I fitted this three weeks ago now. It was chosen after reading numerous reviews of the "best" coolers. I went for the Zalman because I really didn't want the hassle of having to lap a brand new cooler to get the best results! The Zalman has a mirror finish to its contact surface and it passes all the straight edge flatness tests straight out of the box. I bought it from OcUK along with some Artic Silver 5. The Zalman comes with its own thermal paste which has an applicator brush, similar to a nail varnish brush. So I thought I'd give it a try and I'm more than happy. My Coretemps have dropped from
39-38-38-37 to 37-36-34-35 at idle with the fan running at a quiet 480 RPM using PWM.
I must admit I was extremely disappointed when I first fitted it because the temps actually increased over my old ACF 64 Pro. I checked and rechecked everything. I tidied up the cabling inside the case and changed a case fan. Suddenly I realized I'd fitted the Zalman backwards so the warm air was blowing away from the exhaust fan in the case DOH!! I swapped it around and hey presto an immediate 5 degrees drop in temps! Yes I did read the instructions but obviously not as well as I should have.
Anyway I'm well pleased with it and I wish I saved my £7 and not bought the AS-5.
39-38-38-37 to 37-36-34-35 at idle with the fan running at a quiet 480 RPM using PWM.
I must admit I was extremely disappointed when I first fitted it because the temps actually increased over my old ACF 64 Pro. I checked and rechecked everything. I tidied up the cabling inside the case and changed a case fan. Suddenly I realized I'd fitted the Zalman backwards so the warm air was blowing away from the exhaust fan in the case DOH!! I swapped it around and hey presto an immediate 5 degrees drop in temps! Yes I did read the instructions but obviously not as well as I should have.
Anyway I'm well pleased with it and I wish I saved my £7 and not bought the AS-5.
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