Which to get?

[chimpy]

A cooler for this card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814131419

I've whittled it down to one of these:

http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=61&data=1&disc=
Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 5 (Rev. 2)

or

http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=149&code=013
Zalman VF700-Cu

They are both around the same price, though the Zalman is a little more.

Here are the things I want from the cooler (in order of most important to least important):

Ease of installation on my particular card
Quietness
Cooling abilities (not really too important as I won't be overclocking)

The most important out of those for me is the ease of installation. I've never done anything like this before, so I want to ease into it. It looks like the Arctic Cooling model wins that, but I'm not sure.

Quietness - the whole reason I'm switching coolers is to make my PC quieter. Zalman go on about how their cooler is super quiet and all that, and I believed them. But then I saw this thread: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17499114
From that it looks like the Zalman is very noisy, so of course the Arctic Cooling would be better.

So, which should I get? Right now I'm leaning towards the Arctic Cooling one, as it's cheaper, easier to install, and quieter (3 out of 3!). But does anyone else have any experience with either of them? Anything at all, I'd greatly appreciate the help.

 

[cbns]

your zalman has a Noise Level of : 18.5 ~ 28.5dB ± 10%

and your artic cooler has 0.5 tone, about 20dB, i think.

a friend of mine has an artic cooler and is pleased with it. he says it's better than the reference design.
i don't know if the zalman will be better, never used it, don't know anyone who has.
i do know however that zalman has some of the best quality products out there, so i wouldn't doubt them.
Personally I thin kthe zalman looks like an easy install, but my friend had no complains installing his artic cooler.
i raelly don't think it matters all the much.
just to be safe, go with the arctic. zalman is better if you want more cooling performance, and since all you want is quietness, it's your best bet.
gl

 

[chimpy]

OK great, thanks a lot. It looks like I'll be ordering the Arctic Cooling then =P

 

[PCBliss]

i have used both styles and they are both good. I have the Zalman on my asus X800 Pro Vivo flashed to X800XT PE voltmodded @ 610/575 and it tops out at about 62C which i think is pretty good.

 

[Remedy]

The Silencer 4 Rev.1 is only here. It's compatible with the x800 and only $9.99 to boot.

 

[goobernoodles]

I just installed a zalman onto my x850 pro. It was pretty easy.

You unscrew the original heatsink, take it off, clean each ram unit, and gpu with alcohol, something you would probably want to do with either card. Then you peel off the plastic on the ramsinks, and stick em on. Easy. Then you go on and mount the backplate, and screw in the heatsink. I did it in 10 minutes.

 

[chimpy]

Originally posted by: ReMeDy{WcS}
The Silencer 4 Rev.1 is only here. It's compatible with the x800 and only $9.99 to boot.

WOW. That's a great price. Problem is, I'm in the UK

I think I will get one of the Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer solutions (due to what I've read in the thread I linked to, the ease of installation, and price). Problem is, which one? The '4' or '5' model? Both models are here.

They are both the sam price, so that is not not an issue. The issue is: which one will fit my card best, with the easiest installation?