Zalman 7700 or Thermalright XP-120?

T

[Tripod]MajorPayne

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Jun 15, 2004
Messages
4,943
I'm considering getting a new heatsink, since my stupid Thermaltake Pipe 101 isn't cutting it anymore. It's running my 3.2 E at about 41 degrees C IDLE! I'm considering going with one of the Zalman 7700 series, with the 120 MM fan. I was wondering if the AlCu is good enough, or if the increased performance that I will get with the straight copper one justifies the price and extra weight.

Also, would I be better off with an XP-120 than either of those 2? Or are they about the same? Thanks! I am looking to O/C as much as possible, I bought this Patriot RAM for a reason!
 
This guy I know runs his 3.2 prescott at 4.0 using the XP-120.. even with the side panel off the comp is absolutely silent..
 
Well, the 7700 is made to cool your computer as quietly as possible. It's not really meant to be a CPU cooler for OCed systems. The XP-120 on the other hand...
 
I'd go with the XP-120. Even the CNPS7700-AlCu is heavier than the XP-120 will ever be. The only drawback is that you need room for it to fit, a lot of room.
 
I had a 7700alcu and I have to say that the performance was less than spectacular. I was gettting load temps of ~62C on my 520 when it was oc'ed to 3.5. Replacing it with a Freezer 7 dropped my load temps a whole 10 degrees to ~52C. I'm sure the copper model is better than the alcu, but it can't be that much better. The Freezer 7 has a much quieter fan as well since you have to turn the fan on 7700's up all the way to get even decent performance.
 
xp-120 all the way!
it is lighter than the zalman (350g)
you can choose your fan (i.e. moderate oc, but quiet with zalman stealth, or big oc with a delta fan)
it looks nicer
has far lower temps. i.e 2.8 overclocked to 3.8 with load temps of like 45C.
it is a kick ass piece of hardware.

however, check on your mobos compatibility, as the thermalrights 6 heatpipes can interfere with capacitors, and those (in my opinion silly) otes boards from fatality.
other than that, excellent cooler.
however, have a look at aseteks new cooler the micro vapochill, looks very nice
f
 
I have one thing to say...
XP-120 on 2.8C ... stable @ 3.5Ghz and temps do not go beyond 40*C... you cannot go wrong with that.
 
I was just reading reviews on the XP120 and It's really hard to make heads or tails of the performance results since most reviewers simply compare them to the stock intel heatsink. Which stock intel heatsink?? There's been like ten different ones in the last two years. On top of everything else most of the XP120 reviews for some reasons are done using northwood chips!! I think it's because you have to by the lga775 mount for the XP120 seperately.

Check out this lga775 roundup for good comparative results on lots of socket T heatsinks:
http://translate.google.com/transla...fe=off&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=/language_tools
 
Well, mine's socket 478, so I won't have to worry about that. Looks like the XP-120 all day long, which is what I thought. I checked motherboard compatibility for my P4 S800D, and the list on the website said that some caps were touching it, but they weren't obstructing anything, and no tilting of the caps was necessary. I might give it a try when I get some money....that's my only obstacle at this point, but isn't it for 98% of us? :rolleyes:
 
Anybody trying to dispute the quality of XP-120 Heatsinks at this stage can only be classed as Jejeune.

That said, there is the the Coolermaster Hyper 6. Fom what I have seen that's the ultimate air cooler for the cpu. Has it's drawbacks though, which is why I'm XP120. Water/phase change is the next level for performance seekers.
 
laserbeam said:
That said, there is the the Coolermaster Hyper 6. Fom what I have seen that's the ultimate air cooler for the cpu.
Click to expand...
Weight +++

And you can only mount an 80mm fan on it (if memory serves me correct).
 
id say go with the xp120, if it can fit on your board. its HUGE and it has the option of using a powerful 120mm fan(DELTA 220 CFM!) or a nice quite 120 mm fan and you can get good cooling from it. its wingspan is and helps cool other parts of the mobo, like the mosfets or ram in some cases. its definately worth the money for the xp120 but if it cant fit, try the xp 90 or go with the zalman
 
Yeah, so far everyone's just confirmed what I have thought. According to thermalright's website, my motherboard IS compatible with the XP-120, so we'll see. I might just have to use my *removable motherboard tray!!!* (it's so cool) and pull out the mobo to put on the HS, and then slide it back in.
 
All these speculations... how about some experience?

The Zalman 7-series are decent, but quite moderate, and well not worth the price.
While the Zalman gets better idle temps (the heatpipes on the XP-120 don't activate until 100F), you cannot thermally overload the XP-120.
I've been running my P4-M at my board's voltage limit with the XP-120, and it can take the heat, running just about double it's core speed and at my mobo's voltage ceiling, I can safely say that the XP-120 is the best buy I have ever made, and is everything short of watercooling.

Remember, the heatpipes don't activate until 100F, so don't freak out if your temps are a little high at idle ;)
 
That could be why my Thermaltake's idle temps are pretty high, then. It uses heatpipes as well, and it idles almost right at 110 Fahrenheit, yet the load temps have never gone over 52C, or about 125 F.

EDIT: Doesn't matter, I still want an XP-120, since this stupid heatsink doesn't allow for any overclocking. Even a 5 mhz FSB increase makes the board go "ERR0R!!!", but with my 2.53, I could overclock to 3 GHZ windows and game stable, except BFV. I'm going to have to check everything once I get my good heatsink, so I can make sure it's not my RAM or HDs, although these are the same things I used w/ my old proc, only difference is the 3.2 E and the Pipe 101 POS heatsink.
 
CCUABIDExORxDIE said:
id say go with the xp120, if it can fit on your board. its HUGE and it has the option of using a powerful 120mm fan(DELTA 220 CFM!) or a nice quite 120 mm fan and you can get good cooling from it. its wingspan is and helps cool other parts of the mobo, like the mosfets or ram in some cases. its definately worth the money for the xp120 but if it cant fit, try the xp 90 or go with the zalman
Click to expand...

What's the BEST fan for the XP-90 (Delta, Ventec Tornado, etc)? If I can get performace quietly it'd be great, though I know this may not be possible.
 
ScHpAnKy said:
Remember, the heatpipes don't activate until 100F, so don't freak out if your temps are a little high at idle ;)
Click to expand...
actually i think in most newer heatsinks with heatpipes, they have various pressures to allow for a good range of vaorization temps. i dunno where that 100f comes from, but that's probably about right on average.

what i want from thermalright for the next heatsink:
adjustable heatpipes to fine tune the heatsink to your power load and room temps. it shouldn't be terribly complicated. :p
 
best fan period for the xp90, either the 92mm delta that pushed lots of cpm or the vantec 92mm tornado. each wil be ridiculously loud, but just crank some tuneskis up and youll never hear it. :D
 
CCUABIDExORxDIE said:
best fan period for the xp90, either the 92mm delta that pushed lots of cpm or the vantec 92mm tornado. each wil be ridiculously loud, but just crank some tuneskis up and youll never hear it. :D
Click to expand...

Thanks.

So, if pushed to choose between these two, purely in terms of reliability, which should I choose?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top