Zalman 9500 shipped today!! Installing my XP120 later this evening...

[JEDIYoda]

http://www.sharkacorp.com/

to Sharka sales....
I recently purchased a Zalman 9500 from you all ahead of the arrival date for that cooler!

I just noticed that on your site you say as of sept 14th you will be shipping that particular cooler...I hope thats true!!

Just inquiring as to if it is true...

Sharka sales to Yoda---
Yes, Your cooler will be shipped later today. You should be receiving a tracking number later this evening.

Sharka Sales

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Are you benchtesting heatsinks?

If not -- I didn't tell you to return the XP120 -- but I think your money is better spent with the SI120.

Well -- tell us all how it is:

Processor "Maximum Thermal Power" = ________ Watts
Idle Temp (Fan on "High" speed setting) = _________ Celsius
Load Temp PRIME95 "Large FFT" Torture Test = _______ Celsius

 

[Corporate Thug]

man, i wish i could drop that kind of money on HSF

 

[BW86]

wow, 75 bones for a hsf..:Q

 

[Pabster]

Can you say sucker?

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: Pabster
Can you say sucker?

No but I can say I have read all the reviews and duly noted the results!
I know from first hand experience that from system to system what works for some doesn`t always work for others!!

Actually the Zalman at a later date will be installed and benched...after I bench the xp120!!

Can we all say "CheapSkate?" lolol

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: BonzaiDuck
Are you benchtesting heatsinks?

If not -- I didn't tell you to return the XP120 -- but I think your money is better spent with the SI120.

Well -- tell us all how it is:

Processor "Maximum Thermal Power" = ________ Watts
Idle Temp (Fan on "High" speed setting) = _________ Celsius
Load Temp PRIME95 "Large FFT" Torture Test = _______ Celsius

Many things should go into a pproperly done benching of a product...
Including ambient room temperature...etc.....

Not a complete rookie to computing...lolol

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Nobody said you were . . .

It doesn't matter what the room ambient is when evaluating thermal resistances.

Thermal resistance measures the difference between load and idle temperature, per watt of thermal power, so:

TR = (T[L] - T) / TP

If "maximum power" or "MP" is provided by processor manufacturer or reviewer, that is the value to use for TP. The temperatures are measured in Celsius; the units of TR are C/W or degrees celsius per watt.

Regardless of room ambient, you can estimate the temperature swing from idle to load by plugging in the known values. Assume you know the T idle temperature and that it is 30C, and the processor is rated at 82W. Suppose you're running your XP120 with its minimum thermal resistance of 0.167 C/W. Then:

T[L] = (TR * TP) + T

and the load temperature is 43.7C. You can verify this at ANY room ambient with your brand-new XP-120 if you have the right "Maximum thermal Power" spec from the CPU-manufacturer's web-site for that particular model.

If you bump room ambient up, then the idle temperature will bump up a corresponding amount, but the idle-to-load swing will still be 13.7C in the example.

The Citarella review of the SI-120 used several different fan settings on that cooler, with the fan setting of above 2,900 rpm corresponding to the thermal resistance minimum of 0.14. At a fan-speed of around 980rpm, the thermal resistance was 0.18.

Your concern for noise can be balanced with a desire for efficient cooling if you can thermally control your CPU fan. You may run the cooler at a warmer temperature (given whatever room ambient prevails) at "Idle:" If you ran your fan at full blast, maybe you could cool a CPU to 82F, but running the CPU at an Idle value of 89F is not going to make any difference. Suppose the fan controller or control software (e.g., Speedfan) is set to spin up the fan to 2,900rpm at a temperature of 40C. That's when it may become noisy.

But you can still mitigate that occasional, momentary noise by (a) choosing a fan that only generates "white-noise" air-turbulence, (b) noise-deadener pads or foam fan-baffles.

Who cares if you hear a tolerable fan-noise when your machine is heating up to 110F? When it cools back down below 104F, the fan would spin down to 1,000 rpm.

So the Citarella review showing dBA values between 50 or 60 of fans on "High" for the low thermal resistance value of 0.14 doesn't mean that you can't run the fan at 1,000 and get a thermal resistance of 0.18. If you don't spin up the fan when the CPU temp increases, the cooler still performs better than a Zalman CNPS-7700 and about as well as a CNPS-9500. You can calculate with reasonable precision what load temperature you can expect with TR = 0.18. It may be a couple degrees C with a processor MP of 80 watts; it may be double that for a processor MP in excess of 100 watts.

 

[JEDIYoda]

sorry...dude you amuse me with your posts concerning thermal resisitance.....

The bottom line is not thermal resistance!!
Everything does not rotate around those 2 words....

Thx for the laff!!!

 

[lobadobadingdong]

nice.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

OK -- here's an incomplete list of everything:

Cooling -- it's all about thermal resistance
Size -- If it don't fit, it don't fit
Noise with air-cooling -- it's about trading off dust and decibels for cooling
Weight -- torque and stress on your mobo; trading off properties of metal (conductivity and thermal resistance) against some grams
Appearance -- doesn't help your benchmarks or processor longevity

Room ambient? A matter of controlled conditions for comparison, if you don't intend to measure thermal resistance. Otherwise, it's just a test condition. Of course, you'd like to see a cooler produce an idle temperature as close as possible to room temperature, but idle temperature is more meaningful to stress on components in comparison to load temperature.

Idle vs load temperature and processor thermal power? It's all . . . about . . . thermal resistance . . .

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: BonzaiDuck
Size -- If it don't fit, it don't fit

LOL. I had to sell my XP-120 because it didn't fit. Oh, it fit the motherboard fine, but I did a case swap and since the heatsink extended past the motherboard in the new case it pressed against the power supply.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Same problem with some people and the CNPS-7700-Cu.

I -- I hate to say it -- (still) have an ASUS P4T533R mobo with P4-3.06-533 and that proprietary 32-bit, 232-pin Samsung Rambus (1GB). The AGP slot comes so close to the CPU socket that you can only fit a heatpipe cooler in there that is made for a 92mm fan. Right now, it has a rube-goldberg contraption made of a Zalman fan-bracket, a 120-to-92mm acrylic fan adapter, and a couple 92mm fan-shrouds as a duct to force air from the 120mm fan to the top of the TT PIPE101 heatpipe cooler. The fan is so close to the case side-panel that the noise is higher than what you'd want it to be, and the fan adapter underneath the fan just barely clears the top of the AGP card.

The replacement XP-90 and Panaflo 92mm fan is sitting in a corner -- waiting for me to get around to removing Rube-Goldberg.

 

[CraKaJaX]

I'm still going with the XP-120, nothing can stop me!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

CrakaJax -- at least look at this. Hartware.de reviews available late last year proved the XP-120 had a minimum thermal resistance of 0.167 C/W. I confirm that with my rig, using a P4-3.0C Northwood processor and an idle-to-load swing of just under 14 degrees Celsius.

OverClockers.com published a review dated 8/27/05 by (hope I remember the name precisely) Citarella showing a thermal resistance for the ThermalRight SI-120 at 0.14 C/W with fan running above 2,500 rpm, and 0.18 C/W with fan running below 1,000 rpm.

Heatsinkfactory.com has the SI-120 priced at $44.95.

Here's the OverClockers.com review:

OverClockers.com, August 27, 2005 -- SI-120

SI-120 at Sidewinder Computers

XP-120 at Sidewinder Computers

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Footnote:

Both coolers seem to be compatible with a full range of motherboard CPU socket designs. Cautionary notes at the TR website explain how certain case designs will place the power supply unit too close to the motherboard, interfering with the XP/SI-120 if the CPU socket is too close to the upper edge of the mobo.

Socket T / LGA775 Intel systems require a $5 adapter kit, obtainable through ThermalRight and resellers. Like some other coolers, the only drawback with the kit is that it requires motherboard removal to install a small plate on the mobo underside.

 

[JEDIYoda]

First of all I am not discussing whether the Zalman 9500 is the best or not....
I think the 2 reviews which everybody repsects.....

Understands that at best it is just another contender with the XP90.....xp120....Ninja....Shogun.....etc.....

Yet the one fact remains through it all even SPCR stated that at a certain fan rpm it was the best .......but with that said....on to thermal resistance....

Thermal resistance doesn`t negate the need for a solid set of parameters to test heatsink fans!

Arguably some say it doesn`t matter what the ambient temps are others like myself say it does to a certain extent.

That certain extent is they really do make a difference in how well a Heatsink works!

They don`t make a difference if you are just testing a heatsink for review purposes so others may use the review as a guideline for possibly future purchases!

In the end what it boils down to is NOT thermal resistance based on undetermined variables; it makes what you postulate concerning the predictability and consistency of thermal resitance no matter what variables are involved....in my opinion not entirely accurate unless you are using it for a basic guideline that does not take into account unforseen circumstances!!!

Have a nice day!!

PS--I just installed my XP120 plenty of room!!!
All I can say is SWEET!!!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I accept the possibility that a change in ambient may change thermal resistance -- that thermal resistance is not an absolute constant. But over a range of room temperatures between 65F and 85F (summer vs winter, So. California) -- I haven't noticed even a fraction of a degree departure in the idle-to-load spread for my own XP-120. Also, as I said elsewhere, I believe in overkill, but I think I've been running my CPU fan too high to do any good. I think the XP-120 will reach its minimum TR= 0.167 C/W at somewhat less CFM than I've been pushing through it.

After tuning everything down today, I think my hard-disks -- Hitachis rated "quiet" -- are annoying. Now -- that's progress!!

Enjoy your XP-120. I'll report on my experience with the SI-120, but it may be as much as two weeks off. I'm playing musical computer cases with mobo ensembles at the moment.

Tomorrow I pick up a HUUU-UGE Compaq Proliant server box -- designed for a 486 at the threshold between the AT and ATX form-factor standards. I also get all the junk that's inside it -- a massive array of -- probably -- old Ultra-Wide 68-pin SCSI-3(?) hard disks. But all I want is the case, drive-cages, mobo-pan -- sheet metal.

I think that thing is big enough to enclose a small refrigerator and a two-gallon water-cooling reservoir.

 

[entropy1982]

Guys why do you talk to yoda.... he doesn't own anything that he posts here... he just starts flamewars.... stop playing into it

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: entropy1982
Guys why do you talk to yoda.... he doesn't own anything that he posts here... he just starts flamewars.... stop playing into it

Entropy---you know nothing abouy what I do or don`t own!!
yet you flame me because I disagreed with Bonzai duck concerning Thermal Resistance!!
Yet I did not see you get involved in the conversation the two of us were having!!
We both were very adament about our opinions and we both approached the subject in several ways!!

I can agree to disagree!!
I can also change my mind as some of my recent posts bear that out concerning that 9500!!

Yet I do own everything I say I do; as well as more than what I say I do!!
Unlike some I work and I pay for what I own!!
I don`t live at home and haven`t lived at home for many years!!
My parents don`t own what I say I own like some other peeps...
Yes--I can be argumentative and even arrogant but I try my best to be practical!
Albeit my opinions are my own based on what I read and have experienced.
My opinions were not formulated based on what was posted in these or other forums!
I can think for myself...I don`t need others to think for me!

Finally---You personally may not like me for whatever reason you have....
But then thats an issue that you have to deal with!

You post on this thread accusing me of starting a flame war...when there was only 2 of us posting concerning "thermal resistance"!
2 people don`t constitute a flame war...lol

yet you accuse me of starting a flame war by flaming me....doh.....

Have a nice day!!!

Just my 2 cookies worth!!

 

[JEDIYoda]

Actually since I live in California....it came out to be....

COMING SOON!!! Zalman cnps9500led 1 79.95
CNPS 9500 LED Highest
Performing Ultra Quiet
CPU Cooler
(Shipped)
UPS Tracking Number:
1XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-
Subtotal 79.95
Shipping 5.72
Tax 6.20
Total 91.87

####I usually don`t buy anything from california due to the taxes...but since they are approx 6 hrs from where I live....
I went with them this time...so I can be 1 of the first with the 9500.....
I might set iit up in the wifes rigg until I fully check out the XP120!!! That I just installed!!

 

[Banzai042]

Nice, you're gonna need to let us know how those come out. $90 for a HSF though, ouch man, i just ordered an XP90 w/L1BX and that was only $40.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

It may seem like I'm on you like flies on a dead bunny, but I wager that the CNPS-9500 would show lower load temps on the same test-bed than the XP-120 by a couple degrees C. I think your processor's TDP is somewhere around 90 watts.

But it depends on whether the proprietary Zalman fan pushes enough CFM through the cooler on "high" as opposed to your choice of fans for the ThermalRight, and how they behave with higher CFM.

I'll be interested in seeing how that turns out . . .

 

[JBDan]

Originally posted by: CraKaJaX
I'm still going with the XP-120, nothing can stop me!

Solid choice CraK Looking forward to your results yoda :beer:

 

[JEDIYoda]

I also managed to get the Sharka peeps to send me a Zalman cap after the fact for free`````lolol