Zalman vf700-cu problems please help!

husker4life

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 28, 2004
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I just got the zalman vf700-cu cooler and my temps are even worse than with stock cooling :mad: . I have it in silent mode my idle temp is 65c and load is 100c using rthrdrbl for 10 minutes or so. Something is definitely wrong here obviously, im a total noob on installing something like this but i followed the instructions carefully and figured it wasnt that difficult. I cleaned the gpu with isopropyl alcohol and q-tips, then i used AC5 thermal paste spread it all over using a credit card. Ive redone it 3 times now and i still cant get the temps down, is the cooler and gpu not making proper contact? To much or too little thermal paste? I really need some help here folks.

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make sure the surface of both the GPU and HS/F are free of scratches and nicks, if they have any, try lapping the surface of both to get rid of the pits and what not. It could also be that since its a zalman, and zalmans are more designed to reduce noise than heat, that it may not really be doing so much to remove heat as it is to reduce sound. Also, you said you had it on quite mode...try turning it up.

Personally, i think you should have gone with the VF900, but thats just me.
 
yea - it really doesn't sound like it's installed right. make sure that you don't put too much thermal paste on... just a thiiiiiin layer.
 
I can't recall if my VF700 had a plastic cover over the mating surface of the heatsink, but you may want to ensure there isn't one on yours.


Definately sounds like something is up...

Good Luck!
 
If there WAS a plastic cover, I bet your temperatures would be a tad higher than that.

How much Thermal Paste'd you use?
 
definitely reinstall following the directions exactly...also try using a thinner spread of AS5. The VF700 can't touch the performance of the VF900 but it should be a couple degrees better than stock.
 
Smoove910 said:
I can't recall if my VF700 had a plastic cover over the mating surface of the heatsink, but you may want to ensure there isn't one on yours.


Definately sounds like something is up...

Good Luck!
I dont recall taking off a plastic cover, is there one on there that you have to take off before installation? I also dont have the screws all the way snug on one side of the bracket, when i have both of them snug is seems like the thing is tilted slightly. I have the fan on normal mode 61c idle 90c load using 10 minutes of rthdrbl.
 
husker4life said:
I dont recall taking off a plastic cover, is there one on there that you have to take off before installation? I also dont have the screws all the way snug on one side of the bracket, when i have both of them snug is seems like the thing is tilted slightly.
yea - you should tighten the screws down. sounds like that's your culprit.

and after you tighten down, if it looks tilted, you might not have your spacers on right.
 
stormshadow said:
yea - you should tighten the screws down. sounds like that's your culprit.

and after you tighten down, if it looks tilted, you might not have your spacers on right.

My 2nd reinstall i had them both snug all the way down and my idle temp was 75c, obviously still bad so i took it apart and cleaned it again and i can see corners that are imprinted on one side and not the other like theres to much pressure on one end of the gpu. Theres permanent scratchs on the heat sink that look like the outline of the edges on one side of the gpu. This thing is a pain in the ass i didnt think it would be this difficult. :mad:
 
Arcygenical said:
If there WAS a plastic cover, I bet your temperatures would be a tad higher than that.

How much Thermal Paste'd you use?
I thought i had a thin layer, i dabbed some ac5 in the middle and spread it all over using a credit card.
 
I still say make sure you have no pits or big marks in the HS base, and that thing about the plastic is a good suggestion too, i hadent though about that but i guess if your new to the modding scene you might not know to take that off. Also, what sort of case air flow do you have? Its possible that you dont have enough air to clear the heat out of the case efficiently.

Also, what were your temps before the zalman with the stock HS? Could be a faulty GPU die...just a thought to consider if you havent had that card for long...
 
kill4killin said:
I still say make sure you have no pits or big marks in the HS base, and that thing about the plastic is a good suggestion too, i hadent though about that but i guess if your new to the modding scene you might not know to take that off. Also, what sort of case air flow do you have? Its possible that you dont have enough air to clear the heat out of the case efficiently.

Also, what were your temps before the zalman with the stock HS? Could be a faulty GPU die...just a thought to consider if you havent had that card for long...
Ive just reinstalled it again and i think is wasnt seated correctly i fixed that and now my temps are 55c idle 75 load with stock fan they were 60c idle and 85 load.
 
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