Conclusion:
Zalman continues to innovate in the field of high performance, low noise cooling. The VF-900Cu provided excellent cooling performance and was able to do so with absolutely no noise. Even at full speed, the cooler was quieter than the stock unit it replaced, and it kept the X800 GTO almost 10 degrees Celsius cooler!
In addition to providing a great design that works well and is easy to install, Zalman does a good job of making sure the product is bundled with all the accessories and extras you might want. The inclusion of RAM sinks is a nice touch, and the Fan Mate fan controller allows you to dial in the speed to get the balance of thermal performance and noise output that is right for you (not that full speed was so bad).
One comment I have on the fan controller is that it is intended to be mounted on the inside of your case. It is better than nothing, but it seriously restricts your ability to change speeds on the fly. Such as might be desired when going from regular desktop or HTPC duties to a serious game of your favorite third person shooter.
Sharka Corporation carries the Zalman VF-900Cu for $39.95, which according to a search of
PriceGrabber is quite competitive. Of all the stores I generally comparison shop at, Sharka Corporation has a lower price. VGA coolers in general seem to be getting more expensive, but the Zalman VF-900Cu seems to be one of the more reasonably priced, high performance units on the market. Besides that, the test results tell me that it is worth it!
Given the impressive cooling performance, low noise output, and competitive pricing, I award the Zalman VF900-Cu Dual Heatpipe VGA Cooler a final score of 4.5 out of 5 stars, and a rating of "Highly Recommended".
Final Rating (4.5 out of 5 stars):
Pros:
» Excellent cooling performance
» Extremely low noise output
» Includes fan speed controller
» Includes RAM sinks for memory cooling
» SLI compatible
Cons:
» Fan controller mounts inside the case, not easily accessible for adjustment
Special thanks to
Sharka Corporation for providing the Zalman VF900-Cu Dual Heatpipe VGA Cooler to Bigbruin.com for review!
