Zalman 7700-AlCu Recommended!

[The Pentium Guy]

I'd highly recommend you get this cooler.

Alright, here's my experience:

I received this cooler today, from Amazon. Guess the price? $2.99. It's $32.99 on Amazon (great deal), and if you sign up for the Amazon Visa Card, you get it for $2.99.

My initial concerns were, "Will this fit my case?"

I have:
ASUS P4P800-E Deluxe
Intel P4 3.0c "Northwood" (Socket 478)
NZXT Guardian Midtower Case.

Zalman has a great website to check if your heatsink is compatible or not - just go there and it will give you the dimensions of the heatsink and how much room you need.

I calculated it, and I realized that I needed an extra 1 mm of space... so I posted on this forum asking if you could cut a heatsink...etc. The reason I asked this was becuase my stock heatsink was steel (I think), and it was hard as hell.

So I made my order, with Super Saver Shipping, received it in 1 and 1/2 weeks.

When I got the package, it was HUGE. However when I opened it, about 90% of the box was foam.

But the heatsink was HUGE, much bigger than my 40mm (estimated) stock heatsink. Again, thoughts of "Will it fit?" came to my mind.

I had earlier purchased Arctic Silver Ceramique. So I was all set.
The heatsink DOES come with existing thermal compound, a very small amount (maybe for 2-3 uses), but I'd recommend you spend about $4 on Arctic Silver Ceramique for maximum performance.

The box came with everything you needed, including Zalman FanMate2 (A little knob thing to control the speed of the fan) - I chose not to use this and let my motherboard decide on RPMs. It came with lots of accessories for other sockets as well (backplate, screws, nipples....etc).

The instructions for Socket 478 were pretty straightforward.

Basically, I had to take the old heatsink out, clean the cpu with some 93% isopropol alcohol and some q-tips.

Then, I added the retention clip whcih Zalman provided. I applied the Ceramique to my CPU and heatsink. Just note: The base of the heatsink is VERY smooth and HIGHLY polished (that's a good thing).

Then I followed the instructions and added a few screws.

Next came the slightly tricky part, actually putting in the heatsink. Whew. If you have big hands this is hard. Btw that 1mm clearance 'issue' - was not really an issue. The fins of the heatsink are VERY "Flimsy" and I basically moved it apart just SLIGHTLY. So it was BARELY touching my PSU.

Then I tried to connect the 3 pin connector to my motherboard. Heh. That was impossible.

NOTE: Connect the fan to the motherboard BEFORE mounting the heatsink. That helps a LOT.

Although this heatsink wasn't as quiet as I expected (running at 2000 RPM, it's max) - it was MUCH quieter than my stock heatsink.

Putting the hsf in silent mode really turned it down, but noise isn't that bad even if the RPMs are high.

I'm getting pretty low temperatures, for having only 3 fans in my case (1 exhaust from the PSU, 1 exhaust, 1 side intake): 107 F on idle. Not that bad at all. Then again, the side fan is blowing almost directly into the HSF.

This thing extends over my northbridge and cools my RAM too .

Good:
-Relatively quiet
-Great cooling
-Price (on Amazon), compared to XP-120
-Fan controlled included
-You can't even hear this on Silent Mode

Bad:
-Not as quiet as I'd expect on full RPM, but STILL damn near quiet.
-Installation: Because of the size, you might have issues
-Dust. Although this beast can hold lots of dust before becoming 'weaker', it's kind of hard to get the dust out, even with an air blower, becuase of all the fins.

Highly Recommended.

-The Pentium Guy

 

[Zucarita9000]

I'm glad that you find the Zalman useful. I have the 7000 AlCu, 7700 little brother. I'm very happy with the performance, it's very quiet and it cools pretty darn well. My 3GHz Prescott idles at around 40C during cool days, and about 45C during a hot summer day.

 

[imported_Kensai]

Yes it works, I'm using one too. (Though I want the full copper version.)

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Wow. This thing gets loud when I play games.

I was playing call of duty, with my speakers on of course - so I couldn't notice my PC.
I turned off my speakers becuase of a phone call, and I heard this loud (but muted) growl from my heatsink. Damn.

-TPG

 

[imported_Kensai]

What!?! Mine is nice and quiet.. How's yours loud? The fan is spinning at like 2200rpms.

 

[Extraordinary Cow]

Just curious: You said it came with a knob to control fan speed...is it a completely separate knob or something? Where does it go?

 

[Mucker]

Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
Wow. This thing gets loud when I play games.

I was playing call of duty, with my speakers on of course - so I couldn't notice my PC.
I turned off my speakers becuase of a phone call, and I heard this loud (but muted) growl from my heatsink. Damn.

-TPG

You can use the fanmate in conjunction with your mb temp control or other software control (I use Speedfan). Just use the fanmate to set the upper voltage limit going to the fan. The software will still speed it up when necessary but will hit the upper limit where the fanmate is set and not go any farther up. You can play around with speed and temp, chances are there won't be a huge difference in cooling between the very upper speed and something less, but the noise diff may be great....

m

 

[Boztech]

You opened up a Visa account just to buy an HSF?

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Well I got attracted by the amazon rewards (for buying stuff) and I buy a lot of stuff from amazon .

Just curious: You said it came with a knob to control fan speed...is it a completely separate knob or something? Where does it go?

The hsf comes with a double sided tape so you can stick it out of your case... but the wire that connects to the hsf has to get through a 'hole' in your case - so you'll have to open up a bracket (like where the PCI cards go) <- that's the only part I hate. I wish it came with a bracket... DOH.

What!?! Mine is nice and quiet.. How's yours loud? The fan is spinning at like 2200rpms.

It's not THAT loud - its just, I hear a low pitched motor noise pretty much when I play games - its nothing annoying at all. You can't hear it unless you actually LISTEN for it. And trust me, my stock thing was annoying as hell - so this is nothing compared to that.

-The Pentium Guy

 

[The Pentium Guy]

This is kind of odd - I realized that the "noise" at loud speeds was caused by some resistance while the fan spun. I fiddled around with the fan and there was no more resistance. I can't really explain it.

Here's the story:

I was doing some clean up on my heatsink becuase it was choked with dust.
Basically, I turned the fan (manually), it was sort of ... resisting a bit and making some sort of 'grinding' noise (What I used to hear when I played games and turned off my speakers). This happens when you push on the fan and turn. After playing around with it, by "pulling" the fan a bit and turning it the other way, there was no resistance and the fan spun sort of smoothly. I really can't explain it though.

Now I can't hear a THING on the heatsink, even if I'm playing HL2.

Just thought I'd share for those of you who might experience this "issue" (might have been my fault though)

-The Pentium Guy

 

[theMan]

hmm, thats weird, my xp-90 has a 90mm fan that runs at 2400rpm, and i cant hear it at all. also, my temps with it are over 10c lower than yours. also, it takes up about half as much space.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Woah. You're kidding right? Pretty cool if you ask me.
Idle: 107F (as I said before) = 41.6C. 31.6C = 89F.

Your system must run pretty cool. What's your load? Mine tops at about 133F(56C) or so while gaming.... that sounds pretty hot to me ... aren't CPUs supposed to run cooler than 60C? Gosh.

 

[krcat1]

My 7000 AlCu keeps my P43.2E@3.4 at 37C idle and at most 50C full blast.

I can only hear the fan when it is on full, and even then it is still noticeable.

I use AS5 and an Antec case with a side fan.

The dust in the fan blades is hard to remove. Air doesn't do the job for me.

 

[BillyBobJoel71]

no they are suppoed to be around 60 at load.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

I'll clean up some dust and let you guys know if it gets any better.

 

[theMan]

i have a 850mhz oc on my 3200+ and it gets up to 42c load, and about 30c idle. but, those northwoods are hot compared to the winchesters. also, i think the xp-90 is a better cooler than the 7700alcu. i just have 1 120mm intake and 1 120mm exhaust fan in my case.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

I only have 1 80mm intake, 1 80mm exhaust.... I should get more fans thuogh. This summer is gonna be hot!

 

[IEC]

Originally posted by: Boztech
You opened up a Visa account just to buy an HSF?

You posted in this thread just to troll? Go away before I cast magic missile! :|

 

[teutonicknight]

I didn't feel like making a whole new thread, so....

I have the 7000b and I love it too. Fairly quiet (I have it set at the lowest voltage, ~1400) and cools well. My CPU idles at 36c, 47c Load. (Winchester Athlon 64 3200 (2.0 Ghz at 2.5 Ghz)). I also really like the design, which also blows air over my passive Northbridge heatsink.

My only complaint is the promise of "silent mode". Maybe I have sensitive ears, but I can still hear the fan! Infact, the fan is probably the second loadest thing in my case, even at the lowest setting. I think I'm going to swap out the stock fan for a Zalman soon...

All in all though, I would recomend the heatsink too.

(The Pentium Guy: I've found using a medium sized soft brush (i.e. cheapo water colour brush) cleans the fins very well)

 

[The Pentium Guy]

(The Pentium Guy: I've found using a medium sized soft brush (i.e. cheapo water colour brush) cleans the fins very well)

That's actually a good idea. But what I went out and did was bought an expensive air duster as opposed to a cheapo one, and that seved me well . In fact the thing is so strong that it dislocated one of my fins.

-The Pentium Guy

 

[BillyBobJoel71]

my 3 ghz prescott idles at 43 in the summer time now, with a 7000b-cu. silent.

 

[Stonemason]

Er- just a point about the difference in temperature between The Pentium Guy and theman is that you have different CPU's that produce different amounts of energy- which stands to reason seeing that they are of different make, clock speed, and voltage (probably).

On topic, I'm in the process of researching a new A64 system, and I plan on using aftermarket cooling (and overclocking). However, I'm not sure how much of a difference I'll see if I purchase a 7000AlCu or a 7700AlCu, and also in their copper iterations. Or am I better off getting a XP90 or 120?

Thanks

 

[furballi]

The difference between a 7000 and 7700 is about 2C. The big 7700 will also cool your RAM, MOSFETs, and chipset on the motherboard. The big XP may better the 7700 by another 2C. A difference of 3C will normally yield another 50 to 80MHz of CPU core speed for AMD 64 processor (assuming you can push the system that high).