X850XT Cooling questions...

[Narfski]

I was just wondering if anyone has tried out the Zalman ZM80D-HP fanless heatpipe? I'm thinking of getting this to replace the stock cooling system on my X850XT AGP card. Don't really plan on overclocking this video card, so I just wanted to get some input before I purchase this card. Overall I'm looking for fanless solution for my video card.

Thanks

 

[BIOHazard87]

if you get a fanless heatsink , your video card temps with be higher and you just wasted money if you ever want to overclock, meh id just turn down the fan speed

 

[spectre440]

i have to agree to an extent...

zalman make fantastic silent/near silent coolers...
but if you go for an all passive solution you wont get much of a drop in temps, if any...
and you'll never get to overclock the card properly should you ever want to...

if you're going for a zalman, which is a very good direction to go for a video cooler get one of their vf-700c's or whatever they're called...

or get an arctic cooling silencer.

both of those coolers offer great cooling and overclocking potential, and are both very very quiet even at top speeds.

but if the choice is either the stock cooler or the completley passive cooler, i'd stay with the stock cooler and just cranck down the fan speed when not gaming / running seriously graphic apps if i were you.

edit:
or you could get the zm-80 and custom mount a fan on it... will probably give you great performance... shouldn't be that hard to custom mount a 72 or maybe even an 80 on it...
but still, if you're going for the zalman's, i really think that those vf-700c/7000c or whatever they're called will be a better choice.

 

[BIOHazard87]

vf-700 cu's u mean but close enough, ya but really why waste money on worse proformance, in Rivatuner theres a fan setting where u can set the fan to any % you want on startup, and downgrading coolers is just a bad choice

 

[Poisonsnak]

Yeah I would recommend the ATI Silencer 5 with ATITool setting the fan speed to 5%, it's pretty quiet, not silentpcreview.com quiet but it's good enough for me. With fanless solutions you usually need so much case airflow to compensate it's louder in the long run anyway.

 

[AceFactor]

defianetly try the AC 5 Rev 2, they are near silent at high rpm's anyway, and dont go for the ZM, because i have checked out the TPU review, and the Queit PC review, and they say it is not suitable for that range of card because of the lack of efficient cooling, and if it is used, it must be with the additional fan, and even then it is not fully recommended

-Adam

 

[cyclocommuter]

Get the 850XT, use ATITool to set the fan at dynamic speeds and put 5% speeds at 0 to 45C temps as poisonsnak suggested. If this is not quiet enough for you I would go with an Arctic Cooling solution as it is similar to the stock cooler which I like because it exhausts hot air outside the case unlike Zalman which doesn't. The VPU and memory chips of the X850XT can get really hot and will drive up the temps inside your case unless the hot air from them is exhausted outside.

I have an 850XT and to me the ATITool setting to 5% is quiet enough. I also set it to speed up to 33% at greater than 60C and I find that playing most games my temps don't exceed 68C.

 

[AceFactor]

The main problem with the stock cooler is that it sounds like a dyson at any significant rpm's, so its always best to get an aftermarket cooler for the card anyway, especially when you take of the stock cooler and realise quite how badly its is made

-Adam

 

[gygabite]

Use AC AtiSilencer5 Rev2!
I have it, too and the temperatures dont get over 55°C
even after 2 hours FEAR!
The Zalman's hasnt such good ram coolers