Zalman ZM80C with a 9800 Pro?

[Ted]

I'm in the process of selecting some bits to stop the incessant wine of my
PC, with the 9800 Pro and P4 stock cooler being the worst offenders.

Having looked around the web, the Zalman ZM80C seems to be the best as far
as noise is concerned - am I correct? Are there any alternatives I may have
overlooked?

I have a Hercules 9800Pro 128Mb which I think has Zalman compatible
mountings around the GPU. How difficult is it to pull the Hercules cooler
off? I understand it invalidates the warranty - couldn't I just put it back
on if I have any problems with the card?

Also, the Zalman site states the optional fan is "recommended" with the 9800
Pro. Is anyone getting away with not using one? I don't overclock. Not being
very heat savvy, what would happen if the card overheated? Graphical
glitches? Artifacts? Smoke?

I don't really want to fork out £37 for the Zalman if it won't do what I
want it to i.e. silence my graphics card.

Cheers,

Ted.

 

[Strontium]

-
Ted stood up at show-n-tell, in [email protected], and
said:

I'm in the process of selecting some bits to stop the incessant wine
of my PC, with the 9800 Pro and P4 stock cooler being the worst
offenders.

Having looked around the web, the Zalman ZM80C seems to be the best
as far as noise is concerned - am I correct?

Yes, NO noise can be considered the most noiseless

Are there any
alternatives I may have overlooked?

I believe Thermaltake, and a few others, make the same thing. Prices vary.

I have a Hercules 9800Pro 128Mb which I think has Zalman compatible
mountings around the GPU. How difficult is it to pull the Hercules
cooler off? I understand it invalidates the warranty - couldn't I
just put it back on if I have any problems with the card?

Depends on how nimble you are, with those plastic studs that they use. I
was able to put the stock fan/sink, back onto my PowerColor 9700np.

Also, the Zalman site states the optional fan is "recommended" with
the 9800 Pro. Is anyone getting away with not using one? I don't
overclock. Not being very heat savvy, what would happen if the card
overheated? Graphical glitches? Artifacts? Smoke?

With today's stuff, it's best to have a fan blowing on that area of the
motherboard. It, particularly, benefits the heatsink on the video card.

I don't really want to fork out £37 for the Zalman if it won't do
what I want it to i.e. silence my graphics card.

Trial and error, my boy. Trial, and error.

 

[Andrew MacPherson]

I don't really want to fork out £37 for the Zalman if it won't do what I
want it to i.e. silence my graphics card.

On low speed (it comes with a 12V/5V adapter) the Zalman fan's very quiet.
I can run my un-clocked 9700Pro without it turned on, but my fairly quiet
CPU fan (Thermaltake Silent Boost) is noisier, so I leave the Zalman on
low permanently. It's a very good heating solution, and I like having the
option of turning it up when the weather's hot.

The only problem, as you suspect, is removing your card's default
heatsinks etc... that can be a little (ok, a lot) nerve-wracking. My card
was second hand anyway so I wasn't risking full price or much of the
guarantee, but it was tricky removing the plastic lugs holding the
heatsink assembly on. They were the type whose end you pinch, then push
through the circuit board. That required quite a bit of force and
control... not an easy combination. But there was no nasty thermal "glue",
just some friendly thermal grease, so once that was done the heatsink just
came away easily.

There's no guarantee you'll be so lucky but hopefully Google will find you
some other people with the same brand of card who've tried something
similar.

Andrew McP

PS Hope this is useful to you 'cos I forgot about my bacon while typing it
and... oh well, there's plenty of Marmite ;-)

 

[Chip]

Ted, just buy this:

http://www.arctic-cooling.com/en/products/vga_silencer/

Its completely brilliant in every respect and half the price of the Zalman.
I run mine in silent mode and can overclock my 9700 Pro by an *extra* 30MHz
or so over the stock cooler. So I can run at 410MHz with a 9700Pro!

Its a brilliant product and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Chip.

 

[Ted]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm going to order the Zalman, although I'm not
particularly looking forward to pulling the heatsink off my £270 card mind,
especially as it is only a month old.

Anyway, I'll let you know how I got on.

Ted

 

[Chip]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm going to order the Zalman, although I'm not
particularly looking forward to pulling the heatsink off my £270 card mind,
especially as it is only a month old.

Anyway, I'll let you know how I got on.

Ted

Ted, don't do it! Read my post and go for the www.arctic-cooling.com vga
silencer! Its a way better product, easier to fit, less than half the
price, better overclocker. The Zalman is an OK product too. But why pay >
2x more for something that's just not as good?

Chip.

 

[Heywood]

Quick question about the VGA SILENCER....what about the space created
by the infamous ATI shim? Do you have to remove the shim to install
the silencer or???

 

[Ed Forsythe]

Hi Chip,
Why do you contend that the Zalman is not as good? I just checked out both
sites and I was impressed by the amount of spec info Zalman provides and the
animated Zalman installation instructions. The Zalman unit has a heatpipe
and a massive heatsink on *both* sides of the GPU. Also, I just watched the
Tech TV video in which Yoshi demonstrates his totally silent computer in
which he uses Zalman units on the CPU *and* the graphics card. Based on the
info I have read, I'm going to use Zalman on the CPU and GPU of my new box.
We're all probably concerned about money but here we're talking about how
much $20? The Arctic unit is probably very good but I can't find any info to
support your contention that it is better than the Zalman - although I must
confess I haven't researched the issue thoroughly <s>. BTW, in the Intel
P4, 2.8C CPU database on Overclockers.com I see quite a few Zalmans but no
Arctic units. Of course here I'm referring to CPU coolers and not GPUs.

 

[J.Clarke]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm going to order the Zalman, although
I'm not particularly looking forward to pulling the heatsink off my
£270 card mind, especially as it is only a month old.

Anyway, I'll let you know how I got on.

Having just installed one of these myself I have a few comments and this
looks as good a place as any to put them.

The ZM-80C comes with two mounting blocks, a narrow one that looks to
have been targetted specifically at the Radeon 9800 and a wider one that
apparently is to deal with board where the holes are too far apart for
the narrow one.

They provide some spare parts which is a good thing IMO and a rarity
these days--drop one of the screws down a crack and it's no disaster.
Also a screwdriver--anybody know any charities that need a bunch of
small Phillips screwdrivers?

Getting the old heat sink off the 9800 is no problem at all--pull on the
old one gently and while pulling take a pair of long-nosed pliers and
sqeeze each of the two mounting pins and it pops right off, no hassle,
no trauma.

The 9800 looks to have had some kind of silver-based heat sink compound
on it--I had a tube of Arctic Silver on hand so used that in that
location--figured ATI wouldn't have spent the extra half a cent or
whatever it costs them without a reason--used the stuff that comes with
the Zalman in the others that had larger contact surfaces--there was a
little left over in the first tube and there's a second in the spares.
No hassle if you don't have Arctic Silver though--Dansdata ran a test a
while back in which he determined that toothpaste has slightly better
heat transfer than any of the commercial compounds and Vegemite comes
close, but they dry out and the commercial compounds don't--regardless
the difference is small.

Haven't run a stress-test on it yet, in normal use the Zalman, sans fan,
gets hot but not so hot that I can't hold my hand on it--newegg was out
of the fans, so I ordered from siliconacoustics (not the
cheapest around, would probably have done as well to go by
CrapUSA, but I was ordering some other bits and saw the fan and
figured it didn't cost enough to be worth looking for cheaper)--newegg
shipped from Tech Data's New Jersey warehouse and the stuff arrived
overnight (I'm close to New Jersey), siliconacoustics shipped from the
west coast, so the fan won't be here until Friday--I'm going to try to
avoid getting too rambunctious until then.

 

[Strontium]

-
Ed Forsythe stood up at show-n-tell, in (e-mail address removed),
and said:

Hi Chip,
Why do you contend that the Zalman is not as good? I just checked out
both sites and I was impressed by the amount of spec info Zalman
provides and the animated Zalman installation instructions. The
Zalman unit has a heatpipe and a massive heatsink on *both* sides of
the GPU. Also, I just watched the Tech TV video in which Yoshi
demonstrates his totally silent computer in which he uses Zalman
units on the CPU *and* the graphics card. Based on the info I have
read, I'm going to use Zalman on the CPU and GPU of my new box. We're
all probably concerned about money but here we're talking about how
much $20? The Arctic unit is probably very good but I can't find any
info to support your contention that it is better than the Zalman -
although I must confess I haven't researched the issue thoroughly
<s>. BTW, in the Intel P4, 2.8C CPU database on Overclockers.com I
see quite a few Zalmans but no Arctic units. Of course here I'm
referring to CPU coolers and not GPUs.

Most of my box is running Zalman. In my opinion, it is top notch. Would
not even think of touching another brand. Let's face it, Zalman has mad a
name for themselves for one very good reason: quality product. Reminds me
of Asus. I don't do 'bargain bin' building. I don't throw money at name
brands, either. But, Zalman is high freaking quality. That's just my
opinion.

 

[Chip]

Hi Chip,
Why do you contend that the Zalman is not as good?

Well its conceivable it is, but isn't the Zalman aiming to be quiet. Its
not known for its superb overclocking abilities is it? Whereas the Arctic
Cooling device is the most amazing overclocking tweak I have ever seen. And
its silent too (in silent mode).

I just checked out both
sites and I was impressed by the amount of spec info Zalman provides and the
animated Zalman installation instructions. The Zalman unit has a heatpipe
and a massive heatsink on *both* sides of the GPU.

I don't doubt that the Zalman comes with good instructions. But so does the
VGA Silencer. And the VGA Silencer is much easier to fit. PC Silent Review
Nov03 said "For the record, the installation of the VGA Silencer to the
Sapphire 9500 was totally straightforward. If you can handle a screwdriver,
you can probably handle this fine. It is far simpler than installing the
Zalman ZM-80 heatpipe cooler. ... "

Also, I just watched the
Tech TV video in which Yoshi demonstrates his totally silent computer in
which he uses Zalman units on the CPU *and* the graphics card. Based on the
info I have read, I'm going to use Zalman on the CPU and GPU of my new box.
We're all probably concerned about money but here we're talking about how
much $20?

The money's not the issue. Why pay more for something that isn't as good.
That's the issue.

The Arctic unit is probably very good but I can't find any info to
support your contention that it is better than the Zalman - although I must
confess I haven't researched the issue thoroughly <s>. BTW, in the Intel
P4, 2.8C CPU database on Overclockers.com I see quite a few Zalmans but no
Arctic units. Of course here I'm referring to CPU coolers and not GPUs.

Zalman has been around so much longer. But the artic cooling device is just
so much better. www.gotapex.com wrote "The most I was able to get out the
<Zalman cooled Sapphire> Ultimate was 477 core, 355 memory (from stock of
380/340) - a good overclock, but the IceQ <VGA Silencer> blows it away.
There are lots of reviews like this.

I might sound like I am an advert for Arctic Cooling - I am not. But I have
to say its the single best upgrade I have ever bought and I was so pleased,
I actually took the time to write to Arctic Cooling to thank them.
Something I have never done with any other product. And to think its $22 -
its a complete no-brainer quite honestly. Paying $1 more for a Zalman is
just plain potty. Let alone $20 more.

Chip

 

[Chip]

-
Ed Forsythe stood up at show-n-tell, in (e-mail address removed),
and said:


Most of my box is running Zalman. In my opinion, it is top notch. Would
not even think of touching another brand. Let's face it, Zalman has mad a
name for themselves for one very good reason: quality product. Reminds me
of Asus. I don't do 'bargain bin' building. I don't throw money at name
brands, either. But, Zalman is high freaking quality. That's just my
opinion.

Up to you. The Zalman's an inferior product, but if you won't think of
touching anything else then you will have to be happy with second best....
unless you do have an open mind?

Chip.

 

[Chip]

Quick question about the VGA SILENCER....what about the space created
by the infamous ATI shim? Do you have to remove the shim to install
the silencer or???

Nope. Just whack a load of gloop on and away you go. The installation is a
piece of cake, apart from getting the old hs/fan off, which is a bit fiddly.
But having done that, the VGA silencer is so easy to fit a 7 year old could
do it.

Chip.

 

[Strontium]

-
Chip stood up at show-n-tell, in
[email protected], and said:

Up to you. The Zalman's an inferior product,

Your opinion, not mine.

but if you won't think
of touching anything else then you will have to be happy with second
best.... unless you do have an open mind?

My mind is quite open. However, the need for me to overclock stopped the
day they broke the 3GHz barrier.

Blehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[Chip]

-
Chip stood up at show-n-tell, in
[email protected], and said:



Your opinion, not mine.

But you have an open mind, right? ;-)

My mind is quite open. However, the need for me to overclock stopped the
day they broke the 3GHz barrier.

Haven't seen too many 3GHz GPU's myself ;-) And running a bog-standard 9700
Pro at up to 410MHz core simply by adding a silent, $22 part, seems like a
good deal to me!

Chip.

 

[Strontium]

-
Chip stood up at show-n-tell, in
[email protected], and said:

But you have an open mind, right? ;-)


Haven't seen too many 3GHz GPU's myself ;-)

Well, if you want to be a smartass I guess that is your right You know
damned well I was refering to the recent CPU speeds. But, again, you are
the smart one

 

[Chip]

-
Chip stood up at show-n-tell, in
[email protected], and said:


Well, if you want to be a smartass I guess that is your right You know
damned well I was refering to the recent CPU speeds. But, again, you are
the smart one

Of course I knew damned well. And you knew damned well I knew damned well.
And I know damned well that you knew damned well that I knew damned well.

But this isn't really the point. The point is, you can still get very
decent performance improvements by overclocking a GPU. Buy yourself a
cheapish ATI graphics card, whack a VGA Silencer on it for $22 and run it on
nigh-on 9800XT speeds, saving perhaps $150. Makes sense to me. But then
again, I am the smart one ;-)

Chip.

 

[Strontium]

-
Chip stood up at show-n-tell, in
[email protected], and said:

But this isn't really the point. The point is, you can still get very
decent performance improvements by overclocking a GPU. Buy yourself a
cheapish ATI graphics card, whack a VGA Silencer on it for $22 and
run it on nigh-on 9800XT speeds, saving perhaps $150. Makes sense to
me. But then again, I am the smart one ;-)

Hmmmmm.... first of all, my Zalman works just fine in place of the
'Silencer' (ooooh, such a name). Second of all, I've already got a
9800XT. Thirdly, overclocking my 9700np was moot. With a 2.4C and 1024MB,
the difference in games (not benchmarks....then, again, I don't build my box
to run benchmarks) was negligible. I was able to increase FSAA and AF a
notch ( while still getting playable framerates). And, before you say it: I
tweaked the shit out of it, and my memory timings. 25% performance
increase, total.

I must be getting old. Because there WAS a time when I 'needed' do
overclock my card. Those days are long gone.........................

 

[J.Clarke]

-
Chip stood up at show-n-tell, in
[email protected], and said:




Hmmmmm.... first of all, my Zalman works just fine in place of the
'Silencer' (ooooh, such a name). Second of all, I've already got a
9800XT. Thirdly, overclocking my 9700np was moot. With a 2.4C and
1024MB, the difference in games (not benchmarks....then, again, I
don't build my box to run benchmarks) was negligible. I was able to
increase FSAA and AF a notch ( while still getting playable
framerates). And, before you say it: I tweaked the shit out of it,
and my memory timings. 25% performance increase, total.

I must be getting old. Because there WAS a time when I 'needed' do
overclock my card. Those days are long gone.........................

Somehow I think that if I put a couple of big Delta fans blowing on
either side of the Zalman I'll be able to get as much overclock as is
possible with the "VGA Silencer" and maybe a wee bit more. The notion
that there is something magical about the Zalman that prevents
overclocking is ludicrous.

 

[T1000]

Totally agree. I took my Zalman off to fit a VGA Silencer.. best VGA cooler
ever.. and silent in LOW power mode and the thing takes heat out of the
case.. unlike the Zalman which acts like a bar heater.

T1000