Zalman 770

svc · Post by **svc** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 2:34 am

Is it any good?

ckolivas · Post by **ckolivas** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 3:04 am

It's not a rebadged zalman at all. It's a pc cooler rip off which are all poor imitations of real zalman coolers and don't perform as well. Do a search for pc cooler on these forums and you'll see they have quite a few products like that. Better yet check out this page http://www.pccooler.cn/english-www/prod ... uct_0.html

Mats · Post by **Mats** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 6:47 am

Get a Zalman 7000 AlCu!

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 11:33 am

Mats wrote:Get a Zalman 7000 AlCu!

I second that!

Tibors · Post by **Tibors** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 12:00 pm

ckolivas wrote:all poor imitations of real zalman coolers and don't perform as well.

I'm not saying you should advice people to buy the PC Cooler stuff, because I wouldn't. But if you advice someone you should do it with valid arguments. So do you have any sources for your claim these products are lower quality and have lower performance

Everything I have seen untill now indicates these are exact copies (except for the crincle cut) that perform equally.

StarfishChris · Post by **StarfishChris** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 12:10 pm

I have one based on 7000 and it performs well (I can't compare directly, though). Nothing wrong with it that I can see. It doesn't have the crinkle.

tay · Post by **tay** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 2:36 pm

Tibors wrote:So do you have any sources for your claim these products are lower quality and have lower performance Everything I have seen untill now indicates these are exact copies (except for the crincle cut) that perform equally.

Well Tibors, the product at sv c does not embed the fan into the HS like the zalman or the other pccooler knockoff that silenx uses (with the crinkled fins). As has been said many times before, please dont buy such products.

ckolivas · Post by **ckolivas** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 5:42 pm

Tibors wrote:
ckolivas wrote:all poor imitations of real zalman coolers and don't perform as well.
I'm not saying you should advice people to buy the PC Cooler stuff, because I wouldn't. But if you advice someone you should do it with valid arguments. So do you have any sources for your claim these products are lower quality and have lower performance Everything I have seen untill now indicates these are exact copies (except for the crincle cut) that perform equally.

Wow! Not the response I expected. Fair request though.

Yeah sure look for the reviews of the silenx 7700 copy; can't recall where they are but there should be quite a few by now. Silenx rebadge the pc cooler copy and it sure as hell doesnt perform as well as the zalman 7700. Besides, the general consensus on SPCR is to support those doing the research rather than those making cheap knockoffs. Although in this case it's more than just that; it's an inferior cooler.

pony-tail · Post by **pony-tail** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 8:18 pm

Here is the link to the manufacturer of the copies Although not inferior they are still copies -: http://www.primecooler.com/

yeha · Post by **yeha** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 8:44 pm

huh that's interesting, a wider product range than pccooler.cn, perhaps they're the real culprits? their chipset and vga coolers follow the party line of ripping off zalman, however they're nowhere to be found on pccooler's site.

pony-tail · Post by **pony-tail** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 12:54 pm

Prime cooler are a fairly large OEM manufacturer (in Asia) so there is a major posiblity that they supply the other reseller .
Prime Cooler products are well made but are still copies . I do not use there products - BUT I have had a bit to do with their heatsinks in low cost machines .
I do not deal with Zalman any more but that most likely has to do with their Australian distribution chain and warranty issues

mb2 · Post by **mb2** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 5:17 am

"poor imitations of real zalman coolers and don't perform as well."
its not that bad, i have a PA9C-42CU i (obviously) dont have a zalman to compare it to, but even *if* it wasn't as good, its IMO the best heatsink available for anywhere near its price.. i know no one who is rightly dissapointed with this HSF..

they aren't rebadged zalmans; they have different number of fins.. they also have a (better?) heatsink mounting mechanism.. which means it supports loads of sockets (s370, A, 478, 754 (and 939?) [and the new one supports LGS-775 but not mine since it wasn't out then].. and it has 'nipples' for A64 support so IIRC that means it should work with the A64-m)

even the fan is very good.. with two of the fanmate things in series, setting it to the lowest amount so it will justt start up is verry quiet.. u have to put your ear up to hear it.. with one on low is it just quiet enough to not be annoying in the daytime..
when u set it on its starting voltage (as loww as u can get it to jussst start) it squeaks for a second or too whilst it is strugling to kick in.. but i like this as it means i can tell the fan is working when i turn on the computer! after its going its almost silent.. i dont hear any clicking noise or anything like that..
however i have currently broken a blade off my fan

..not the fault of the product thou... it was micro-atx and the cd drive hit it whilst moving IIRC.. (it fixed with superglue but since came off again as it got knocked again and i'm in the process of re-glueing it)
PSU/out of the case at the moment.
the only non-subjective way i can analyse the cooling of the heatsink is to say.. at 1.1ghz, and 1.85-1.88v core! (i'm having problems with that of course!) my t-bred b 1700+ idles (bios) at around 68*C, with no airflow around it atall.. and an open case. [~20*c air temp]
note this is from memory as i can't test with no fans ATM.

the only other thing i can say is my 400mhz celeron never broke 33*C with the fan set on lowest possible.. but bear in mind this was with *no thermal paste* atall and i'm certain with that it would run passive easily.. will test some more one day.. [i'm tempted to buy another but i have to think up a use for it lol]

people mock how the fan was on top rather than 'in' the heatsink like the zalman.. but IMO its better like that as it cools the entire area of the heatsink and the heatsink doesn't have to be larger (diameter) than the fan?
[can we have intelligent discussion on why integrated is supposedly better? - is it supposed to draw air through the side fins or something?.. not sure if that would actually make much real-world difference?.. and it seems like they have integrated the fan anyway with the new 'SPA' series

also, do u think (without bringing 'rip off vs zalman' mentality into this) that having the fins crinkled would improve or worsen the cooling effect? - why?]

none of the temps have been calibrated but they don't seem far off.. will do that one day..

my only gripe is i wish the version with the fan also came with the fan mounting mechanism so that i could mount other 92mm fans.. (fan supplied is circular rather than having a square case w/ mounting holes)

and for those who will want to shoot me for getting a 'rip off'.. well, sorry, zalmans cost a lot of money here.. i dont have a lot of money; i wouldn't have got a zalman i would have got some other cheaper HSF.. if PC cooler are infringing on zalmans patents or whatever, they they can sue them for it.. and i orginally got this for my S370 celeron so, i couldn't have used a zalman (IRRC).
all that is has ripped off is having fins in a circular arrangement.. which, when u consider the useful part of fans are circular, isn't too close to rocket science. as for ripping off the fanmate.. it is just a variable resistor?
and i'm sure zalman have more than recouped their r&d costs (since if u compare the prices they can be making $20 straight profit off each one assuming they can produce as cheap as PC cooler- and i dont see why not)

looking at the reviews of the silenX [if anyone has a link to a good review they know then speak now].. it cools better or equal at idle and worse with load.. but they dont use the same fans so imo that means nothing unless someone -atleast- subjectively says which is louder..
silenX only do the 120mm version which i thought wasn't any better than 92mm anyway?.. if anyone knows any -good- reviews of the pc cooler/ Prime cooler heatsinks (comparing to zalman, noise and temps.. no stupid things; like one review i found where he ran the HSF with the fan off, but two case fans going!) then please link

love how silenX specify 12-24 dBA.. PC Cooler says it is 15-25.. that silenX badge really reduces those noise levels well!.. sounds like they have caught thermaltakes disease (a rather expensive badge thou)

appologies for ranting and carrying on so much

OmegaZero · Post by **OmegaZero** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 6:52 am

mb2 wrote:however i have currently broken a blade off my fan ..not the fault of the product thou... it was micro-atx and the cd drive hit it whilst moving IIRC.. (it fixed with superglue but since came off again as it got knocked again and i'm in the process of re-glueing it)

Wouldn't this throw the balance off a bit? You're probably better off replacing the fan.

exely wrote:should i get this or a legimately badged zalman from amazon for $33 w/ free shipping? (or the thermalright xp90...my friend recommended the zalman because of the easier install but i always help him out when i can...)

I would have to say that you should just bite the bullet and get the real thing. Of all the places in a computer setup to be cutting corners, even on a tight budget, the CPU cooler is not a good choice. You can potentially damage your system if it doesn't work properly, and you'll definitely see performance drop-offs if the CPU throttles due to high temperatures.

Also, it has been said by many that the Thermalright units cool a little better and are a little quieter than the Zalmans. There are good discussions of this here, here, and here. The XP-90 is only $38, which (according to Froogle) is about $6 more than the Zalman 7000.

ilh · Post by **ilh** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 7:23 am

OmegaZero wrote:Also, it has been said by many that the Thermalright units cool a little better and are a little quieter than the Zalmans. There are good discussions of this here, here, and here. The XP-90 is only $38, which (according to Froogle) is about $6 more than the Zalman 7000.

Well, that doesn't include a fan. It appears a 92mm Nexus will run about $13-15 without shipping.

OmegaZero · Post by **OmegaZero** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 7:44 am

Globe and Panaflo 92mm fans are only $5-$8. Better to get one of these and under-volt it to 7v or 5v.

IMO it's still worth the extra $11-$14 (Fan + XP-90 $6 extra).

mb2 · Post by **mb2** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 8:33 am

"Wouldn't this throw the balance off a bit? You're probably better off replacing the fan. "
without the blade; yes it is like a freaken washing machine.. if i had it at full speed for a while i'm sure it would rip it out the socket or something..
but when its glued back on it isn't a problem (if ur talking about the extra weight from the glue). if i had a retention bracket to hold a standard 92mm fan on, i would buy a new fan.

"Of all the places in a computer setup to be cutting corners, even on a tight budget, the CPU cooler is not a good choice. You can potentially damage your system if it doesn't work properly, and you'll definitely see performance drop-offs if the CPU throttles due to high temperatures."
the real zalman *may* be better (but i have seen no evidence to prove this), but the rip off is definately not something that 'might not work properly'.. its a big lump of copper which can't fail.. and a fan, which is no more likely to fail than a zalman fan.. u make the implication that it is worse than the stock cooler and will be a danger to the system.. which isn't the case atall. why is it likely to throttle? if u have the fan on atall i'm sure it wont for any CPU which a SPCR reader would chose. (presuming ur not OCing, and similar would apply to the zalman in that case)

user 'reviews' of the pc coolers: PA9C-38CUAL KD-42CU .. of course they aren't SPCR type people but some of the temps are fairly impressive either way.

OmegaZero · Post by **OmegaZero** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 8:56 am

My point was that, as I said, if you need to save money don't do it on the most important part of the machine. "Value" heatsinks, while they look similar and are made of similar materials, tend to not be made as well. The CPU contact surface may not be finished as well, the fan motor/bearings may be noisy or poorly made, etc. While I have not personally used the Zalman knock-off that was being discussed, I have used the actual Zalman unit itself. I found that it cooled fairly well but was louder than I wanted, so I changed to the XP-120. If the actual Zalman unit isn't what I would recommend, why would I recommend a cheap imitation? Enough people here at SPCR have mentioned a preference of the Thermalright units over the Zalman ones. If you do a quick search you will find many, including the discussions I linked in the previous post.

Getting back to the OT...

I think that you may be better off with a product from a reputable company.

[Edited for spelling]