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Zalman 7000A copper cooler...disappointed?



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 14th 04, 09:31 AM
Sydtech
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Posts: n/a
Default Zalman 7000A copper cooler...disappointed?

Today I installed a Zalman 7000A copper cooler in my P4 2.8ghz machine
w/Antec Sonata case. The idea was to replace the noisy stock Intel heat sink
and fan with something quieter and - hopefully - cooler (unfortunately no
place that was open today had a Zalman Northbridge heatsink, or I would've
gotten one of those as well). The system has an Abit IC7-G motherboard and a
Leadtek FX5200 graphics card (until my 9800 Pro arrives). I'm not doing any
overclocking at all (yet).

So far I'm not sure that I'm thrilled with the Zalman, and I'm wondering if
I installed it poorly, or I just was expecting too much...

With the stock Intel heat sink and fan installed, at idle, I was getting
49-50 degrees celsius on the CPU.

With the Zalman hsf installed and the case on, at CPU idle, I'm getting
around 47degrees with the fan running at the full 2400rpm, and at 50 with
the fan at the lowest setting.

I "torture tested" the setup by running prime95 and ripping some random CDs
with iTunes to max the CPU out. This pushed the CPU temp up to about 64
degrees (with the Zalman fan on max) and a scary 68 degrees (with the fan on
the minimum setting). These numbers seem kind of high to me.

As far as I can tell, I've installed this properly:


- I removed the stock hsf, and thoroughly cleaned the existing thermal
compound off the top of the CPU with 91% rubbing alcohol.

- I installed the brackets on the motherboard.

- I then followed the instructions on the Arctic Silver website (rather
than Zalman's) and applied a small dollop of Arctic Silver in the center of
the CPU.

- I then did my best at installing the (huge and heavy) Zalman HSF on top of
the chip. I think I did OK, although it did slide around a little bit as I
got it situated.

- Getting the screws lined up with the aluminum brackets was a bit of a
bitchkitty. I got one of them in OK, but I managed to drop the other one
down next to the CPU, forcing me to remove the Zalman so I could fish it
out. When I did, I noticed that the Arctic Silver had spread into a nice
rough shape on top of the CPU, but that it was off-center to the right.
Before I put the Zalman back on top, I added another very tiny drop of AS on
the center of the chip.


As far as I can tell at this point, I've got the thing installed properly,
but there's no easy way to check and see if the Arctic Silver is evenly
centered without actually uninstalling the Zalman, which I'd like to avoid
doing unless it's absolutely necessary.

So...did I botch the install, or were my expectations simply too high?

Thanks...


  #2  
Old March 14th 04, 09:59 AM
David Maynard
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Sydtech wrote:

Today I installed a Zalman 7000A copper cooler in my P4 2.8ghz machine
w/Antec Sonata case. The idea was to replace the noisy stock Intel heat sink
and fan with something quieter and - hopefully - cooler (unfortunately no
place that was open today had a Zalman Northbridge heatsink, or I would've
gotten one of those as well). The system has an Abit IC7-G motherboard and a
Leadtek FX5200 graphics card (until my 9800 Pro arrives). I'm not doing any
overclocking at all (yet).

So far I'm not sure that I'm thrilled with the Zalman, and I'm wondering if
I installed it poorly, or I just was expecting too much...

With the stock Intel heat sink and fan installed, at idle, I was getting
49-50 degrees celsius on the CPU.

With the Zalman hsf installed and the case on, at CPU idle, I'm getting
around 47degrees with the fan running at the full 2400rpm, and at 50 with
the fan at the lowest setting.

I "torture tested" the setup by running prime95 and ripping some random CDs
with iTunes to max the CPU out. This pushed the CPU temp up to about 64
degrees (with the Zalman fan on max) and a scary 68 degrees (with the fan on
the minimum setting). These numbers seem kind of high to me.

As far as I can tell, I've installed this properly:


- I removed the stock hsf, and thoroughly cleaned the existing thermal
compound off the top of the CPU with 91% rubbing alcohol.

- I installed the brackets on the motherboard.

- I then followed the instructions on the Arctic Silver website (rather
than Zalman's) and applied a small dollop of Arctic Silver in the center of
the CPU.

- I then did my best at installing the (huge and heavy) Zalman HSF on top of
the chip. I think I did OK, although it did slide around a little bit as I
got it situated.

- Getting the screws lined up with the aluminum brackets was a bit of a
bitchkitty. I got one of them in OK, but I managed to drop the other one
down next to the CPU, forcing me to remove the Zalman so I could fish it
out. When I did, I noticed that the Arctic Silver had spread into a nice
rough shape on top of the CPU, but that it was off-center to the right.
Before I put the Zalman back on top, I added another very tiny drop of AS on
the center of the chip.


As far as I can tell at this point, I've got the thing installed properly,
but there's no easy way to check and see if the Arctic Silver is evenly
centered without actually uninstalling the Zalman, which I'd like to avoid
doing unless it's absolutely necessary.

So...did I botch the install, or were my expectations simply too high?

Thanks...


Are you sure you have the fan aligned with the heatsink the way they
show? There's no airflow from the fan's "hub," ya know.


  #3  
Old March 14th 04, 10:27 AM
ElJerid
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Sydtech" wrote in message
...
Today I installed a Zalman 7000A copper cooler in my P4 2.8ghz machine
w/Antec Sonata case. The idea was to replace the noisy stock Intel heat

sink
and fan with something quieter and - hopefully - cooler (unfortunately no
place that was open today had a Zalman Northbridge heatsink, or I would've
gotten one of those as well). The system has an Abit IC7-G motherboard and

a
Leadtek FX5200 graphics card (until my 9800 Pro arrives). I'm not doing

any
overclocking at all (yet).

So far I'm not sure that I'm thrilled with the Zalman, and I'm wondering

if
I installed it poorly, or I just was expecting too much...

With the stock Intel heat sink and fan installed, at idle, I was getting
49-50 degrees celsius on the CPU.

With the Zalman hsf installed and the case on, at CPU idle, I'm getting
around 47degrees with the fan running at the full 2400rpm, and at 50 with
the fan at the lowest setting.

I "torture tested" the setup by running prime95 and ripping some random

CDs
with iTunes to max the CPU out. This pushed the CPU temp up to about 64
degrees (with the Zalman fan on max) and a scary 68 degrees (with the fan

on
the minimum setting). These numbers seem kind of high to me.

As far as I can tell, I've installed this properly:


- I removed the stock hsf, and thoroughly cleaned the existing thermal
compound off the top of the CPU with 91% rubbing alcohol.

- I installed the brackets on the motherboard.

- I then followed the instructions on the Arctic Silver website (rather
than Zalman's) and applied a small dollop of Arctic Silver in the center

of
the CPU.

- I then did my best at installing the (huge and heavy) Zalman HSF on top

of
the chip. I think I did OK, although it did slide around a little bit as I
got it situated.

- Getting the screws lined up with the aluminum brackets was a bit of a
bitchkitty. I got one of them in OK, but I managed to drop the other one
down next to the CPU, forcing me to remove the Zalman so I could fish it
out. When I did, I noticed that the Arctic Silver had spread into a nice
rough shape on top of the CPU, but that it was off-center to the right.
Before I put the Zalman back on top, I added another very tiny drop of AS

on
the center of the chip.


As far as I can tell at this point, I've got the thing installed properly,
but there's no easy way to check and see if the Arctic Silver is evenly
centered without actually uninstalling the Zalman, which I'd like to avoid
doing unless it's absolutely necessary.

So...did I botch the install, or were my expectations simply too high?

Conclusion is in fact that the stock Intel cooler is not so bad !
There is a lot of marketing and advertising about all kind of esoteric
coolers, but best of them will not decrease the cpu temp by more than 3 to
5°C compared to the original boxed Intel. And it's always a trade off: you
have to make a choice between noise or cooling (with all steps between). I
believe the best solution for air cooling is a huge Cu cooler (like
Thermalright), if possible with heat pipes, an a large, low speed rotating
fan (Papst 120 mm) fitted on the cooler via a diameter adaptor. This
combines excellent cooling with low noise.
Be also aware that sometimes a slower but overclocked cpu dissipates less
heat than a faster cpu at the same speed. I experienced that a P4C 2.4 Ghz
overclocked at 3.0 GHz runs 3°C cooler than a 2.8 overclocked at 3.0 GHz,
with the same cooler !!!


  #4  
Old March 14th 04, 10:30 AM
Sydtech
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"David Maynard" wrote in message
...
Sydtech wrote:
Are you sure you have the fan aligned with the heatsink the way they
show? There's no airflow from the fan's "hub," ya know.


The fan was already installed inside the heatsink on this particular
model...


  #5  
Old March 14th 04, 11:23 AM
BPWong
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Sydtech" wrote in message
...
Today I installed a Zalman 7000A copper cooler in my P4 2.8ghz machine
w/Antec Sonata case. The idea was to replace the noisy stock Intel heat

sink
and fan with something quieter and - hopefully - cooler (unfortunately no
place that was open today had a Zalman Northbridge heatsink, or I would've
gotten one of those as well). The system has an Abit IC7-G motherboard and

a
Leadtek FX5200 graphics card (until my 9800 Pro arrives). I'm not doing

any
overclocking at all (yet).

So far I'm not sure that I'm thrilled with the Zalman, and I'm wondering

if
I installed it poorly, or I just was expecting too much...

With the stock Intel heat sink and fan installed, at idle, I was getting
49-50 degrees celsius on the CPU.

With the Zalman hsf installed and the case on, at CPU idle, I'm getting
around 47degrees with the fan running at the full 2400rpm, and at 50 with
the fan at the lowest setting.

I "torture tested" the setup by running prime95 and ripping some random

CDs
with iTunes to max the CPU out. This pushed the CPU temp up to about 64
degrees (with the Zalman fan on max) and a scary 68 degrees (with the fan

on
the minimum setting). These numbers seem kind of high to me.

As far as I can tell, I've installed this properly:


- I removed the stock hsf, and thoroughly cleaned the existing thermal
compound off the top of the CPU with 91% rubbing alcohol.

- I installed the brackets on the motherboard.

- I then followed the instructions on the Arctic Silver website (rather
than Zalman's) and applied a small dollop of Arctic Silver in the center

of
the CPU.

- I then did my best at installing the (huge and heavy) Zalman HSF on top

of
the chip. I think I did OK, although it did slide around a little bit as I
got it situated.

- Getting the screws lined up with the aluminum brackets was a bit of a
bitchkitty. I got one of them in OK, but I managed to drop the other one
down next to the CPU, forcing me to remove the Zalman so I could fish it
out. When I did, I noticed that the Arctic Silver had spread into a nice
rough shape on top of the CPU, but that it was off-center to the right.
Before I put the Zalman back on top, I added another very tiny drop of AS

on
the center of the chip.


As far as I can tell at this point, I've got the thing installed properly,
but there's no easy way to check and see if the Arctic Silver is evenly
centered without actually uninstalling the Zalman, which I'd like to avoid
doing unless it's absolutely necessary.

So...did I botch the install, or were my expectations simply too high?

Thanks...



I used to have Zalman cnps7000 on 1.6A o/c 2.64GHz. The conclusion is decent
performance and quiet if compare to Thermalright SLK900U, 947U, 948U and
SP94. If you really hope for something better, go for at least SLK9xx series
or the king SP94 and a 92mm fan. Also, the original Intel 2.8C HSF with
copper base is quite a performer if you read reviews at Frostytech

http://www.frostytech.com/articlesea...ch=Get+Listing

bpwong


  #6  
Old March 14th 04, 01:23 PM
David Maynard
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Sydtech wrote:
"David Maynard" wrote in message
...

Sydtech wrote:
Are you sure you have the fan aligned with the heatsink the way they
show? There's no airflow from the fan's "hub," ya know.



The fan was already installed inside the heatsink on this particular
model...



Sorry. I was thinking of the Zalman Flower.

  #7  
Old March 14th 04, 02:26 PM
Max
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"ElJerid" wrote in message
...
Conclusion is in fact that the stock Intel cooler is not so bad !
There is a lot of marketing and advertising about all kind of esoteric
coolers, but best of them will not decrease the cpu temp by more than 3
to
5°C compared to the original boxed Intel. And it's always a trade off: you
have to make a choice between noise or cooling (with all steps between).




Bull****.

I have an Aero Iv and it knocked 9°C off.Its quiet too so stick tht in ya
pipe

max




  #8  
Old March 14th 04, 04:46 PM
BRanger
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Sydtech" wrote in message
...
So far I'm not sure that I'm thrilled with the Zalman, and I'm wondering

if
I installed it poorly, or I just was expecting too much...

With the stock Intel heat sink and fan installed, at idle, I was getting
49-50 degrees celsius on the CPU.

With the Zalman hsf installed and the case on, at CPU idle, I'm getting
around 47degrees with the fan running at the full 2400rpm, and at 50 with
the fan at the lowest setting.

I "torture tested" the setup by running prime95 and ripping some random

CDs
with iTunes to max the CPU out. This pushed the CPU temp up to about 64
degrees (with the Zalman fan on max) and a scary 68 degrees (with the fan

on
the minimum setting). These numbers seem kind of high to me.


I am running a P4 2.6c at 3.25GHz and using the Zalman 7000-AlCu. I get 45C
on the CPU at full load with the Zalman fan on full. Sounds like you might
have an install issue. It's a loaded case with dual Raptor hard drives, a
200GB Maxtor HD, and a Radeon 9800 so there's a lot of stuff to generate
heat. The case is decently ventilated.

I did spread the Arctic Silver 3 all over the heat spreader very thin. It
was before they changed the install recommendations. More recently I build
an Athlon 64 3200+ and I used the Zalman 7000-Cu with Arctic Silver spread
via the new recommendation (dot in the middle). I don't break 45C there
under load either.

B


  #9  
Old March 14th 04, 05:58 PM
Augustus
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Posts: n/a
Default

So far I'm not sure that I'm thrilled with the Zalman, and I'm wondering
if
I installed it poorly, or I just was expecting too much...


I'm not too familiar with the Zalman, but I had recently built a new system
with a Barton 2500 and Vantec Aeroflow on an NForce2 board. Ran fine, but
was not impressed with the temps I was getting (45 Idle, 60-70 load) and it
would not overclock to even XP2800+ levels without severe instability. I
ordered some AS5 and when it got here, I removed the Vantec to apply it.
This is when I found out that you can install a hs/f assembly backwards! The
CPU had been mating up with the aluminum base, and the copper core was not
even touching the CPU. Applied AS5, installed the Vantech the right way
round, and Boom! Idle temp 38C, max load 44C, rock stable running at 2200MHz
(XP3200+ spec). Don't know if this might apply to you, but at the very least
I'd yank that hs/f assembly off to check for proper contact and AS5
reapplication.


  #10  
Old March 14th 04, 08:44 PM
Helge Johnsen
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Posts: n/a
Default

snip

Mounted one today.
The tension has to be increased.
This way:
http://www.lostcircuits.com/advice/z...ps7000/5.shtml
Or something like this:
http://www.ocshoot.no/7000cu2.htm (in Norwegian, but the only pictures i
could find.)
The bolts are to be placed between the spring and the cooler.
To reassemble the thing was pure hell, but it worked.

Helge


 




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