Print this article

Zalman VF700-AlCu


Date
: 02/19/05 – 11:25:38 AM

Author
:

Category
: Cooling

Page 1 : Introduction

Manufacturer: Zalman
Price: NA

Zalman is one of those companies that to the enthusiast needs no introduction. They have a solid reputation for quality, low-noise solutions that sacrifice little performance in what's become an increasingly competitive market. Our last Zalman product was a CPU cooler with that familiar flower-like heatsink the company is known for. The previous GPU cooler from Zalman we looked at, the Zalman ZM80D-HP, had a design very different from what Zalman tends to produce for CPU coolers but did perform extremely well.

Today we look at the
Zalman VF700-AlCu
, a GPU cooler that brings a design similar to Zalman's CPU coolers to the GPU. With the VF700 Zalman markets two versions: the AlCu shown here and the Cu, pure copper variant. With a new 6600 in the labs, I was anxious to put the 3rd party cooling to good use and see what this core could do – my results were excellent.

Page 2 : Package

Shipped to us was a retail boxed VF700-AlCu that gives consumers a clear view of the entire unit and the very important compatiblity information.

Opening the package was easy, and inside were a number of items. These items include a eight RAM heatsinks, one brace plate, various screws, studs, bolts and rubber rings for assembly, thermal grease, a fan multi-connector, a user's manual in English and Korean, case badge and finally the VF700-AlCu heatsink. Thermal tape was also included for use with the eight RAM heatsinks.

The VF700-AlCu is a good sized cooler with very fine fins. In the center is a 2-ball bearing, 11 blade 80 mm fan. The fan is large enough that it should be able to spin at lower RPMs than small coolers while still generating a lot of airflow. A side benefit of this larger fan is that some of this airflow will go across the RAM heatsinks.

The bottom of the VF700-AlCu features a nice flat surface with an equally nice polish.

Compatibility rests heavily on whether the video card in question has the appropriate mounting holes. Zalman has gone to great effort in their support process and has a detailed compatibilty chart available on the web that shows incompatible cards. There is also a chart displaying compatable cards here. Great work on Zalman's part.

Page 3 : Specifications

For both the fan and heatsink, Zalman has these detailed specifications available via their website:

All the specifications point to a product that should be able to cool a GPU while keeping the noise levels down. On top of low noise, we expect increased performance out of both GPU and memory; this is a complete cooling solution.

Page 4 : Installation

Installation of the VF700-AlCu was quick and easy, and much less involved than the ZM80D-HP that I last reviewed. With the included user's guide and the well designed mounting system, Zalman leaves little room for user error when doing this install.

As you can see in the previous picture, the RAM heatsinks are designed for BGA chips. On TSOP packaging, as is the case for the card tested with here, these heatsinks will only cover half of the chip – it's better than nothing though.

Because the heatsink is so large in height, using the VF700-AlCu will also mean using the PCI slot that neighbors your AGP, PCI, or PCI-E connector for your video card.

With the card installed back into the system, adding the multi-connector is the final step. There are two rails to choose from that give you a high or low voltage operation. During use I found that the low voltage operation (silent) was very quiet and completely inaudible in a closed case. The high voltage operation (normal) was also quite quiet, but not inaudible. Most system's PSU, CPU, or even case fan(s) will drown out the sound of the VF700-AlCu in even normal fan operation.

Finally, let's compare the size of the VF700-AlCu to the stock XFX cooler it will be replacing:

The stock cooler is truly pathetic. A side view shows you how little surface area and how thin it really is. During operation, the stock cooler gets hot to the touch and replacing it opens up so much overclocking potential as well as relieving any worry due to temperatures. Let's see how the performance compares and the overclocking results…

Page 5 : Testing

Testing was conducted with the following system specs and without the left side panel present:

Benchmarking analysis was limited to temperature performance. To gain the results, the card was run through consecutive Half-Life 2, Doom 3, FarCry, and 3DMark05 loops for five iterations with the maximum temperature recorded. Measurements were then recorded by hand and a RadioShack digital indoor/outdoor thermometer for monitoring the room temperature. Tests were done in the span of two nights and thus the room temperature fluctuated between 68°F and 71°F throughout the testing process.

All numbers were taken at a 325/550 core/memory frequency and overclocked numbers achieved with the VF700-AlCu were incredible. Compared to the Galaxy's 6600 core, the one on the XFX had far more leg room. The VF700-AlCu allowed for as much as 500/570 settings without any signs of artifacts throughout Doom 3 and FarCry
gameplay
as well as 3DMark05 loops. For overclocked temperatures, results were taken at 470/570. And now, the results:

Impressive. There just is no comparison between the VF700-AlCu and the stock cooler it replaced. The VF700-AlCu is
very efficient
in its heat dissapation as we see that with 145 MHz increase we see less than a 5° C temperature rise.

Page 6 : Conclusion

Zalman continues to impress me with each product they make. The VF700-AlCu exhibits the same quality, performance, and noise levels that I've come to expect from them. If you're in the market for a VGA cooler seeking both performance and low noise levels then you certainly can't go wrong with Zalman's VF700-AlCu. With the excellent instruction, design and included multi-connector setup is smooth and allows the buyer to choose just how much performance or silence they need. Further, because of the combination of great design, noise levels, and performance + the great gains made possible in this overclocking experience we award Zalman's VF700-AlCu the Overclockers Online Power Award. Congratulations Zalman, we look forward to what's next from you.

Advantages

Quiet
Easy install
Great performance
Good compatibility

Disadvantages

RAM heatsinks not ideal for TSOP packaging

Thanks goes to Zalman for supplying us for this review.