??? Zalman CNPS7000-AlCu OR Zalman CNPS7000-Cu OR Thermalright SLK800-U ???

[ferrarifreak93]

I'm in the process of oc'ing my new P4 2.4c and I am looking for better cooling. I've limited my selections down to the Zalman CNPS7000-AlCu, Zalman CNPS7000-Cu, and Thermalright SLK800-U (I've ruled out the SLK900-U b/c it's too expensive). I can't decide which one to get. Which one do you suggest?

 

[Sunny129]

unfortunately i have no first hand experience with any of them...yet. i'm in the same boat as you. soon i will be getting a 2.4C, and i've narrowed my cooling solutions down to the AlCu and the Cu. i hear Zalman is the best air cooler available. i also hear that the Cu performs only marginally better than the Cu. but if i can find the Cu for only a few bucks more than the AlCu, why not get it?

 

[ferrarifreak93]

I'm really leaning towards the 7000AlCu model now for two reasons: 1. the heatsink is much lighter and it's within intel specs unlike the all copper version and 2. the AlCu model seems to cool just as well as the all copper version (this has been validated by many website reviews). Hey Sunny129, check these links out, they helped me a lot. When I decide which one to get I will let you know here.

SilentPCreview.com's Review - they find both versions perform the same
SilentPCreview.com's Forum
Lost Circuit's Review - they also find both versions to perform about the same
ocworkbase.com's review - another reviewer finds the two versions to perform the same

 

[Night718]

well if ur not gonna OC over 3 ghz.......the zalman 7000 al cu would probably be ur best choice...... lowest noise......but the least cooling out of the 3 i believe..... but only by like 1 or 2 degrees...... if u are gonna OC past 3 u might wanna consider pure copper ones.... cuz u'd want to get every mhz out of ur cpu

 

[GtPrOjEcTX]

Originally posted by: Night718
well if ur not gonna OC over 3 ghz.......the zalman 7000 al cu would probably be ur best choice...... lowest noise......but the least cooling out of the 3 i believe..... but only by like 1 or 2 degrees...... if u are gonna OC past 3 u might wanna consider pure copper ones.... cuz u'd want to get every mhz out of ur cpu

I'm using the 7000alcu with my 2.4c which is overclocked to 3.24Ghz. vcore at 1.65V
idle temps of 38C, load at 59C

 

[ferrarifreak93]

Originally posted by: GtPrOjEcTX
I'm using the 7000alcu with my 2.4c which is overclocked to 3.24Ghz. vcore at 1.65V
idle temps of 38C, load at 59C

Why did you decide on the AlCu over the Cu version?

 

[pm]

The weight of the Cu version is almost twice that of the AlCu.

I am very impressed with my Zalman 7000 AlCu. My temperatures dropped by about 8C under load compared with the Intel retail heatsink/fan and it's far quieter.

 

[jhites]

Originally posted by: pm
The weight of the Cu version is almost twice that of the AlCu.

I am very impressed with my Zalman 7000 AlCu. My temperatures dropped by about 8C under load compared with the Intel retail heatsink/fan and it's far quieter.

The CU is over intel specs but it has exceptional mounting hardware. I would not suggest the CU for someone moving the system around, frequently (ie: LanParty). Most tests do show a very close comparison with the ALCU vs the CU. CU comes out on top but not by much. I still prefer my SLK900U with Panaflo over my CU.

 

[jose]

I'm running 3.45ghz (3.06) @ 34C with the CNPS700-AlCu fan in a
chenbro Junior case w/ 2 - 120mm Panaflow fans.

Regards,
Jose

 

[stevejst]

I installed this beast, CU version, today in my case and it is a charm to see how nice it cools while staying very quiet. The only little problem I had was to organize wires and cables around it, it is a huge thing.
Very easy installation as well.

 

[ferrarifreak93]

Originally posted by: stevejst
I installed this beast, CU version, today in my case and it is a charm to see how nice it cools while staying very quiet. The only little problem I had was to organize wires and cables around it, it is a huge thing.
Very easy installation as well.

Were you using the stock hsf before? How much have your temps dropped?

 

[dbwillis]

Im using an SLK800u on a 2.6c at 265fsb, 1.600vcore...very good temps, also running a 32cfm fan

pics

 

[Dug]

I got the AlCU on a 2.4@3.4Ghz.

Got it because of the lighter weight and price.

My motherboard runs the fan at 60% until it reaches 55c then it pops it up to 100%

Not as quiet as my old SLK-800 with an L1A attached, but it does cool a little better.

 

[karmasalad]

Originally posted by: dbwillis
Im using an SLK800u on a 2.6c at 265fsb, 1.600vcore...very good temps, also running a 32cfm fan

Curious, did you mount it using the P4 retention module or using the supplied X-bracket?

 

[thermite88]

According to several reviews, the Zalman 7000-CuAl hybrid is a equal or better cooler than the copper one. Same performance at half the weight, and with a lower price bonus.

I have two 7000-CuAl hybrids:

On a 2.6C OC to 3.1G (242 FSB, 1:1 ratio)
On a 2.53B OC to 3.0G (158 FSB, 1:1 ratio)

It keeps the CPU at 36C idle and about 48C full load. Room temperature is about 80F.

 

[stevejst]

Were you using the stock hsf before? How much have your temps dropped?

I used Zalman 5700D-Cu before with TT Smart Fan II. Basically I have not seen temp changes but the noise with TT fan on full speed is gone. I think the temperature with respect to Intel stock cooler (I have it somewhere) goes down 5-7C.

According to several reviews, the Zalman 7000-CuAl hybrid is a equal or better cooler than the copper one.

I doubt that. I had hybrid coolers before (TI) and while they are better than Aluminum heatsinks, nothing beats full copper. The difference is not big, according to frostytech, in case of Zalman 6000 heatsink, the copper one is 2C lower than the AlCu hybrid. That can easily be offset with a good installation, better thermal paste etc. But full copper heatsinks are the best type of heatsinks you can get on the retail market.
The difference grow much larger in case of 100W dissipation and there your hybrid cannot touch full copper.

 

[dbwillis]

I used the X bracket on my install...