Cooler for X800 -Arctic cooler ATi Silencer 5 or Zalman Vf700?

[Pinchy]

Hey Guys,

Just like to know, what would be the best cooler for my X800 PRO (flashed to XT PE w/16 pipes), taking the price into consideration. I've read tons of stuff, but every forum has different opinions.

a) Zalman Vf700AL/CU - $30
b) Zalman Vf700CU - $40
c) ATi Silencer 5 (Rev. 2) - $37.50
d) any other recommendations - less that $50

I am getting temps of 70-75 *C in ATi tool with 3D view, and would like to cool it down a little bit

With the price, i just want to know things like if its worth the extra $7.50 for the Arctic cooler or an extra $10 for the full copper, etc.

Just out of interest as well, how are the ram heatsinks with the zalman coolers stuck on? (glue?, thermal tape?)

Thanks for all the help in advanced!

Cheers
Pinchy

 

[{0}Salamander{0}]

Silencer every time.

The Zalman is all hype and bad performance IMO.

 

[Clocked]

Arctic Cooling ATI SLIENCER!

 

[Cybie1111]

I agree with all on the Arctic Cooling ATi Silencer. It cools it down and the hot air is moved out of the case which can lower temperatures around the case.

 

[NeoKrieger]

what temps are you guys getting? I have the VF-700 AlCu installed and with clocks at 460/575, core temp is no higher than 54*C under load

 

[Clocked]

555/630, no more then 55C when running ATI TOOL's Box

and athe Arctic Cooler also cools the rams.

 

[Azn Tr14dZ]

i have the VF700-Cu LED and I get 34-35idle/49-52 load. i have the Zalman RAMSinks that came with it.

 

[j0nx]

those silencers last less than a year. 6 yr warranty means nothing since the company won't respond to your emails.

 

[sleepeeg3]

Silencer is the better design, especially for a small case. Glad to see people finally wise up to that. Zalman might do half a degree better, but not when you take into account case and CPU temps.

those silencers last less than a year. 6 yr warranty means nothing since the company won't respond to your emails.

They're also out of the country. The metal they use for the pins is also very fragile. Bearings on fans can get damaged very easily. But I'd still rather have a Silencer.

 

[Pinchy]

Before i say anything about the coolers, just like to say thanks for all of the quick responses and all the support! This is the first time ive posted on a forum and i must say im very impressed

Hehe, as i said in my first post, there are lots of different opinions, whether to go Zalman or Silencer I have a standard sized case, and no PCI slots below the card.

555/630, no more then 55C when running ATI TOOL's Box

and athe Arctic Cooler also cools the rams.

Judging by Clocked, its arctic cooling all the way! They are great temps for such an OC. (btw nice specs clocked ) If anyone else has temps (whether it be zalman or silencer), please post

Thanks again for all the great help guys!

Cheers
Pinchy

 

[NeoKrieger]

btw, the Zalman cools the ram as well using a passive HS solution

 

[Boneface]

i have the x700 256 default 400/266 and OC it to 480/440 and i us the zalman vf700 and idle on a normal day is 34c and load 49c....on a good day idle like right now is 26c and full 35c

 

[markkleb]

AC rules! $10

http://www.svc.com/avc-at4-r1.html

 

[Pinchy]

I'm probably going to buy an AC. The temps between the AC and Zalman are very similiar, and my CPU is very loud, so the AC mite cool down my whole case and lower the noise my CPU fan makes

btw, the Zalman cools the ram as well using a passive HS solution

Yeah, thats true, yet the arctic cooler uses the whole fan over the ram, the zalman only uses heatsinks.

i have the x700 256 default 400/266 and OC it to 480/440 and i us the zalman vf700 and idle on a normal day is 34c and load 49c....on a good day idle like right now is 26c and full 35c

They are pretty good temps, but that is the Vf700 CU (full copper, better cooling) and they are more expensive than the AC.

AC rules! $10

http://www.svc.com/avc-at4-r1.html

Im here in Australia, so things are more expensive . The prices i have in my first post are eBay prices . I'd like to get it from another country, but when postage comes into consideration, the final price is a lot more than a local buy.

Btw, Ill post my temps after i get the AC so if anyone else has this problem, they can see how the AC performs

So thanks for all the help everyone! This forum is great

Cheers!
Pinchy

 

[markkleb]

Good luck to you and remember something the Zalman guys cant say, The AC cooler will lower the inside the case temps as well..
PM me and let me know what the price is for the card where you are. Mark

 

[Pinchy]

Good luck to you and remember something the Zalman guys cant say, The AC cooler will lower the inside the case temps as well..
PM me and let me know what the price is for the card where you are. Mark

Hey Mark,
I can get the AC ATi silencer 5, brand new, for AUD $37.50, delivered to my door. Im in Sydney, Australia.

Thanks for the quick reply

Cheers
Pinchy

 

[markkleb]

Is yours the R420 or 480?

Because if tis the R420 I think it takes the ATI-4 rev2

if its the R480 its the ATI-5

Either way I know you will like it, Dont forget the Arctic Silver 5.... Mark

 

[Pinchy]

Hey Mark,
well the ATi 4 takes the R420, but the 5 takes the whole X800 series, except AIW. the ATi 4 was very cheap about 2-3 months ago over here, about $25, as they were clearing up in Australia. The ATi 4 is no longer avaliable in Australia, so i couldnt buy one.

Thanks again for all the help , i just bought the cooler for $37.50.

Cheers
Pinchy

 

[infrared]

I wouldn't even consider the zalman... You don't want the massive heat output from an x800/x850 series card going streight into your case, and helping to keep your cpu all toasty.

I have the x800gto2, on stock voltage, these are my temperatures:

original cooler: 580/630 - 65c
AC Silencer: 585/633 - 55c

Overvolted to 1.58v:

Silencer: 645/633 - 64c
Note: This is pretty hot, i know, but the heat output from the R480 core, running at 1.55v + is crazy. The silencer does a great job at keeping the core cool, even while running on voltages normally reserved for use with waterblocks.

I havn't overvolted the memory yet, but i should have plenty of headroom, using this cooler. But the only down point is the pads are easily damaged when removing the cooler, so it's a good idea to buy some spare thermal pads. Also, you can remove the pads on the backplate all together and use Ceramique, this helps with heat tranfer a lot!

EDIT:

I see you've already bought it, cool beans!

Enjoy!

 

[markkleb]

Your welcome Pinchy,enjoy...

 

[Pinchy]

Wow people in these forums are so friendly
My chip is only a R420, so it wont heat up as much .

Infrared, (or anyone, im just asking infrared cus i see he has flashed to an X850XT PE ) just out of interest, is there any difference between the X800XT PE and X850XT PE? I know there is a 20Mhz core and 30Mhz memory clock increase, but is that it? Like what does the X850 series offer so much more than the X800 series, besides higher clocks?

Yep, should get the AC on friday or monday. Ill post the temps on as soon as i get it. Currently, it is about 72*C on max load (that ATi tool 3d view hairy box for about 10-15 mins)

Thanks to everyone that posted, you've all been great help

Cheers!
Pinchy

 

[thedivinehairband]

Personally I'm a Silencer guy. I use one on my X800XL and its never seen a temp north of 50degreesC under load overclocked.

I have had 2 break but I sent them back to my supplier and were replaced instantly.

One tip don't use the Auto fan control in ATiTool. Set it to 85% all the time and no troubles shall be had!!

 

[Pinchy]

Yeh i got pretty good airflow in my case, three 80mm case fans (my case isnt very good, no 120mm slots). But i like the AC as it will push hot air out of my case as well as GPU and *hopefully* quiet my CPU fan down a little bit

Btw, thanks for the tip of the 85% fan speed (another thing i like about AC as opposed to Zalman; i "heard" that u cannot control the Zalman fan, yet AC u can). Just out of interest, why would it last longer like that?

Cheers
Pinchy

 

[thedivinehairband]

Well I found my core heating up a lot with my third AC and thought the fan had gone again but checking it on startup and in safemode showed it was still spinning.

I then went into ATiTool and found that the values for the dynamic fan speed had been changed. They read:

Over 0 degC 39%
Over 34degC 0%
Over 46degC 0%

and so on.

This happened after a crash during overclocking so instead of resetting the values I just went for a default speed on the fan to save any bother. You can just turn off the fan override though. Or if your not using ATiTool no worries. Just a safety thing for me.

 

[Pinchy]

Oh so the 85% fan is just a problem you had, not an actual AC problem. Thanks for notifying me (i do use ATi tool), ill check it out when i get the AC

Cheers
Pinchy