Zalman 7000A AlCu modded w/ completely different fan

josephclemente · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2004 7:43 pm

Just for fun, I thought I'd try a different fan on my Zalman 7000A-AlCu.

I had a spare Nexus Real Silent 80mm fan, which I removed from the fan frame. I drilled two small holes on the bottom so I could mount it just like the stock Zalman fan. While I was at it, I also used two Silica Gel washers from a Vantec fan dampener kit.

There is definitely a noise improvement between running this fan at 12V vs. the Zalman fan with Fanmate at lowest speed. It is about 2-3C hotter than before at idle. I couldn't see any temperature difference by slowing down the Nexus - I think it is just recycling case air anyway. I'm tempted to make a duct - my CPU always runs much cooler with the case panel off. (Cooler Master Wave Master).

Interestingly, in my case, these Nexus fans make more noise as rear case exhaust than front case intake or on a heatsink. On the heatsink, I can vary speeds with the Zalman from lowest to highest and I can't hear a difference. As a rear exhaust, I can definitely tell the difference in slight speed variations (I tried different Nexus fans in the rear, all with the same noise characteristics).

Anyway, I couldn't find any messages in the forums from anyone swaping the fan on their Zalman 7000. So I thought I'd post that it works.

Mats · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2004 7:58 pm

Sounds interesting. I'd like to try with a 92 mm Panaflo or something but the question is..

Does a 92 mm fan have the same diameter as the fan in a Zalman 7000?

josephclemente · **Posted:** Mon Feb 16, 2004 8:13 pm

They should be about the same... My Zalman fan seems to be about 85-86mm diameter. My 92mm panaflo is about the same...

josephclemente · **Posted:** Sun Feb 22, 2004 5:09 pm

UPDATE: Right now I'm running a 92mm Panaflo (medium speed but slowed down with Fan Mate) on my Zalman. I'm not really sure if it is an improvement over the 80mm Nexus Real Silent fan.

My Seasonic Super Tornado 300 PSU is the loudest component right now.

1398342003 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 23, 2004 12:38 am

Do you have pics of it? I realize it would look much the same, but I'm curious as to how exactly it was mounted.

aphonos · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2004 9:19 am

BUMP:

Do you have any pics yet?

What processor are you cooling?

Have you been able to test to see the effect on the max temps using the Nexus fan?

Anyone else experimented yet with swapping fans on the Zalman 7000?

josephclemente · **Posted:** Sun Mar 14, 2004 1:12 pm

Here is my Zalman with the Panaflo installed. You can see the wires as they connect to the fan and where I cut that part with a fine jewelers' saw.

It is a simple mod - just drill the two small mounting holes into the bottom of the fan base, and cut off the frame.

Pjotor · **Posted:** Mon Mar 15, 2004 12:17 am

Status:

I tried to swap the fan to a 92 mm Adda fan. The fan was practically inaudible in a closed case, but at 12 V the cooling performance was on par with the stock fan at 5 V.

Right now, I have removed the fan and put dabs (~1 cm thick) of silicone seal at the holes for the screws in the fan base. My plan is to let the screws enter the silicone dabs instead of the base, thus have a layer of silicone seal between the screws and the fan = soft mounting. Will report back in a day or two and give results.

Pjotor · **Posted:** Mon Mar 15, 2004 12:19 am

Status:

I tried to swap the stock Zalman fan for a 92 mm Adda. The fan was practically inaudible in a closed case, but at 12 V the cooling performance was on par with the stock fan at 5 V (about 43-44 degrees C at idle and around 53 degrees C with CPUBurn).

Right now, I have removed the fan and put dabs (~1 cm thick) of silicone seal at the holes for the screws in the fan base. My plan is to let the screws enter the silicone dabs instead of the base, thus have a layer of silicone seal between the screws and the fan = soft mounting. Will report back in a day or two and give results.

But what about the 92 mm Adda? I have mounted it with double-sided adhesive tape on the upper heatsink of the Zalman ZM-80 VGA cooler. Nothing goes to waste!

MysticX23 · **Joined:** Fri Mar 12, 2004 7:28 am **Posts:** 11

i wonder if u can reverse the fan flow on the zalman? would this be possible?

josephclemente · **Posted:** Sat Mar 20, 2004 9:07 am

It should be possible to reverse the airflow direction with a custom adapter to flip the fan around.

I have created the duct I mentioned in my first post of this thread, so my CPU fan pulls air directly from the outside. Because the CPU fan no longer just recycles air, my temperatures are lower than I've ever seen them before!

The Panaflo on my Zalman spins at 1200 RPM.

williemues · **Joined:** Tue Jun 29, 2004 1:07 pm **Posts:** 26

Could You post pics (or an explanation) of your duct, please?

intx · **Posted:** Tue Jun 29, 2004 1:37 pm

he has a seperate post for his duct mod here: http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?p=101392

williemues · **Joined:** Tue Jun 29, 2004 1:07 pm **Posts:** 26

Right, Thanks

Zalman 7000A AlCu modded w/ completely different fan

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