vf900cu or ACSilencer5?

[pigdos]

I've been reading some amazing reviews on the Zalman vf900cu. The great
thing about the vf900cu is that it seems to be nearly a universal cooling
solution. It can be used on everything from 9500 Pros to the x8** series to
nvidia 7900's. Anyone have any opinions as to whether a Zalman vf900cu is
better than the Arctic Cooling Silencer 5 series?

 

[First of One]

I've been reading some amazing reviews on the Zalman vf900cu.

I think this will depend on the quality of case cooling. If you happen to
have a blowhole right beside the video card, the Zalman will perform better
than the Silencer5.

A lot of review sites test products with the motherboard sitting in an open
tray. This will give better than normal results for the Zalman.

The great thing about the vf900cu is that it seems to be nearly a
universal cooling solution. It can be used on everything from 9500 Pros to
the x8** series to nvidia 7900's.

So you want to re-use the heat sink after upgrading the video card in the
future? This is indeed a benefit, if the unit lasts that long, and if the
next video card requires it. The upcoming X1950XT, for example, has an
IceQ3-style cooler as standard equipment. Today's 7900GTX cards don't seem
to require aftermarket cooling, either.

 

[pigdos]

The general idea is to use it on another video card at some point in the
future -- a definite advantage to the Vf900cu.

I have been thinking of an interesting use for my stock x850xt cooling
solution. I'm thinking of modding just the plastic/fan portion and somehow
mounting it between the vf900cu and the slot cover so that it will still be
exhausting the hot air.

 

[jdc1]

The general idea is to use it on another video card at some point in the
future -- a definite advantage to the Vf900cu.

I have been thinking of an interesting use for my stock x850xt cooling
solution. I'm thinking of modding just the plastic/fan portion and somehow
mounting it between the vf900cu and the slot cover so that it will still be
exhausting the hot air.

I'm buying a case for upgrade and I really like everything about it
except it has no side panel vent hole. I can always (and have) saw
one out on my own, but it's not as clean as factory. It's really
almost crucial to have a side panel hole blowing towards my Zalman cpu
cooler.

I have the VF900cu for my present to be replaced x800xt and I can use
that for my upcoming upgrade (Ati 1900xtx series). Versatile Zalman.

Heh, I bought an $8 little slot housed fan that you insert in a
card slot right under the x800xt. It's housing vents it out the thin
removeable aluminum plate at back. I might give that a go for kicks.

 

[pigdos]

JD, I had thought about using a slot cooler myself but aren't most of them
(if not all of 'em) exhaust fans? I'd think it would be a bad idea to have
the zalman and the slot fan intaking air from the same place right?

 

[jdc1]

JD, I had thought about using a slot cooler myself but aren't most of them
(if not all of 'em) exhaust fans? I'd think it would be a bad idea to have
the zalman and the slot fan intaking air from the same place right?

I've not even installed that cheapie little slot fan yet.
I suppose you're right tho...the vid zalman needs to blow air
down over the heatsink...and my $8 slottie would just rob it of that.

BUT....if I place that little $8 cheapie slot fan at the very bottom...
it might actually grab some of the ambient hot air and get it out.

 

[First of One]

The general idea is to use it on another video card at some point in the
future -- a definite advantage to the Vf900cu.

The trend for high-end video cards (e.g. 7900GTX and the upcoming X1950XT)
is going toward larger, more effective heat sinks with a slow, quiet fan, at
the OEM level. Your next video card may not require the VF900.

One point in VF900's favor: the relatively open design permits easy cleaning
with a vacuum. Opening the Silencer5's shroud looks to require complete heat
sink removal from the card, if the older VGA Silencer is any indication.

I have been thinking of an interesting use for my stock x850xt cooling
solution. I'm thinking of modding just the plastic/fan portion and somehow
mounting it between the vf900cu and the slot cover so that it will still
be exhausting the hot air.

It'll be interesting to see what you can come up with. A normal blowhole
is fairly easy to do if you have access to a drill press. Of course the cost
goes up slighly since you'll need a 120 mm / 4.75" hole saw and a case fan.

BTW, one thing about the cheapie $8 slot fans, I had a Vantec-branded unit
in the Geforce3 days. Airflow was maybe 1/4 of the claimed 42 CFM. After a
while the plastic fan cage shrunk and warped, and started rattling on the
slot bracket. IMHO those things are even worse than the stock X850 fan; all
they do is add noise.

 

[pigdos]

First, I just recently switched over to ATItraytools from ATItool and was
experiencing problems overclocking. I couldn't get anywhere near the
overclocks I was acheiving w/ATItool. Anyway, I remembered what you had
written (something like: "most people don't force their fans to 100%") and
checked the ATITrayTools fan settings and they were way off. 100% fan speed
wasn't set until the GPU reached 90 degrees celsius, but my GPU would lock
up long before that. Anyway, I set the fan speeds to more realistic settings
and I can once again overclock to some reasonable settings.

 

[First of One]

Good to see Tray Tools is working for you. I intentionally disabled fan
control functionality when I installed Tray Tools. The ATi drivers by
default do a very good job of keeping the fan quiet and I'd rather not fix
what ain't broken, especially when most games end up being CPU-limited on my
system...