8800GT Stock Cooler Vs Zalman Writeup

LambOfGod

Fully Optimized
Messages
1,783
Hey all,

Just wanted to share my recent experience with my EVGA 8800GT aftermarket cooling.

This is the "vanilla" version of the 8800GT from EVGA stock clock speeds of 600 core and 900 Memory. (the entire test was done with stock speeds)

After 30 Mins of running ATI tool artifact scanner the card would get up to almost 90 degrees Celsius.... thats 194 Degrees F

I personally thought this was way to hot for a video card even though it did not skip a beat the entire run or did it artifact in any way.

But in the future i wanted to overclock the card, and I like to have a cool running system. My case is nothing special, just a Thermaltake Soprano with a 120MM fan blowing over the vid card.


I purchased a refurbished Zalman VF900-CU off e-bay, from a reputable power seller. It arrived promptly.

After removed the 8 screws holding the stock cooler on, i cleaned with alcohol, and applied Articsilver 5 to the Graphics Core. then the Heatsinks to the surrounding 8 Memory chips. I did not cover the mofsets with anything. There has been much controversy on this, and i choose not too (you will see why soon).

The install is very straight forward, and you should follow the detailed instructions included with the cooler.

After wiring it into my PC, i took compared the before and after temps.

here are the results. Idle temps went from 59C to 44C, Load temps went from 90C to 62C.... :)

STOCK EVGA COOLER
8800gttempsstock1es1.jpg



AFTER ZALMAN VF900-CU
8800gttempsafterzalman2iv1.jpg
 
Nice 1.

yes the Zalman VF900 is a good cooler, but what was the stock cooler fan speed? b4 u removed it? Using ati tool, u can change the speed, and in most cases u will get better cooler if u have ur fan at lets say 75% speed fan. But then again it will be louder then the zalman.
 
Nice 1.

yes the Zalman VF900 is a good cooler, but what was the stock cooler speed fan on the gt? b4 u removed it? Using ati tool, u can change the speed, and in most cases u will get better cooler if u have ur fan at lets say 75% speed fan. But then again it will be louder then the zalman.

I made no adjustments to anything, the stock fan speed (increases and decreases according to temp)

And i wired the Zalman in without the fan controller (straight Power) I cannot hear the Zalman at all
 
Well yes the stock fan speed is not set up properly in most cases I think, that's why if u use a program like ati tool, u can reach much better cooling by increasing the fan speed manually.

And Zalman should have the fan controller, mine does. Its a little black looking panel that sticks. It doesn't do that much of a diff, in my opinion, but it deff can increase/decreases the fan speed
 
Well yes the stock fan speed is not set up properly in most cases I think, that's why if u use a program like ati tool, u can reach much better cooling by increasing the fan speed manually.

And Zalman should have the fan controller, mine does. Its a little black looking panel that sticks. It doesn't do that much of a diff, in my opinion, but it deff can increase/decreases the fan speed

Stock Fans from the factory are supposed to work a middle ground between silence and cooling effectiveness... This stock cooler from EVGA had difficulty with that.

The Zalman did come with a fan controller, I choose not to wire the controller into my setup, due to other reasons.

wow dude i bet u feel real good. i know i would. how much did the zalman cost you

It was a Refurbished Zalman cooler off E-bay. It cost me $18.00 :D And yea i do thanks !
 
That looks pretty impressive.

Just a quick question that you may want to add into your review did removing the factory cooler void your warranty? Also any pic's of the install I'd like to see how it looks in your rig as well as how much space/clearance you have with the install.

Also this should be moved to the review section.
 
Äߧý∩†H♠H䎀;754822 said:
That looks pretty impressive.

Just a quick question that you may want to add into your review did removing the factory cooler void your warranty? Also any pic's of the install I'd like to see how it looks in your rig as well as how much space/clearance you have with the install.

Also this should be moved to the review section.

No Problem, If a MOD could move this to the Review section it would be much appreciated.

The great thing about EVGA is removing the stock heatsink and fan does not VOID the lifetime warranty, aslong as you re-install the stock one (if) you run into issues and need to send it in for support.

I do have pics of the install and i will post them up as soon as i get home.
 
No Problem, If a MOD could move this to the Review section it would be much appreciated.

The great thing about EVGA is removing the stock heatsink and fan does not VOID the lifetime warranty, aslong as you re-install the stock one (if) you run into issues and need to send it in for support.

I do have pics of the install and i will post them up as soon as i get home.

Awesome can't wait to see some pic's. I think thats pretty cool that EVGA doesn't void your warranty for fan replacement. Most of them do so that works out great for you.
 
How much extra oc did you get with the lower temps??

The VF900 was a top cooler in its day, I had one on my 6800 Ultra, well it's still on there in my daughters pc in fact, but were I to replace the cooler on my 8800GTS I think I'd favour the VF1000 with the RHS 88.

My problem is that my card with the stock cooler idles at ~52-54°C with load around 65-67°C so I'm having a hard time justifying the expenditure given those temps.
 
Back
Top Bottom