Zalman 7000 ALcu Spins too loud.

preti9cboi · Post by **preti9cboi** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 1:17 pm

I have my zalman 7000 connected to my fan controller on the lowest setting and it spins too loud. Is it possible to change to fans or do something to make it not as loud?

SebRad · Post by **SebRad** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:28 pm

Hi, I have mine connected through 2 fanmates. The one nearest the cooler is set to max all the time and the other, nearest the motherboard header, is used to adjust the speed. I get range from <1100rpm to 2350rpm. With only one fan mate can only get down to 1350rpm. If your PC is really that quiet you would find a noticeable difference in noise between 1050 and 1350 rpm, the cooling is less but not that much less, unlike some heat sinks that have minimum fan speed below which their performance collapses.
There are threads (original easier newer) about swapping/de-coupling the fan, a lower speed Nexus or Yate Loon are the usual prefered models but if you have another prefed model thats possible too.
Seb

Erssa · Post by **Erssa** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:05 pm

Speedfan can also lower the fan speed lower then a fan mate...

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:38 pm

Hello,

Does the mobo header have speed control (thermally set in the BIOS)? If so, if you combine this with the FanMate, that should get the fan down to minimum -- or off, if it is not needed.

preti9cboi · Post by **preti9cboi** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:46 pm

thanks for the replies. I took the zalman off of my fan controller and put it back on the fanmate. It's not as loud anymore but i can still hear it at the lowest settings. -=[

ultraboy · Post by **ultraboy** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 9:06 pm

Sound like fan swapping is in order, then.

dfrost · Post by **dfrost** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 11:05 am

Swapping to a Yate Loon fan and isolating it on my CNPS 7000B-Cu made a noticeable difference in noise, and also increased the temps a few degrees.

Switching to an XP-120 and Papst fan, however, dropped both noise and temps substantially.

preti9cboi · Post by **preti9cboi** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:58 pm

I've never swapped out fans before on a CPU heatsink. Is it tough?

SebRad · Post by **SebRad** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 1:38 pm

Hi, swapping the fan on the Zalman 7000 isn't that difficult.
Undo the single screw (not the bolts) on each side of the heatsink in the gap between the fins. Then the central frame that holds the fan and mounting clip can be pulled away. There are 2 small screws that hold the fan to the frame, undo them and the original fan is then off. Obtain replacement fan and cut its frame away. If you plan to reuse the screw fitting you may want to leave a little of two of the "arms" that go from the fan's hub to the frame for the screws to go into. Alternatively the fan can be glued or affixed with (industrial) double sided tape or any other way you can come up with. The threads I linked above have pictures in that may help.
Seb

ultraboy · Post by **ultraboy** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:43 pm

SebRad wrote:....or affixed with (industrial) double sided tape or any other way you can come up with...

That's what I did with my CNPS7000. I use 3M double side foam tape (for outdoor use - can withstand upto 70 degree celcius) plus small size zipties. The foam tape also acts a little bit as vibration absorbtion for the fan.

Use it in my tower case (i.e. vertical orientation) for more than a year now, and the modded fan hasn't dropped off or showed any sign of getting loose yet.