The Verdict: x1900xt and vf700

[Munky]

There's a lot of conflicting info floating around on whether or not the Zalman vf700 cooler will provide adequate cooling for the new x1900 series cards. Seeing how I conveniently had a vf700 lying around, and that my vf900 is delayed, I decided to find out for myself. So here it is, the answer you've all been waiting for...

The beast...

Test setup:
Testing was conducted in a closed case - the Lian-Li pc7 plus. Load stressing was done by running rthdribl in fullscreen mode for about 5 minutes while running sp2004 with small FFT's on both cpu cores. The Zalman vf700cu was hooked up to the mobo fan header, running at 12v. The system specs are as follows:
Opteron 165 @ 2.4ghz, 1.35v, Zalman 7000alcu cooler
Radeon x1900xt
DFI NF4 Ultra-D, SLI mod, aftermarket chipset cooler
2x512mb OCZ Gold VX
AS5 was used on all coolers

The results, in degrees C:
Stock cooler, idle: (:camera: pic)
gpu = 52
video mem = 44C
gpu voltage regulators = 59
cpu = 35C

vf700 cooler, idle: (:camera: pic)
gpu = 42
vmem = 34
volt regs = 52
cpu = 36

Stock cooler, load: (:camera: pic)
gpu = 78
vmem = 57
volt regs = 78
cpu = 50

vf700 cooler, load: (:camera: pic)
gpu = 77
vmem = 47
volt regs = 71
cpu = 51

So, there you have it. The Zalman vf700cu cools a Radeon x1900xt better than the stock cooler, while running a lot quieter in 12v mode, and the case temps went up only a few degrees.

 

[Snakexor]

THANKS MUNKY!

 

[SpeedZealot369]

wow, was installing it harder then on a lets say a 6800gt?

 

[dug777]

Cheers mate, i knew my VF700 Cu was up to the task

 

[buzzsaw13]

Was the stock cooler done with 100 percent fan speed?

 

[Munky]

The vf700 is very easy to install in general, as long as there is nothing blocking the clearance around the gpu. There's plenty of room on the x1900 boards.

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13
Was the stock cooler done with 100 percent fan speed?

No, the stock cooler was temperature controlled. I used Ati Tool to set the default fan ramping based on temperature, and at 75C the fan runs at 50-55%, and even then it's the loudest thing in my rig. At 100% the noise is intolerable.

 

[the Chase]

Nice. A lot of peeps are wanting to know this info. What's up with the Heatsink Factory? Not really in stock??

 

[buzzsaw13]

Originally posted by: munky

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13
Was the stock cooler done with 100 percent fan speed?

No, the stock cooler was temperature controlled. I used Ati Tool to set the default fan ramping based on temperature, and at 75C the fan runs at 50-55%, and even then it's the loudest thing in my rig. At 100% the noise is intolerable.

I'm not bothered with 100 percent

I get 40C idle and around those load temps

 

[Munky]

Must not be in stock - those liars. I'm thinking maybe I should cancel since it hasnt shipped yet.

 

[the Chase]

Originally posted by: munky
Must not be in stock - those liars. I'm thinking maybe I should cancel since it hasnt shipped yet.

Blah that sucks. Very deceiving with the count thingy. Thanks for the goods though on the VF700- I bet a few AT'ers are ordering now...

 

[the Chase]

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13

Originally posted by: munky

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13
Was the stock cooler done with 100 percent fan speed?

No, the stock cooler was temperature controlled. I used Ati Tool to set the default fan ramping based on temperature, and at 75C the fan runs at 50-55%, and even then it's the loudest thing in my rig. At 100% the noise is intolerable.

I'm not bothered with 100 percent

I get 40C idle and around those load temps

Houston we have liftoff.....

 

[SpeedZealot369]

Originally posted by: the Chase

Originally posted by: munky
Must not be in stock - those liars. I'm thinking maybe I should cancel since it hasnt shipped yet.

Blah that sucks. Very deceiving with the count thingy. Thanks for the goods though on the VF700- I bet a few AT'ers are ordering now...

Cool, if my x1900xt fan sucks, I'm in for one.

 

[buzzsaw13]

Originally posted by: the Chase

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13

Originally posted by: munky

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13
Was the stock cooler done with 100 percent fan speed?

No, the stock cooler was temperature controlled. I used Ati Tool to set the default fan ramping based on temperature, and at 75C the fan runs at 50-55%, and even then it's the loudest thing in my rig. At 100% the noise is intolerable.

I'm not bothered with 100 percent

I get 40C idle and around those load temps

Houston we have liftoff.....

I can sleep through WWIII

 

[JBT]

I didn't understand the folks saying it didn't cool better... I don't understand how that could be possilbe the VF700 is a good cooler period.

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: JBT
I didn't understand the folks saying it didn't cool better... I don't understand how that could be possilbe the VF700 is a good cooler period.

It kept my overclocked to the max x800xt at 60C load, so I figured how much worse can the x1900xt be? This is the 4th card I've used this cooler on, and it hasn't let me down yet.

 

[SpeedZealot369]

vf700 FTW!

Question, how do you remove coolers? they're stuck together with thermal grease. Is there any good way to remove them?

edit

And does that work for removing cpu's also?

 

[Munky]

Most coolers are held in place by screws. You remove the screws, and then if it's stuck to the thermal paste, you carefully twist or wiggle it off. Just dont pull it by force. The x1900 cooler comes off easily once you remove the screws.

 

[Bull Dog]

77C under load with the VF700 on 12v? :eek; Thats what? 1C cooler than the stock cooler? Granted less noise but......Ah well happy with my V1 Ultra where my load temps @ crazy OC (760MHz 1.525v) speeds max out @ 57C. And at stock speeds I don't even break 50C with it. (see project logs)

Sorry didn't mean to rain on your parade.

 

[buzzsaw13]

Originally posted by: Bull Dog
77C under load with the VF700 on 12v? :eek; Thats what? 1C cooler than the stock cooler? Granted less noise but......Ah well happy with my V1 Ultra where my load temps @ crazy OC (760MHz 1.525v) speeds max out @ 57C. And at stock speeds I don't even break 50C with it. (see project logs)

Sorry didn't mean to rain on your parade.

The Zalman does provide pretty good cooling and at a decent price of around $30

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: Bull Dog
77C under load with the VF700 on 12v? :eek; Thats what? 1C cooler than the stock cooler? Granted less noise but......Ah well happy with my V1 Ultra where my load temps @ crazy OC (760MHz 1.525v) speeds max out @ 57C. And at stock speeds I don't even break 50C with it. (see project logs)

Sorry didn't mean to rain on your parade.

Noise was the main reason why I switched coolers. 77C is an acceptable temp IMO.

 

[SpeedZealot369]

Would the Zalman Fatal1ty FS-V7 fit the same? and is the fatality any better then regular vf700?

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: Bull Dog
77C under load with the VF700 on 12v? :eek; Thats what? 1C cooler than the stock cooler? Granted less noise but......Ah well happy with my V1 Ultra where my load temps @ crazy OC (760MHz 1.525v) speeds max out @ 57C. And at stock speeds I don't even break 50C with it. (see project logs)

Sorry didn't mean to rain on your parade.

i don't really see your point myself

It's not as if the cards aren't designed to operate at those temperatures...

It's quieter (heck, my VF00 Cu on the 12v is much quieter than the stock 6600GT cooler (reference with a different picture)), much cooler at idle (where the chip will spend 90%+ of it's time), and marginally cooler under load...

And the V1 Ultra is in a totally different league How big is it again?

 

[Xed]

Whats your room temp Munky?

I run mine with the 5v fanspeed and while our idle temp is similiar my load temp is much lower than yours.

The difference in noise is quite substantial as you said though =)

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: SpeedZealot369
Would the Zalman Fatal1ty FS-V7 fit the same? and is the fatality any better then regular vf700?

The fatality version has a faster spinning fan, so it would be slightly cooler but also louder. It's the same size, though, so it would also fit.