Cooling down the GTX 580
We bring to your attention a test of the cooling system - Zalman VF3000F ... It was developed specifically for the GeForce GTX 570 and 580 video cards. Our testing was carried out on the latter of these models, which is a faster and more efficient accelerator model from NVIDIA. Zalman's VF3000F premiered in April 2011, but did not go on sale until last fall.
Zalman VF3000F - is it worth your attention?
Our task was to check if the VF3000F is worth buying. We need to figure out which is better - buy a GeForce GTX 570 or GTX 580 accelerator in a store and install a Zalman cooling system on it, or maybe choose one of the author's models using a GeForce chip?
Zalman has a difficult task: it should cool the test GeForce GTX 580 much better, and at the same time, provide a better "work culture" than video cards with a proprietary cooling system. Only in this case, its purchase will make some sense (after all, the purchase of the VF3000F leads to an increase in the cost of the graphics system as a whole).
Green warmth
It is well known that GPU Fermi and its successors generate a lot of heat. While for slower models, such as the GeForce GTX 460 or GeForce GTX 550 Ti, the reference cooling system is quite sufficient, in the older series, the GeForce representatives have to deal with higher temperatures. Obviously, to reduce the temperature of the video card from overestimated values to normal values, you can use the "spin-up" of the fan speed to the maximum, but then, the system noise increases, and will you be pleasant to be in a noisy environment?
The way out of this situation will be the replacement by the manufacturer of the video card of the standard design of the cooling system with its own design. The vast majority of such accelerators are characterized by significantly lower temperatures and quieter operation. The most popular names for authoring systems are:
- Gigabyte WindForce X2 / X3
- Asus DirectCU II
- MSI TwinFrozr II / III
Unfortunately, the change in the cooling system is most often associated with an increase in the price of this card model.
And then a hero of the test appears in our testing laboratory - Zalman VF3000F ... The manufacturer has been known in the computer market for many years. The company began its activity in 1999 and since then, mainly specializes in cooling systems for processors and video cards, computer cases, the production of fans, power supplies and some other accessories.
On the pages of our review, we will present a photo gallery, description, procedure for installing Zalman VF3000F on a GeForce GTX 580 video card, and testing this cooling system for performance.
Presentation - Zalman VF3000F
The whole set fits in a small box. The package includes:
- Aluminum heatsink for the power supply section and accelerator RAM modules;
- User's manual;
- Studs, knurled nuts, rubber rings, springs for studs, spring-loaded screws, a set of insulating washers and gaskets, a sticker for the body and double-sided tape;
- Thermal paste Zalman ZM-STG2;
- Fan Mate 2 fan speed control module with cable;
Cooling system device
Everything in it is done neatly and without flaws. This is especially true of the cooling system, which is not inferior in manufacturing quality to the corresponding designs of competing devices (installed on copyright accelerators).
The base of the VF3000F is a copper block measuring 40x45 mm. It is he who first takes on the heat from the graphics processor of the video card, which is then transported through five heat pipes to the large fins of the aluminum radiator. The radiator measures approximately 22.5 cm long and 9.8 cm wide. The length of the entire structure is 23.9 centimeters (it is added by the green case protruding beyond the border of the radiator). The height is 5.1 cm.The whole set weighs about 430 grams.
Powerful video cards cannot do without a powerful fan. In the case of the VF3000F, we are dealing with two 92mm fans. In addition to the direct task of cooling the radiator, they also have other work to do. The first of them blows the electronics around the GPU, and the second is responsible for cooling the power section of the video card.
The blades have a bump that the manufacturer claims should result in better cooling performance and quieter operation. We will tell you about the noise level of Zalman below.
The manufacturer has carefully polished the copper block of the heatsink
Installation
The first thing to do is, of course, remove the standard heatsink from the graphics card. Next, we clean the graphics core from the remnants of the old paste. It is better to use nail polish remover and cotton pads for this purpose. The next step is to install a black radiator, which is responsible for cooling the power and memory section, and then we mount the VF3000F.
Only after the cleaning procedure can new thermal grease be applied and the cooling system fixed.
Of course, before installing any of the radiators, we must apply new thermal grease. How to do it? Let's use the example of the graphics core - we squeeze a few drops onto the GPU surface, and after installing a flat heatsink (designed to remove heat from the power and memory section), we mount a heatsink for the cooling system. Before attaching it, the radiator should be pressed with a little force so that the thermal paste is evenly distributed between the two surfaces.
The flat heatsink is secured by screwing it in with spring screws (on the back of the PCB).
The next step is to screw in four screws along with rubber pads on the copper radiator and install it all on the graphics accelerator.
Done!
Remember to tighten all screws and screws with moderate force. After all, there is a risk that we will rip off the thread, and this will further complicate the dismantling / installation of the cooling system. We just need to connect the power supply to the fans and the speed controller. The GeForce GTX 580 graphics card with Zalman VF3000F cooling looks very different now than it did with the standard cooling. Its dimensions have grown - in the computer it needs to be allocated three slots. The installation of the cooling system took us about 30 minutes (and we were not in a hurry). Take a look at the photos to see how the card began to look with the VF3000F installed.
Test platform, methodology
CPU:
Intel Core i7 920 2.66 @ 3.7 GHz;
Maternalpay:
ASUS Rampage II Extreme;
Operationalmemory:
Kingston HyperX 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 MHz;
CPU cooling: Noctua NH-D14 - buy at F.ua store;
HDD:
Seagate 250GB 3.5 '' SATAIII Barracuda 7200.12 - buy hard drive from F.ua;
Blocknutrition:
Enermax Revolution 850 W;
Monitor
LG E2411T-BN - buy monitor at F.ua store;
Housing:
CoolerMaster 690 II Advanced - buy case at F.ua.
Methodology
Before we started measuring temperatures, we ran Crysis to "warm up" the paste. The whole process took 5 hours. In addition, for two days we worked in a mode in which basic tasks were performed, such as watching movies, listening to music, browsing the web (the video card was not 100% loaded).
For the procedure of measuring temperatures, we used the Crysis game and playing a "demo" recording in a loop.
Test results, noise
The ambient temperature during the tests was about 22-23 degrees Celsius. The speed controller allowed us to smoothly modify the speed of the fan blades. We decided to test the Zalman VF3000F in three performance modes:
- Minimum speed of revolutions (about 15% - 1400 rpm);
- Maximum speed;
- Your settings.
A few words to explain the last point. During custom settings, the potentiometer was in a position where the fans did not generate more noise than other components of the system (for example, cooling the processor, power supply).According to our estimates, it was about 30% and the noise level is slightly higher than at the minimum settings.
When the potentiometer is turned on at minimum, the fans are practically inaudible. At maximum fan speed, the cooling of the VF3000F can hardly be called quiet, although the operation of the standard GeForce GTX 580 cooling system at 100% settings generates even more noise. According to the manufacturer, the noise level of the VF3000F ranges from 18-33 dB (A).
results
GPU Temperature - Simple [° C] Firefox, Foobar
Performance: The cooling performance speaks for itself. Zalman is more efficient than competitors (proprietary systems from Asus and MSI).
Noise: The level of the emitted noise was assessed as the same as that emitted by other solutions of the author's systems.
GPU Temperature - Load [° C] Crysis
Performance: In games, the temperature in the GeForce GTX 580 with VF3000F cooling does not rise to the levels to which it rises in the case of a reference system, or a design from MSI. At low speed settings, Zalman performs better than accelerators from MSI and Asus. Increasing the fan speed to the user-specified settings, allows you to reduce the temperature by another 3 degrees, and turning on the maximum, led to the fact that the still "hot" GTX 580 barely reached 52 degrees Celsius.
Noise: The VF3000F is much less audible at the lowest rpms than the reference GeForce GTX 580 and MSI model. In addition, I felt that the Asus accelerator was also slightly noisier, albeit slightly. When setting the potentiometer to "custom" mode, the air noise was comparable to the Asus model, but the Zalman is clearly better in performance.
GPU Temperature - Load + Overclocking + Power Boost [° C] Crysis
We tested the performance of a Zalman device on a video card overclocked to 900/1100 MHz (standard: 772/1000 MHz), in addition to this, we increased the core voltage to 1.138 V.
Performance: Unfortunately, we do not have measurements of Asus and MSI cards after overclocking. However, we suspect that in terms of cooling system performance, they would be inferior to the product from Zalman - this conclusion is based on previous results.
As you can see, an overclocked GeForce GTX 580 can be not only very fast in games, but also very quiet with the VF3000F cooling system and "minimal" settings. Increasing the speed of the fans until you can hear them makes it possible to lower the temperature by 5 ° C.
conclusions
The performance of the Zalman VF3000F is much better than that of the reference cooling system that comes with the GeForce GTX 580. In our tests, it also has a significant advantage over proprietary systems from MSI and Asus. VF3000F can become an interesting alternative for modified GeForce accelerators (installing VF3000F instead of a proprietary cooling system from other manufacturers).
There are several facts to keep in mind. The purchase of Zalman refrigeration will be beneficial mainly when:
- You already have a GeForce GTX 580 and don't like its noisy operation and high accelerator temperatures;
- You have the opportunity to purchase GeForce GTX 580 at a much lower price than models with proprietary cooling systems;
- You are not afraid to "tinker" with computer equipment, and any modification gives you only pleasure.
Many people may be scared off by the price of the system - it is not low. We also thought so at first. But opinion changed when we turned on the computer with the GeForce GTX 580 and the new cooling system installed on it. The efficiency and quietness of the Zalman VF3000F, in comparison with its competitors, simply captivates. However, you can see it yourself in the presented graphs.
Before modification
After
The only pity is that the VF3000F is adapted for installation on only two video cards (GTX 570/580). If there was a possibility of installing it on other models ... Unfortunately, it is Nvidia who decides at what distance to place the holes for cooling systems,as well as the location of the electronics on the printed circuit board. In this regard, it is difficult for a manufacturer of such systems to predict the design of future video cards.
The Zalman VF3000F is an interestingly designed, quality product that we recommend to our readers.
Zalman VF3000F
Pros:
• High quality workmanship;
• High cooling efficiency, even at the lowest fan speed;
• Simplicity of operation;
• Easy to install.
Minuses:
• With the installed cooling system, the video card in the computer occupies three slots.
You can buy a cooling system for the Zalman VF3000F video card at F.ua. Happy shopping!
