The Zalman VF700-AlCu LED videocard graphics processor
heatsink is
intended to cool quietly, with a little
blue LED illumination to spice things up. The heatsink is constructed of
the same fan-shapped fin design that has made Zalman a well known
manufacturer, and it's a design that has many positive thermal attributes. The
low profile aluminum and copper cooling fins will occupy an additional slot in
front of the videocard, and will also eat up a free fan
header on the motherboard, but otherwise the unit is pretty compact
and easy to drop in.
With its mix of aluminum and copper fins, the Zalman
VF700-AlCu LED is a slightly lighter option for GPU cooling than its VF700-Cu
cousin, weighing 180 grams. The 80mm illuminated fan is set askew slightly from
the center of the VF700-AlCu so that exhaust air passes through the copper and
aluminum cooling fins to adjacent videocard memory, offering some nice
additional cooling to these warm components. The Zalman
VF700-AlCu LED
is compatible with most ATI and nVidia videocards if there are at least
two mounting holes for it to attach to; the Zalman website specifically lists
which VGA models are compatible here.
Included along with the VF700-AlCu LED VGA heatsink are eight
small 13x13mm blue aluminum DRAM heatsinks, which can be stuck
onto the videocard memory. The installation process for the VF700-AlCu LED heatsink is not very
complicated, but because there are a great many little screws
and washers we'd suggest you flip through the instructions right from the
start. The Zalman VF700-AlCu LED VGA heatsink retails on average
for about $30USD ($36CDN).
Zalman VF700-AlCu
LED VGA Heatsink
|  | |
|
| HEATSINK SPECSHEET |
| Manufacturer: Zalman |
| Model No.: VF700-AlCu LED |
|
Materials: copper and aluminum fins. |
| Fan
Mfg: Zalman ZF8015BTM |
| Fan Spec: 1350-2650RPM, 12V, 0.25A |
| Fan Dim: 15x80x80mm |
| Heatsink & Fan Dim: 30x126x91mm |
| Weight: 180 grams |
| Includes: (8) memory
heatsinks, thermal compound, mounting hardware, 3-pin power multi-connector, instructions. |
Compatible Videocards: various ATI/nVidia models
with at least two through-PCB
holes by the GPU. |
| Est. Pricing: $30USD
($36CDN) | |
The
Zalman VF700-AlCu LED VGA heatsink is looks quite similar to the CNPS7000A processor heatsink, albeit on a much smaller scale. The same basic principles follow
through however. The heatsink is constructed from 50 or so think
metal fins which have been clamped together at the center for form a solid
block of metal.
Heat energy from the GPU transfers to the VF700-AlCu at this point,
and then as the heat is conducted by the copper and aluminum what was a solid base becomes individual fins. The beauty
of this simple approach is that there are no joints between
the GPU mounting block and the cooling fins - they are in fact one
and the same.
The weight of the VF700-AlCu is lessened by utilizing
aluminum fins for 2/3rd of the heatsink, while copper fins are situated over
the hottest portion of the GPU for ideal conduction. Flipping the small
VGA heatsink over reveals a perfectly machined base for the least possible thermal resistance between
the heatsink and GPU.
Next up, we'll discuss which kinds of videocards you can install the
Zalman VF700-AlCu LED heatsink on to...
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