A ducted Zalman 7000A CU - finally

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SpyderCat
Posts: 208
Joined: Sun Feb 23, 2003 12:22 pm
Location: The Netherlands

A ducted Zalman 7000A CU - finally

Post by SpyderCat » Wed May 05, 2004 8:02 am

I thought there might be some interest in my latest quiet PC build.
The way I ducted the Zalman 7000A CU isn't done before, I think.

The System:
  • Ahanix "Black Knight" case (only in silver this time)
  • MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R Mobo
  • AMD Athlon 64 3000+ with ducted Zalman CPNS 7000A CU, 2 Panaflo L1A fans in tandem @ 6 volts
  • 2 x 512 MB Corsair PC4000 TwinX CMX512-4000PT (2.5-3-3-6)
  • ASUS V9520 Magic (NVidia 5200)
  • AOpen 350 Watts PSU (AO350-12APFN 28A~3.3V/30A~5V/18A~12V) modded with 'Nexus real silent' 120mm fan (1000 RPM max)
  • 1 Samsung 1614N (160 Gig IDE)
  • 2x Samsung 1614C (160 Gig SATA) on VIA controller
  • 1 Samsung CD-ROM SC-140A
  • 1 NEC DVD RW ND2500A
  • 1 Samsung floppydrive
  • 1 'Nexus real silent' 120mm casefan (front) @ 6 volts (1000 RPM max)
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First I build a duct in foam, which contains a Panaflo L1A. Part of the duct fits inside the 7000A.
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Then I covered the outside of the 7000A with the cuff of a dishwashing glove.

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Assembled it looks like this:

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Here I tried to use the counter-flow principle.
The air is forced to travel from the coldest point of the heatsink fins to the hottest parts, absorbing heat all the way.

A foam insert was mounted against the back of the case. Note the sensor for reading the temperature of the CPU-exhaust.
Also, on the outside you see a chimney with another Panaflo L1A on top.
As it takes some suction-power to pull enough air through this ducted heatsink, I found an undervolted L1A couldn't provide enough. I preferred 2 fans working in tandem to a more powerful fan.

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This is another extremely "low airflow" rig.
Again I tried to capture hot air, and prevent it from spreading through the case.

4 fans
  • Front case fan 'Nexus real silent' 120mm @ 6 volts
  • PSU fan 'Nexus real silent' 120mm, probably @ 5 volts.
  • 2 Panaflo L1A fans, working in tandem, @ 6 volts to suck air through the Zalman cooler.
I disabled AMD's Cool'n'Quiet feature as I could undervolt the CPU at full speed.
This CPU runs @ 1.3 Volts while it normally is supposed to run @ 1.5 Volts.
Fully loaded (Folding@Home) the CPU runs 26 degrees Celsius over ambient.

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The air in the case, measured @ PSU intake, is 6 degrees over ambient.
The boards case-temp sensor is talking rubbish :roll:

Have Fun !


Edit may 18th 2004

Later on an extended version of this tale was published as an article on this site. The article is here
Last edited by SpyderCat on Tue May 18, 2004 6:56 am, edited 4 times in total.
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PiSan
Posts: 42
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2004 5:06 pm
Location: New Jersey
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Post by PiSan » Wed May 05, 2004 1:07 pm

Wow, nice job! I may consider doing something now that I have this superb example.
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DG
Posts: 424
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2004 3:40 pm
Location: EU

Post by DG » Wed May 05, 2004 3:12 pm

What were the temperatures before the duct mode?
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DraGoNsLaYeR
Posts: 72
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 1:41 pm

Post by DraGoNsLaYeR » Fri May 07, 2004 7:11 pm

Where can i get a duct like yours to go from the heatsink to the back of the case. Would the duct fit if the zalman fan was still attached?
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