this article the vf900 comes out on top->http://www.virtual-hideout.net/reviews/Zalman_VF900/index.shtml
and yet in this roundup the accelero seems better -> http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=13&artpage=1800&articID=405
note both articles were on a 7800gt

but as you can see, the VH site does not test INSIDE a case; with high ambient temp inside a case the Accelero comes out on top. when ample fresh air is available the VF900 does very well.

Unfortunately, the X1 would increase ambient temps, which would make othercomponents suffer. If you're pushing the OC on your CPU, you may have to drop it back, as the warmer case air means cooling isn't as effective.

 

[madshrimp]

Unfortunately, the X1 would increase ambient temps, which would make othercomponents suffer. If you're pushing the OC on your CPU, you may have to drop it back, as the warmer case air means cooling isn't as effective.

do you have ANY proof of that statement; I saw no CPU difference worth mentioning between the VF900 and X1.

 

[sex_monkey]

yeah i have been pondering as well,im not sure how much affect it has on a cpu at all.im going to do a comparison overclock my cpu as much as i can,and then install my x1 to see if the overclock is unstable.i can imaging the chipset would be warmer as it is closer to the gfx card. i want to know what qualifies as good airflow or how to tell if you have good airflow is my 12cm fan gunna be enough or will an exhuast fan near the gfx card help? thats something for me to try out also

 

[Arucard]

There probably wouldn't be, they bot blow their hot air into the case. The difference is between using one of these, and using a cooler that exhausts the air from the case. They might keep your GPU cooler, but at what cost to the rest of your components. There have been reports of northbridge temps rising as much as 10 degrees after getting hot air blown on them from the accelero. Same with case temps in general, ambient has increased between 2-10 degrees for some people. It's just common sense. Will your CPU cooler work better with 25 degree air blown throuh it, or 35 degree air?

That said, it's very dependent on your case, if you have something with lots of airflow, you're fine, if you have something with poor airflow, you could be in trouble.