difference between zalman alcu and cu?

[nguyen1025]

whats the difference between the two, and which one should i get considering the alcu is about 10 dollars cheaper

 

[JBird7986]

Copper cools better than aluminum. The pure copper one will keep your temps lower and let you OC higher.

 

[anandtechrocks]

But... Copper is a lot heavier than aluminum and those 7700 Zalman's are pretty heavy.

 

[bREwIn dOdgEr dUDe]

yup... what rocks' says... check zalman site for mobo compatibility...

 

[BillyBobJoel71]

both are awesome coolers. the performance is aboput a difference of 1 degree. also the copper is about 2 times as heavy. the 7700 cu ways almost one kilogram! i would recomend the alcu since it is much lighter.

 

[ProviaFan]

I got the AlCu; it weighs enough to make me cautious when moving my computer around, so I'm not sure how I'd like the pure Cu version. 😱

Regardless, it's probably a good idea to get third-party thermal grease (in other words, Arctic Silver 5), because I didn't have any on hand and used the Zalman goop, and my temps seem to be a bit higher than what others are experiencing with similar hardware.

 

[JBT]

2x the weight for 1-2 C cooler. I've got a CU but an alcu would be fine for those worried about weight. I'm not worried about weight cause the damn thing is bolted on so whats to worry about?

 

[overst33r]

imo the copper one is not worth the extra cost and cooling power compared to the alcu, there is probably like a 2C difference at most

 

[BillyBobJoel71]

Originally posted by: mariok2006
imo the copper one is not worth the extra cost and cooling power compared to the alcu, there is probably like a 2C difference at most

you are most definetly right.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: JBT
2x the weight for 1-2 C cooler. I've got a CU but an alcu would be fine for those worried about weight. I'm not worried about weight cause the damn thing is bolted on so whats to worry about?

It's bolted on to the motherboard - not the case - so when the computer experiences vibration while being moved, the motherboard takes the greatest portion of the force from the HSF unit. If you're permanently settled and never move your computers beyond gently carrying them from one desk to another, I don't think you have much to worry about, but I'm going to be taking my system to and from college, etc., so it is more of a concern to me than it would be to you.