Like many of you I'm in search of the ever-elusive quiet computer, and getting rid of my video card fan was the next thing on my list. I picked up the ZM80-HP at Sharka. This model is for the higher clocked G4 cards. For the MX versions (and other similarly clocked cards) there is the ZM50-HP.. The prices are $40 and $25, respectively. A side note on Sharka - I had no problems with my order, everything came as planned. I would definitely order from them again.
Briefly, I am pleased with the cooler. It took about 15-20 minutes to install, and the instructions included left no room for error. There are two different mounts to accomodate different video cards, and Zalman was even generous enough to supply duplicates of all the parts, as well as a small screw driver in case you didn't have one that fits their screws. (Although there is nothing extraordinary about them.) The unit is pretty big, and will take up an adjacent PCI slot.
Performance: I'm using a Gainward Golden Sample Ti4600, slightly overclocked at 330/680. Forty-five minutes of q3 and another thirty of UT2003 couldn't shake the cooler. I thought that the heat pipe was more of a gimmick than anything, but it is extremely effective at transfering the heat from the heatsink on the GPU to the heatsink on the backside of the VGA card. Rough estimates (simply by touching both sides) indicate that both heatsinks are at approximately the same temperature.
I think it's important to note that I do not have any extravagant case cooling mechanisms, as I mentioned earlier that my motivation for getting this cooler was to reduce noise. Currently I have 2 of 4 Vantec Stealth case fans operating at 1700rpms (via Baybus), the other 2 are turned off. My system temps are at 35C/95F. Also relevant is that I used Artic Silver 3 instead of the thermal compound provided by Zalman.
Conclusion: If you have a video card whose fan you want to quiet, the ZM80-HP could replace your current heating solution. It all depends on how important a quiet case is to you. Personally, if the cooler was priced any higher ($50 and up) I probably wouldn't have bought it.
Edit: Just how big is this thing? ZM80-HP Installed
Briefly, I am pleased with the cooler. It took about 15-20 minutes to install, and the instructions included left no room for error. There are two different mounts to accomodate different video cards, and Zalman was even generous enough to supply duplicates of all the parts, as well as a small screw driver in case you didn't have one that fits their screws. (Although there is nothing extraordinary about them.) The unit is pretty big, and will take up an adjacent PCI slot.
Performance: I'm using a Gainward Golden Sample Ti4600, slightly overclocked at 330/680. Forty-five minutes of q3 and another thirty of UT2003 couldn't shake the cooler. I thought that the heat pipe was more of a gimmick than anything, but it is extremely effective at transfering the heat from the heatsink on the GPU to the heatsink on the backside of the VGA card. Rough estimates (simply by touching both sides) indicate that both heatsinks are at approximately the same temperature.
I think it's important to note that I do not have any extravagant case cooling mechanisms, as I mentioned earlier that my motivation for getting this cooler was to reduce noise. Currently I have 2 of 4 Vantec Stealth case fans operating at 1700rpms (via Baybus), the other 2 are turned off. My system temps are at 35C/95F. Also relevant is that I used Artic Silver 3 instead of the thermal compound provided by Zalman.
Conclusion: If you have a video card whose fan you want to quiet, the ZM80-HP could replace your current heating solution. It all depends on how important a quiet case is to you. Personally, if the cooler was priced any higher ($50 and up) I probably wouldn't have bought it.
Edit: Just how big is this thing? ZM80-HP Installed
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