Anyone using a Zalman VF700 Cu on a X1650 Pro?

[deadken]

A few weeks ago I picked up a Diamond Viper X1650Pro PCI-e card for my family PC (the price was right A.M.I.R.). I put it into the family PC. When I benchmarked the card, I found that it beat out my Sons PC in 3DMark03 and 3DMark05 by about %50 on each score, and that is with a Sempron Vs. his Athlon. Since then he got C.O.D. 4 and his 6600GT AGP is struggling a bit to keep the FPS above 30-35 with the resolution set @ 1280x1024.

So, now I am swapping out the PCI-e Mobo and X1650Pro out of the family PC and putting it into my Sons PC. I think that the X1650Pro's fan is louder then the Zalman VF700-Cu that is on my Sons 6600GT. When I checked the Zalman VF700-Cu at SVC.com, I see that the Zalman will work on a ATI X*** card. I assume that is a bit different then a ATI X**** card. I just figured that I would ask before I pulled both coolers off only to find out that it won't fit.

Ohh hey... Over at the Zalman Website, they say that it will fit on the X1600 Series cards... Should I assume that the X1650 cards are laid out the same?

I figure if worse-comes-to-worse I will I buy this Accelero X2 passive heatsink for this card. Of course, with both PC's apart, if I can swap over this VF700-Cu, I'd rather do that right now. Also, please realize that paid $56.24 for this card (with free shipping), less $10 for signing up with Google Check out and then I mailed in for the $20 rebate that is valid for it. Sooo... Spending $25 on a cooler for a $26.24 card seems a bit silly. If I can re-use the Zalman, I'd really be happy. And 'YES', if you must know they did send me a 512MB card inside of the 256MB box (like the others that this has happened too).

Sorry about the long post, I wanted to be thorough. If anyone has a VF700 on a X1650Pro, I'd like to hear about it.

-Thanks, Ken

 

[deadken]

Well, I took the Zalman off of the 6600GT and I don't see how it would line up on the X1650Pro core very well. I don't have a screwdriver small enough to remove the screws holding the stock X1650Pro cooler on at the moment. Perhaps I will swing by the Eyeglass place tomorrow or the next day. In the meanwhile, It'll just be louder then I'd like.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a X1650Pro Cooler? I'd like to hear what others have used and I'd like to know if they are happy with it.

 

[fk49]

I believe the x1650pro is the same core/pcb as the x1600 that I have in the sig and I used a VF700 AlCu to cool and quiet the card for a year now. For ATi cards, the Zalman cooler will have to use different holes than the nVidia card, and I think the existing bracket on the pack of the x1650 is covering the set of holes you need to screw the Zalman on. Definitely find some small screwdrivers (I have so many eyeglass ones sitting around) and take a look before shopping for a new fan.

Hope this helps!

 

[deadken]

Originally posted by: fk49
.... I think the existing bracket on the pack of the x1650 is covering the set of holes you need to screw the Zalman on. Definitely find some small screwdrivers ... and take a look before shopping for a new fan.

Hope this helps!

Yes, it most certainly does. I am pretty happy with this video card (given the price, I didn't expect too much), and even the stock cooler seems pretty good. It has a nice big copper HS covering the Core and the Memory, with the fan a bit further down the card, instead of being over the core. The things that dissapoint me are the use of a two wire fan (no monitoring and no speed control), and the lack of a temperature sensor (not a big deal, but it would have been nice). Since I already spent decent money on the Zalman VF700-CU, I'd be really happy if I didn't have to spend more money on yet another good cooler.

Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.

-Ken