Can a ZM17CU be improved?

[hofffam]

I recentlly addead a ZM17CU HS to my ATI AIW8500DV card. It seems to work fine - it gets very warm but not so much I can't keep my finger on it. The design of the HS has the copper fins very close together. Since the adjacent PCI slot is empty, can I improve the performance of the HS by increasing the space between the fins by bending the fins or adding a very small spacer (copper wire?) between the fins?

[Henrik]

Well, I'd certainly be surprised if it performed worse...

[al bundy]

I recentlly addead a ZM17CU HS to my ATI AIW8500DV card. It seems to work fine - it gets very warm but not so much I can't keep my finger on it. The design of the HS has the copper fins very close together. Since the adjacent PCI slot is empty, can I improve the performance of the HS by increasing the space between the fins by bending the fins or adding a very small spacer (copper wire?) between the fins?

You can bend the fins outward a little if you want to, just don't bend them too many times or the fins can eventually break off. They are meant to bend a little, for those instances where a tall component on a card would otherwise get in the way of the fins.

If you are already using a low-voltage fan on a Zalman bracket above the card, then the difference in cooling efficiency between bent versus straight fins will not be much. This cooler works great exactly as it is.

[Zyzzyx]

Hope it works nicely. Just ordered one up for my ti4200. Should be gobs better than just using the tiny stock heatsink with the fan unplugged. (though I can manage 1 hour of 3dMark with no artifacts) Was pondering the ZM17 or putting one of the NB32 or NB47 coolers on.

Agreed though that I doubt opening the fins up will help much in cooling.

[pingu666]

makes it look cack mind
shame it doesnt have a non glue mounting system

[Riffer]

....shame it doesnt have a non glue mounting system

I had no problem attaching mine to my AIW 9000 Pro with Chomerics Thermattach tape. No idea if you could mount it on one of the more recent cards with the smaller GPU.

I also had to bend one bank of fins slightly to clear a couple of capacitors. The fins are stiff and springy, so, like al bundy, I suspect they would break if bent back & forth a few times.

[Nickp]

I have one on my AIW Radeon 32 without a fan. It felt a little hot so I opened it up to make it look like one of the Zalman flower coolers. I had enough room as the slot below the card is not used. It did lower the temperature. I don't have any temperature data just using my finger tips.

[hofffam]

That's exactly what I want to do - bend the fins out to make it more flower-like..... normally copper is very bendable....did you have any trouble bending it?

[Nickp]

No problem bending the fins with the outer one being about a 45-degree angle. I used a credit card under the fins and tried to hold them flat against the card while bending. I also put a screwdriver in the middle on the vertical rise to keep them as straight as possible.

[Zyzzyx]

Well, gonna have to go against my previous comment...

Agreed though that I doubt opening the fins up will help much in cooling.

Got one of these myself and installed it on my GF4 ti4200. It was running a bit cooler than the stock heatsink with fan unplugged, but still durn toasty.

Then I too used a credit card to fold up the fins. Top layer is folded up to ~45 degrees, with successive layers evenly spaced up. Takes up the two PCI slots below the vid card, but I've never needed those anyway.

Now with the wee bit of airflow that gets back there, the card (laying my hand on the back (top) of the card) is noticeably cooler. And the fins are quite toasty, even at the tips.

I'd have to say that if you've got the space below the vid card, go ahead and fold 'em out.