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Zalman VF900-Cu


Date
: 04/17/06 – 08:45:13 PM

Author
:

Category
: Cooling

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer:
Zalman

Price:
$49.95 (MSRP)

Everyone knows Zalman for their innovative and well performing cooling solutions so we will skip the introduction.

These days, it seems even graphics cards require after-market cooling to perform at their fullest. Many companies have risen to the challenge by creating all sorts of diverse coolers. Zalman's engineering vision of their coolers is such that cooling efficiency is maximized while noise is minimized.

Thus, we have today the
Zalman VF900-Cu
, successor of the popular and high-performing VF700 series.

At first glance, it seems as if it is a more rotund and complete version of the VF700 but there is more to the
VF900-Cu
than meets the eye. Read on…

Page 2 : Package

The VF900 was sent to me directly from Zalman in a brown box. Inside the box, I found the VF900 package cozily stashed amidst numerous packing peanuts.

The top of the blue package contains only Zalman's logo on the opening flap. There is a perforated hole to allow the package to be hung on display in stores.

In the front we are exposed to information overload; no need to panic, let's dissect the information part by part. Starting at the top left, there is a sentence proclaiming universal compatibility; there is a slight typographical error but everyone knows "lastest" is the same thing as "latest". Right?

The top right sports Zalman's logo. Directly below, we see in a small font the model "VF900-Cu" and to the left, in slightly bigger font, "VGA Cooler". Enthusiasts will recognize the VF series as VGA coolers, but Zalman has included the description for those who may not be aware of that. Above that are a couple of clichéd phrases used by every cooling company and their mothers: "Ultra Quiet; High Performance". Claims like these are everywhere, so how do you know if they are true or not? Well, we will find out soon enough in the Performance and Testing page.

Below is another compatibility proclamation. However, there is one small caveat: there are a few video cards that are incompatible with the VF900.

Directly below that, we catch a glimpse of the top of the cooler itself. Zalman has designed the package well, allowing potential buyers to have a look at the product before buying it. Clearly visible are the heatpipes and numerous fins among which a fan is embedded.

Note that Zalman has included VGA RAM heatsinks and a fan speed controller in the package as expected of a product with a price tag of almost $50!

The left and right sides of the package are identical and feature the same clichéd claims discussed above.

On to the back of the package! Here we find a lot more information than the front.

All the features and specifications are listed, along with some "Important Notices" and six images showcasing some of the features. At the bottom of the box, you can see the copper base of the cooler, protected within a plastic shell.

The features and specifications are as below. We will delve into further detail about them on the next page.

That concludes the description of the package's exterior. Let us take a closer look at the specifications for the cooler before opening up the package.

Page 3 : Specifications

Zalman's website has a similar version of the features and specifications from the package. They also have a Flash-based installation movie, a PDF manual, and other pertinent information.

Here's a quick description of the cooler: It has a copper base, numerous fins arranged radially (like all Zalman flower-type coolers) with a large surface area, and two heatpipes. There is an 80mm dual ball-bearing fan embedded inside the fins and the cooler weighs a mere 185g. The fan is capable of being controlled with the included Fan Mate 2 controller. The noise level in silent mode is a mere 18.5dB while in normal mode, the noise level is a perfectly acceptable 25dB. There are RAM heatsinks included in the package.

As mentioned earlier, the cooler is compatible with most modern video cards including the latest ATI Radeon X1900 series and the NVIDIA GeForce 7900 series. There are different holes for accomodating the differences among video cards when it comes to nipple mounting.

That's about it for the specifications. Let's open up the package and find out what Zalman has in store for us.

Page 4 : Package Contents

Pull out the flap to open the box and the tray holding all the contents slides out.

The cooler and accompanying material are sandwiched between two plastic holders.

The accompanying material consists of a user's manual, a piece of plastic with six washers, the FanMate 2 fan controller and its cables, a piece of self-adhesive foam for attachment of the FanMate 2, and a small bag containing the mounting hardware, memory heatsinks, and a Zalman sticker.

Taking a look at the cooler itself, the fan seems to take up most of the room. The 80mm fan is embedded amidst the numerous fins. Two heatpipes, originating from the cooler's base, run around the circumference and are welded together where they meet; they are soldered to the fins.

The bottom of the cooler features the origins of the heatpipes inside the smooth copper base. The six extended metal pieces, with numerous holes, are to guarantee compatibility with video cards of many different shapes, sizes, and mounting holes. The fan's 3-pin connector is not sleeved and its wires are soldered to the PCB here. As you can see, the base does not make contact directly with the fins; instead, the heatpipes are the only links between the base and the fins.

The copper base of the cooler is very smooth and shiny, foreshadowing good performance.

Last but not least, we have Zalman's own FanMate 2 fan controller:

Time to install the cooler!

Page 5 : Installation

I'll be installing the VF900-Cu on my eVGA e-GeForce 6600GT PCI-Express video card. The cooler might be overkill on a cool-running card like this but only the results will tell; in any case, I have no choice as it's the only card I have!

The included manual was very helpful with installation. If you prefer, you can have a look at the installation video or a PDF version of the manual at Zalman's website.

The first step in installing the new cooler was, of course, removing the old one.

I then installed the memory heatsinks. Peel off the tape's backing and gently press them down on your memory. Zalman has included eight memory heatsinks but I only needed to use four as my card only has 128MB of memory. If you happen to need more than eight, you'll be out of luck.

After removal of the old GPU cooler, I cleaned off the GPU core and applied some of Zalman's thermal grease that they have included in the package.

Refering to the manual, I installed the mounting nipples on the appropriate holes for my card and placed the rubber washers on them.

Next, I carefully flipped the card over and made sure the mounting nipples appeared through the other side. Then, I placed one plastic washer on each.

Finally, I installed the thumbscrews on top, tightening diagonally to apply pressure evenly to the core and to avoid chipping it. Be sure not to overtighten the screws.

At this point, installation is almost complete. Note that it is a tight fit and that two capacitors are in direct contact with the fins.

The cooler covers most of the card and will cool surrounding components as well.

Now just plug the card into its slot on your motherboard and connect the 3-pin fan connector to a header. I would have preferred a 3-pin to 2-pin connector to allow connecting the fan to the video card's fan header. If you have a desire to use the fan controller, you can connect the 3-pin connector to the FanMate 2 first and then connect the FanMate 2 to the header.

Due to its size, the VF900-Cu might prevent you from using a second graphics card in SLI on certain motherboards.

We can now put the VF900-Cu to the test!

Page 6 : Performance and Testing

First, we will be measuring and comparing the idle and load temperatures of the VF900-Cu against two variants of the Titan Eagle and also against my 6600GT's stock cooler. Also, we will be testing to see whether overclockability is affected due to the coolers. Finally, the performance of the VF900-Cu at different fan speeds will be assessed.

Here is the test setup:

The temperature tests were done with Arctic Silver Lumière, a thermal compound with a curing time of only 30 minutes. I installed each cooler and left the computer on for 2 hours, shut it down for 2 hours, and then let it idle at the desktop for 2 hours before taking the idle temperature measurement. Then, I ran 3DMark06 loops for 2 hours and took the maximum load temperature during the run. Temperatures were measured using Asus PC Probe 2. Room temperature was at a constant 24°C (75°F).

The results clearly show the winner as the VF900-Cu. It's only competitor seems to be the Titan Eagle as the stock cooler is far too inefficient, evidenced by its high temperatures. The VF900-Cu has heatpipes as an advantage over the Titan Eagle.

The next set of tests were done the same way as the first except only the VF900-Cu was used and three different thermal compounds were used.

Arctic Silver 5 provides the best performance and Zalman's thermal grease isn't that far off. Zalman's thermal grease provides acceptable performance but overclockers may wish to upgrade to a better thermal compound. I could not use Zalman's thermal grease to test with the other coolers as Zalman only provided a very small amount, enough for 3 applications.

The overclockability test was done with each cooler and its respective memory heatsinks, with the stock cooler obviously having no memory heatsinks. Arctic Silver Lumière was chosen as the thermal interface material. Overclockability was tested for each cooler after running the initial temperature tests by using the Forceware Coolbits 2 registry hack that enables overclocking. The "Detect Optimal Frequencies" option was used.

We can see from the results that the three aftermarket coolers are definitely better at increasing the overclockability of the core, with the Zalman VF900-Cu coming out on top with a GPU core speed of 575MHz. Memory heatsinks make absolutely no difference in the overclockability of the memory, which is limited at 1140MHz no matter what.

Lastly, I decided to connect the FanMate 2 to the VF900-Cu. Temperatures were measured the same way as in the initial test. Arctic Silver Lumière was used.

Setting the FanMate 2 to high was the same as not connecting it. At the lowest speed, the fan became almost inaudible, not that it was loud at the highest speed. At the highest speed even, the fan was easily masked by a case fan or two. There is a 3°C difference between the highest and lowest speeds in both the idle and load temperature measurements. Is it worth it considering you won't be able to tell the difference in the fan's noise? You decide.

Page 7 : Conclusion

Surprise, surprise, Zalman once again releases a top performing cooler!

Just like its predecessor, the VF900-Cu performs extremely well while keeping things silent. Built with impeccable quality and craftsmanship, not to mention innovation, Zalman has once again created one awesome cooler. Unlike other manufacturers, Zalman has made no compromises with the copper base and not one, but two, heatpipes! Not only that, they have included memory heatsinks and even the FanMate 2 fan controller.

The 80mm fan is 3-pin but this is not a major problem; it can easily be modified to fit your video card's 2-pin header by doing some good old fashioned splicing and soldering.

The only major disadvantage is that the VF900-Cu is priced around $50. According to Zalman, there are no plans to release an Aluminum or Aluminum-Copper variant of the cooler; that would have surely lowered the price. However, they may release a variant with LEDs in the future which will only increase the price. There are many coolers out there that provide decent performance for maybe half the price but Zalman's coolers are for those who want only the best.

I have no doubt Zalman will continue to make newer and better coolers as video cards get more and more advanced.

Advantages

• Top-notch performance thanks to heatpipes
• Includes memory heatsinks and fan controller
• Very quiet
• Universal compatibility and easy installation

  Disadvantages

• Fan is 3-pin only (a converter to 2-pin might be useful)
• Fairly expensive

  Thanks to Zalman USA for providing the VF900-Cu for this review.