Best cooler for X850XT - Zalman or Arctic Cooling?

They make noise, too.

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Bobendren
Posts: 117
Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2005 7:41 am
Location: RSA

Best cooler for X850XT - Zalman or Arctic Cooling?

Post by Bobendren » Sat May 27, 2006 2:51 pm

This question has probably been asked a number of times....all the more reason to get a quick response then :D

What's the best cooler for a X850XT?

These are the candidates:

1) Zalman VF700-CU
Only 90 grams more the ALCU version. Cheapest.

2) Zalman FS-V7
Anodized which will prevent oxidation. I live near the coast so this is an issue. Nice and red to go with the mobo (Abit AN8-Ultra).

3) Zalman VF900-CU
Most expensive. Best performer?

4) Arctic Cooling Silencer 5 Rev2
Exhausts the hot air, very large memory cooler.
Will have to import as they are not available locally.

Has the clicking on the AC's fan been resolved?
Which of the four is the quietest?

By how much does exhausting the gfx card heat reduce system temperature? i.e what kind of advantage does the AC cooler have over the zalmans?

Thanks,

Bob

edit: ok i found this review at madshrimps http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getart ... rticID=405 , the AC Silencer looks like the best option. The VF900 would probably work out best if it had it's own "chamber", with a 120mm pushing the hot air out the PCI slots at the back of the case.
Any comments?

S.SubZero
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2006 1:40 am
Location: Santa Clara, California

Post by S.SubZero » Sun Jun 04, 2006 1:55 am

I have an ATI X850XT PE card with the Artic Silence 5 R2. At idle it's definitely quieter than the stock HSF, but under load it's still kinda loud. The sound is not quite as grating as the stock HSF, it doesn't sound like it's working nearly so hard.

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