zalman (vf900) or arctic cooling (accelero X2) ?

J

jamiepskelton

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Feb 22, 2007
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OK so I've just bought an x1900xtx and something needs to be done about the sound (as discussed in many previous threads), so which solution do I go for, zalman, or arctic?? They both seem to be fine for temps., but what about noise and ease of installation?

Opinions much appreciated.
 
i can only speak of X2, it is mostly made of Al, while the vf900 is made of Cu which might give the zalman the more cooling (tho i dont know), but the X2's fan can be used at 100% all the time and still its the most quiet part in the pc.
 
VF900 @ the egg = $37

Accelero2 @ the egg = $20

The VF900 can't be twice as good as the Accelero.
 
I went with the Accelero X2 based on the opinions from the guys @ XS ( http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=93803 ). The X2 seemed to do a lot better with ATI's cards, over the VF900. But you should read all the way through to see if it convinces you to get one cooler over another.

Well I got my X2 for about $18 shipped (w/ CA tax), and it works great. Glad I didn't have to spend double that to get good performance and silence.
 
YoNeX said:
I went with the Accelero X2 based on the opinions from the guys @ XS ( http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=93803 ). The X2 seemed to do a lot better with ATI's cards, over the VF900. But you should read all the way through to see if it convinces you to get one cooler over another.

Well I got my X2 for about $18 shipped (w/ CA tax), and it works great. Glad I didn't have to spend double that to get good performance and silence.
Click to expand...

I agree. Accelero is a kick-assstatic cooler. :cool:
 
honestly, to me, I don't understand how people can spend anywhere from $200 to $600 dollars on a video card and then quibble so much about the diffence between 20 or 40 dollars. We're talking about insuring that your investment run as efficiently as possible. Anyway, to me spending an extra 20 bucks to make sure I have the very best is a good way of protecting my much larger investment. I have a Zalman ZV9 cooling my X1950 PRO and I couldn't be happier. From what I've read, there's not a better cooler out there. The temps are on average 20 degrees colder than stock and the sound levels were cut in half. Can't ask for much more. If you want the very best, go with the ZV9, otherwise the Artic is decent and it will save you 20 bucks.
 
I can only speak for the zalman, but it's dead silent on my x1900xtx and keeps it at 40c. Makes me happy after the roar off the stock cooler.
 
Apollo686 said:
I can only speak for the zalman, but it's dead silent on my x1900xtx and keeps it at 40c. Makes me happy after the roar off the stock cooler.
Click to expand...

maybe up north during winter th youre boxhanging out the window but in the real world a VF900 cant handle the heat from an xtx(my load temps are more than 40c with water ;)

the two best coolers for ati are:

Thermalright HR-03 the best(also 5 pipe version available for the 8800 series)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835109134

Thermaltake CL-G0076 is the only aftermarket cooler that exhausts the heat out of the case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835106089
 
another mention for the HR-03, since it seems to get no love.. afaik it's hands down the best, as everybody that's compared it to the vf900 and accelero has had the hr03 ahead by a solid margin.

good: incredibly good at dissipating heat, quiet (no fan, 92mm fan, or 120mm fan with zipties), comes with RAMsinks and uses thumbscrews to mount, can give airflow to the RAM and PWM.

bad: it's huge (200g+, takes up 2 slots with HS backwards on the card, or 3+ with fan standing off the card) and expensive ($~45+ without fan), doesn't make any effort to exhaust air out the case. i don't really know if it counts as hard to install or not.. it was normal for me, as doing anything to my graphics card is a hair-raising white-knuckle event in any case.

but yeah.. if you're after the best, damn the price, that one's it for now.
 
VF900 dropped my load temps from ~70C to 50's. Idle went from 44 to 37C
Thing is silent and comes with RAM sinks that are more than able to get the job done.

Plus, it looks sleek
 
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