Quieter @5V-Zalman VF700AlCu or Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 6

jamesm · Post by **jamesm** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 11:13 am

Which is quieter at 5V:

Zalman VF700AlCu
Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 6

I have a Zalman VF700AlCu at 5V right now, and I can kinda/sorta hear it. However my Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 is inaudible at 5V. Would the NV silencer @5V be as quiet as the freezer 64 @5V?

CGameProgrammer · Post by **CGameProgrammer** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 11:51 am

Good question; I am wondering this myself. I'm building a new system and am having difficulty choosing the best VGA cooler. I'll have a SLK3000-B case (one 120mm rear exhaust fan) with a S12-430 PSU (another 120mm fan) and I'll be using a Freezer 64 as well for CPU cooling.

From what I can tell by reading reviews, the Zalman is not as quiet as the Arctic, but it's alot easier to install and it's alot more future-proof. For example, the Arctic for a 6600GT is different from the Arctic for the 6800 series. The Zalman is specific to nothing (not even ATI vs nVidia) so it would probably work even with cards not yet released.

jamesm · Post by **jamesm** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 5:31 pm

I nearly have the same system as you -
freezer 64
slk3000b
s12-380

and i can say the zalman is louder than any other fan in my system (only my hard drive is louder)

jamesm · Post by **jamesm** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 4:02 pm

Well, I just got the arctic cooling fan today. At 12V, it's about as loud as the Zalman at 5V. It has some trouble starting a 5V, and I'm not sure if it would cool well at that voltage. When I get my system back (it is currently RMA'd), I'll get some temps.

cmcquistion · Post by **cmcquistion** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 7:57 am

I've got the Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 (the one for the 6800GT) and I cannot get it quiet. I can run it as low as 6V and still get adequate cooling, but I can plainly hear it over all the other system components. This was rather dissapointing, since my old ATI Silencer was extremely quiet on my old 9800 Pro.

I've read a lot of other users of this heatsink complaining about it's unusual noise levels (for Arctic Cooling). I've ordered a Zalman ZF700 to replace it.

xxkrnxstylezxx · Post by **xxkrnxstylezxx** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:57 pm

after you put on the ram heatsinks with the VF700, can you take them off?

jamesm · Post by **jamesm** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 7:44 pm

you could. it's just thermal tape.

jermaink · Post by **jermaink** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 8:03 am

There appear to be really inconclusive results...

I'm wondering if the VF700 AlCu is quieter/noisier than an AC Silencer ATI 5 Rev. 2

jamesm · Post by **jamesm** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 8:39 am

it would be nice if SPCR could do a VGA cooler shootout

jermaink · Post by **jermaink** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 8:57 am

It would have to be pretty comprehensive to cover all of the various Arctic Cooling Silencer models...

BrianE · Post by **BrianE** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 12:53 am

jermaink wrote:It would have to be pretty comprehensive to cover all of the various Arctic Cooling Silencer models...

Aren't they all broadly similar with identical fans installed on them? As far as silence goes I think the fan design and motor noise would be the most important things to measure. Now if they have different fans on every type of Silencer that'd be tough...

cmcquistion · Post by **cmcquistion** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 8:28 am

BrianE wrote:
jermaink wrote:It would have to be pretty comprehensive to cover all of the various Arctic Cooling Silencer models...
Aren't they all broadly similar with identical fans installed on them? As far as silence goes I think the fan design and motor noise would be the most important things to measure. Now if they have different fans on every type of Silencer that'd be tough...

They must be significantly different, because the character of my ATI Silencer and my Silencer NV 5 is VASTLY different. The ATI Silencer was much smoother at all voltages and would run quiet enough to not be noticeable. My Silencer NV 5 is not as smooth at any voltage and it is noticeable at any voltage, unfortunately.

jamesm · Post by **jamesm** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 8:44 am

cmcquistion wrote:My Silencer NV 5 is not as smooth at any voltage and it is noticeable at any voltage, unfortunately.

Do you have the rev. 1 or rev. 2?

cmcquistion · Post by **cmcquistion** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:59 am

jamesm wrote:
cmcquistion wrote:My Silencer NV 5 is not as smooth at any voltage and it is noticeable at any voltage, unfortunately.
Do you have the rev. 1 or rev. 2?

I'm not sure, but I just bought it a few weeks ago. Is there some indication on the cooler, itself? I've already thrown away the packaging.

Tephras · Post by **Tephras** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 10:02 am

BrianE wrote:Aren't they all broadly similar with identical fans installed on them? As far as silence goes I think the fan design and motor noise would be the most important things to measure. Now if they have different fans on every type of Silencer that'd be tough...

Looking at the specs it seems as they don't use identical fans. The ATI Silencer 4 fan runs at 2200 RPM with a noise level of 0.5 sone while the NV Silencer 4 fan runs at 2000 RPM at 0.9 sone. And the ATI Silencer 1 fan have an RPM of 1500 with a noise level of 0.5 sone while the NV Silencer 1 fan on same RPM has a noise level of 0.3 sone.

To get some kind of reference on how the different noise levels compares to each other one can look at the data from the SPCR reviews of ATI Silencer 2 and NV Silencer 5 (there are also sound files to download):
ATI Silencer 2 Rev. 1 (1500 RPM/0.3 sone) - <20 dBA/1m at 5V, 28 dBA/1m at 10.5V
NV Silencer 5 Rev. 1 (2000 RPM/0.9 sone) - 28 dBA/1m at 5V, 33 dBA/1m at 10.5V

jermaink · Post by **jermaink** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:32 am

From my packaging:

Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 5 Rev. 2.

Fan: 72 mm (what's the size of the VF700?)
Rated Fan Speed: 2200 RPM (I hear this is software controllable, how about on the VF700?)
Bearing: Arctic Ceramic

I think this is also rated at 0.5 sones. But I'd like to know the dB and cfm details for ALL of these VGA coolers..

Post by **MikeC** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:53 am

You have to remember that the fans on the AC coolers plug into the header on the VGA card -- which means its noise will also be affected by whatever PWM is implemented on the VGA card. There may be differences in this with different vidcards. If one works better with this fan bettr than that... really tough to judge what's going on until / unless you have many vidcards and many coolers in the same place -- and a whole lot of time.

To avoid this issue, you could just try extending the fan connector on the AC cooler (or any other VGA cooler, for that matter) and feed it through a Zlamna fanmate -- it gives you 11V max, which is pretty close to 12V if you need it, and it is a straight voltage controller.

jamesm · Post by **jamesm** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 8:34 am

Mike, is there any possiblity for a VGA cooler shootout? It would be extremely helpful to see all these coolers be stacked up at 12V & 5V. I can possibly ship a vf700alcu and a nv silencer 6 rev 2.

Post by **MikeC** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 8:45 am

jamesm --

It's not really a question of getting samples -- it's the time & effort required to do a fair and systematic review. VGA cards are much harder to get samples of, and we'd need a bunch. Ideally, you'd want to use only one card, that way all the temp readings can be compared, but then how is its fan controller?

We can do a one-on-one much more easily, but limited to a single VGA card and maybe 2-3 coolers. I'll see about getting new rev2 collers from AC.

jamesm · Post by **jamesm** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 12:55 pm

Well, the Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 6 (rev 2) isn't really usable for gaming at 5V. Temps climbed up to ~114C before I shut it down (there was no artifacting at those temps, but it's a little too high for my comfort)

At about 7V (about halfway on my zalman fan mate 2), the temps are 71-74C, which is usuable.

The benefit about using the NV silencer is you can use your video's fan controller to set the fan at "50%" for 2D mode (keeps it around 52C), and "100%" for 3D mode (around 60C). I know gainward's expertool provides this feature. The difference in noise levels is very slight, and you really have to strain to hear it - I don't think the higher noise level would even be noticable with all the ambient noises video games provide.

MikeC-
Do you think it would be possible to do a shootout of each fan class?

For example, all Silencers @ 1500 RPM (NV silencer 1, 2, 6; ATI silencer 1, 2) could make the first class, and all silencers @ 2000 RPM (NV silencer 4, 5; ATI silencer 3, 5) could make the second class. And one last class for the ATI silencer 4, which runs @ 2200 RPM.

Toss in a VF700AlCu, a VF700Cu, and the ZM80D, and you would have an awesome review on your hands, I'm sure.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:01 pm

I suggest considering testing some of the IceQ HIS cards - they come standard with AC Silencers

Could be very interesting with some of the new/fast graphic cards.

I got the HIS 9800 Pro, and judged by the look, it comes with a rev 3. Silencer - at low setting, it's very, very quiet. But at high, it's not acceptable. I dont have temp. readings, since it's not supported by my card.

jermaink · Post by **jermaink** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 10:40 pm

What's the best fan speed controlling software? I've got ATI Tray tools, however I can't seem to get my settings to load up automatically. Would I also be right to assume that the fan speeds won't change until Windows has loaded up?

peterson · Post by **peterson** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 12:53 am

I tried both on a 6800GT. The Zalman is quieter and cools better. However i had the Rev.1 of the NV5.

cmcquistion · Post by **cmcquistion** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 5:36 am

cmcquistion wrote:I've got the Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 (the one for the 6800GT) and I cannot get it quiet. I can run it as low as 6V and still get adequate cooling, but I can plainly hear it over all the other system components. This was rather dissapointing, since my old ATI Silencer was extremely quiet on my old 9800 Pro.

I've read a lot of other users of this heatsink complaining about it's unusual noise levels (for Arctic Cooling). I've ordered a Zalman ZF700 to replace it.

Well, I switched over to the Zalman ZF700 about two weeks ago and WOW, what a difference. I run it at 5V. It cools better than the NV5 and is MUCH quieter. At this point, it is masked by the other system sounds and the only real sound I can hear is a low "whoosh" sound of air moving.

BenW · Post by **BenW** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 6:07 am

Thomas wrote:I got the HIS 9800 Pro, and judged by the look, it comes with a rev 3. Silencer - at low setting, it's very, very quiet. But at high, it's not acceptable. I dont have temp. readings, since it's not supported by my card.

I have a sapphire 9800 Pro and i'm monitoring the temps in ATI Tool, don't think i could do it with previous versions though. Have a go with the latest version

I'd be interested to see a shootout with the Arctic coolers and zalman.