Zalman VF700-AlCu

[W1zzard]

[Page=Introduction, Packaging & Installation]
Introduction

Our sample was provided by MadMoxx (http://www.mad-moxx.de). Thank you.

From the manufacturer Zalman (http://www.zalman.co.kr):

<table border="1" class="resulttable" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<th scope="row">Dimensions</th>
<td scope="row">91(L) x 126.4(W) x 30(H)mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Weight</th>
<td scope="row">180g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Base Material</th>
<td scope="row">Pure Copper & Pure Aluminum</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Bearing Type</th>
<td scope="row">2-Ball</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Speed</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">1,350 ~ 2,650rpm ± 10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Noise Level</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">18.5 ~ 28.5dB ± 10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Compatible with </th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">All cards that have mounting holes:
ATI Radeon 9.... Series, ATI Radeon X... Series<br />
NVIDIA Geforce4 MX Series,NVIDIA Geforce FX 5200,NVIDIA Geforce FX 5500,NVIDIA Geforce FX 5600(FX 5700),NVIDIA Geforce4 Ti 4... Series,
NVIDIA Geforce FX 5700(Ultra) Series, NVIDIA Geforce FX 5800 Series, NVIDIA Geforce FX 5900 Series, NVIDIA Geforce FX 5950 Series,
NVIDIA Geforce 6600 Series, NVIDIA Geforce 6800 LE Series, NVIDIA Geforce 6800 Series, NVIDIA Geforce 6800 GT Series, NVIDIA Geforce 6800 Ultra Series
NVIDIA Geforce 6800 Ultra</td>
</tr>
</table>

Packaging

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/package1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/package1.jpg)

Box contents:

Front Heatsink Assembly
Eight VGA Ramsinks
Brace Plate
Instruction Manual
One bag of assembly parts: Two Nipples (A), Two Nipples (B), Four Bolts (A), Four Bolts (B), Six rubber Rings
Thermal Paste
Zalman Sticker
Fan power connector


http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/package2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/package2.jpg)

The contact surface of the cooler clearly shows how the cooler is built. The fins of the central part are made of copper, the outer fins are made from aluminium. This mixed metal approach helps save cost and weight, while still maximizing cooling performance. Zalman also offers the VF700-Cu which uses full-copper instead of the aluminium fins, but at a higher price. A review of the VF700-Cu will follow soon.

The base finish is very flat and reflective. The 'knife test' shows only little light shining through.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/flatness1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/flatness1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/flatness2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/flatness2.jpg)

Installation

The installation process is very easy now, compared to previous products. Looks like Zalman has listened to the complaints. There are still very similar looking components which are easy to confuse. However, if you read the manual before starting the assembly, and make sure you understand exactly where all parts are going, you should be fine.

The manual could be improved a bit. Even though I suspected that you have to put a rubber washer between screw and PCB on each side, it took me a few minutes of looking to verify this from the images in the installation guide. [Matt sent word that his manual specifically says that the rubber washer needed to be on both sides of the PCB.]

The cooler uses no heatpipes which means it can be running in any possible up/down configuration. The only important thing is that hot air can somehow get away from the cooler, preferably through a case exhaust on the backside.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/installation1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/installation1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/installation2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/installation2.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/installation3_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/installation3.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/installation4_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/installation4.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/installation5_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/installation5.jpg)

The included ramsinks are rather small, there is still plenty space left under the cooler. On the backside there is even more space, so I wonder why Zalman chose to use such small ramsinks. A reason is probably cost, since the same ramsinks are already sold with the ZM-80D.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/ramsinks_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/ramsinks.jpg)

[PAGE=Performance, Value & Conclusion]
Performance

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/contact1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/contact1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/contact2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/contact2.jpg)

After the initial installation, I removed the heatsink to inspect the contact area. I was impressed to see that the thermal compound was almost completely squeezed away. The ATI logo on the core is very clearly visible. This is the best contact of all GPU coolers tested so far and probably contributes a good amount to the cooler's performance.

Getting the cooler off the core required a good amount of force because of the suction power. That is also the reason for the smear of thermal paste on the bottom left of the cooler base.

[hr]

For the overclocking tests I used my ATITool overclocking utility version 0.0.23. ATITool has the unique ability to detect artifacts, or flaws, in a rendered image. As defined by ATITool, the maximum stable overclock on a card is the speed at which it is able to consistently (15 minutes in this test) produce no errors, or artifacts. ATITool detects ANY artifacts, even ones which will not be visible in game. Using the human eye to detect artifacts introduces subjectivity into the test, so despite the fact that an ATITool tested overclock will be characteristically lower than a human one, I will use this.

Thermal testing was done on a Radeon X800 XT. Temperature data was obtained by reading from the internal thermal diode of the R420 GPU chip. Idle temperature was measured after letting Windows sit one hour at the desktop. Load temperature was measured after running ATITool scanning for 30 minutes. Both at the card's default clocks of 500 Mhz core and 500 Mhz memory.

Arctic Silver Lumière was used as thermal interface material for the GPU core in all installations. Lumière is a specially engineered testing compound - it needs no settle in time to reach its maximum performance, but it's not designed for permanent use.

A 7V setting is possible by connecting the fan connector's black wire to the PSU's 5V output, and the fan connector's red wire to the PSU's 12V output (12V - 5V = 7 V).

The dynamic fan setting of the card changes fan speeds from 33% (idle) up to 100% (load). The stock cooler was also tested with forced 100% fan speed for better comparison.

<table class="resulttable" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Radeon X800 XT</th>
<td>Maximum Core Clock </td>
<td>Sound level </td>
<td>Temperature Load </td>
<td>Temperature Idle </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Stock cooler - dynamic fan</th>
<td>519 Mhz</td>
<td>Quiet(idle)<br />Noisy(load)</td>
<td>75°C</td>
<td>46°C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Stock cooler - fan 100%</th>
<td>519 Mhz</td>
<td>Noisy</td>
<td>75°C</td>
<td>42°C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Zalman VF700-AlCu 5V</th>
<td>519 Mhz</td>
<td>Almost inaudible</td>
<td>72°C</td>
<td>40°C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Zalman VF700-AlCu 7V</th>
<td>528 Mhz </td>
<td>Quiet</td>
<td>68°C</td>
<td>39°C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Zalman VF700-AlCu 12V</th>
<td>537 Mhz </td>
<td>Acceptable-Quiet</td>
<td>60°C</td>
<td>36°C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Watercooling (Water ~30°C)</th>
<td>546 Mhz </td>
<td>Inaudible</td>
<td>42°C</td>
<td>33°C</td>
</tr>
</table>

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/graph1.gif http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/graph2.gif http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zalman/VF700-AlCu/images/graph3.gif

Running the VF700-AlCu completely passive is not possible. When running at 5V it is very quiet, but there is not much overclocking headroom. To me, running at 7V is the best option. It is a good tradeoff between fan noise and possible overclocking.
At 12V the fan is moving a good amount of air while still not being noisy. This is because of the sound quality, it sounds more like a swoosh than like the typical fan whine.

Nothing can beat watercooling on the X800. It seems the core just loves low temperatures. It is still impressive how close to watercooling you can get with an air cooler in the $30 range. The VF700-Cu's full copper design (review coming soon) will probably get even closer.

The biggest disadvantage is that the fan is not connected to the video card's fan power connector. This means that on cards which support dynamic fan controls, like all X800s, you will not be able to use that feature and your fan will constantly run at the same speed. Also the extra cable with the bulky connector is a bit disturbing for people who like to show off their case insides.

Value and Conclusion

<table width="100%" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" id="result">
<tr><th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/dollar.gif</th>
<td>
The VF700-AlCu is selling for about $35 which is a good price for this cooler.</td>
</tr><tr>
<th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/thumbup.gif</th>
<td>
Great compatibility
Good performance
Very easy to install
Quiet
Ramsinks included
Spare parts included
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/thumbdown.gif</th>
<td>
No 7V option for fan
Fan does not connect to video card fan power output
</td></tr>
<tr><th>8.7</th>
<td>The Zalman VF700-AlCu is not as pretty as the ZM-80D but it looks massive and powerful.
Its performance is good without being noisy. There were no compatibility issues. Personally I find the price tag a bit high compared to the previous generation cooler.</td></tr>
<tr><th></th><td></td></tr>
</table>

[storkman]

Thanks for the review.

Could you give some comparisons between the VF700-Alcu and the ATI Silencer 4 that you last reviewed? I always see reviews of these 2 separately, and they are both always good reviews, but I never get a relative comparison... I would be nice to see some relative graphs on heat and noise levels. And of course the VF700-Cu as well when you review it.

Actually I'm particularly curious about the difference in memory cooling.

Stork

[JALOOS]

I currently use the VF700-ALCU on an XFX 6600GT at clocks of 570/1100 (stock 500/1000).
Since I put it on the temps have dropped 8 to 10 degrees idle and 6 to 8 degrees loaded. This is with it being clocked farther than I had it with stock setup.
I have also noticed the recover back to idle temp from load is excellent and sure drops alot faster than stock.
As I have a XFX 6600 GT AGP the board layout is different and I opted to go with the lighter of the 2 models as it will be sitting closer to the outside edge of the card. In fact it hangs over the side of the card about 3 cm. The 90 gram difference might make a difference or not. Why risk it.
http://www.zalman.co.kr/images/product_img/cooler/vf700_list07.jpg
Sorry bout the pic size.
And as room had to be made for the HSI chip on the board the ram is much closer to the GPU leaving not enough clearence at base of HS to accomodate the ramsinks. Mind you the jury is still out on wheather the ramsinks help or not. Either way with the setup as is the fan is moving alot of air past the ram and keeping plenty cool I am sure.
http://www.zalman.co.kr/images/product_img/cooler/vf700_list08.jpg
All things aside it performs excellent and from what I have managed to find one of the only aftermarket HSF a person can get to fit the 6600GT AGP. Well worth it.

Here is some links to the Zalman:


Card compatible list
http://www.zalman.co.kr/product/cooler/VF700_compatiblelist_eng.html

Card incompatible list
http://www.zalman.co.kr/product/cooler/VF700_incompatiblelist_eng.html

6600GT AGP compatability
http://www.zalman.co.kr/product/cooler/VF700_6600GT_eng.html

[SPOOKYSHOGUN]

I saw a review by a gentleman who connected the fan directly to the card by modifying the connector. Smart move or no?

[SPOOKYSHOGUN]

The review I mentioned can be found here:

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/Graphics/mac_6800_ZalmanVF700.html

It's from a Mac site mind you but I don't see what the difference would be for this simple mod. What setting would the fan be running on then? 12V?

[W1zzard]

the high end cards have fan outputs which are controlled dynamically varying on gpu temperature.

one thing i would be careful about is that the big zalman fan could draw too much current for the fan output circuitry of the card. this shouldnt be an issue, just food for thought if someone wants to be absolutely safe.

[SPOOKYSHOGUN]

Thanks for the info. Is there any way to find out about the circuitry capabilities for different cards? This seems like it might be a good solution if one doesn't want to dangle any more wires on the inside of their machine. I wonder what the RPM rating would be, coming from the card?

[JALOOS]

I wonder what the RPM rating would be, coming from the card?

Only if the card supports it in the first place. Why don't you route the wire along the motherboard and plug it in one of the motherboard fan headers. You will not draw all that extra juice from your video card and will more than likely also let you monitor the rpm.

[SPOOKYSHOGUN]

Good point on running it off the motherboard. Maybe I'll give that a shot.

[DudesBoss]

i reently just got this graphics fan

1 word

AMAZING

my system is a lot quieter, seeming the x700 stock fan is noisy, so 1st its quieter and i have it running at max speed. and the overclocing. wow. i got 40 mhz more in core then the previous overclock i obtained with the stock fan. memory only overclocked by 26 mhz more, but hey every mhz counts :P

a very good graphics fan. completly recomend this to anyone in need of a fan, make sure its compatible first