The Zalman Twins: 9500 & 9700 Air Tunnels
by Wesley Fink on February 19, 2007 12:40 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Overclocking
As cooling solutions do a better job of keeping the CPU at a lower temperature, then it is reasonable to expect the overclocking capabilities of the CPU will increase. In each test of a cooler we measure the highest stable overclock of a standard X6800 processor under the following conditions:CPU Multiplier: 14x (Stock 11x)
CPU voltage: 1.5875V
FSB Voltage: 1.30V
Memory Voltage: 2.20V
nForce SPP Voltage: 1.5V
nForce MCP Voltage: 1.7V
HT nForce SPP <-> MCP: Auto
Memory is set to Auto timings on the 680i and memory speed is linked to the FSB for the overclocking tests. This removes memory as any kind of impediment to the maximum stable overclock. Linked settings on the 680i are a 1066FSB to a DDR2 memory speed of DDR2-800. As FSB is raised the linked memory speed increases in proportion. The same processor is used in all cooling tests to ensure comparable results.
The Zalman 9500 reached just 3.812 GHz, which is middle of the pack and competitive with the much cheaper Thermalright MST-6775 and the Scythe Katana. The 9700 did a little better at 3.83 GHz. If you are just looking for bragging rights, then the 9700 booted fine at 3.90GHz, but unfortunately the system crashed whenever we tried to run any demanding tasks like gaming at any speeds above 3.83 GHz.
The overclocking performance of both Zalman coolers was disappointing. At $60 to $75 these are the two highest priced air coolers we have tested. You expect great performance if you pay more, but neither Zalman could deliver that kind of overclocking performance. Both the 9500 and 9700 were average in overclocking at best among the coolers we have tested. We can get average overclocking performance form coolers that cost just $25. Neither Zalman could justify their high prices based on overclocking performance, even though we tested both in overclocking at the highest fan speeds they could achieve, which also made them quite noisy.
The Tuniq Tower 120 is still the fastest air CPU cooler we have tested so far, with the TEC/air hybrid Monsoon II at the top of all overclocking charts with this CPU at 3.96 GHz. The Zalman 9500 and 9700 did not outperform the Tuniq, or even the Cooler Master Hyper 6+. Overclocking was in the ball park with the Thermalright and Scythe which are much lower cost and much lighter CPU coolers aimed at the heatpipe tower mainstream.
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Wesley Fink - Monday, February 19, 2007 - link
Very odd, but corrected.$pade - Monday, February 19, 2007 - link
This is another cooler that should be in the same league as the Tuniq Tower, but I have never seen a comparison review between the two units. I have seen the infinity used in several test configurations here, so I don't understand why it hasn't been included here yet. Anyways, the Infinity received editor's choice award here (http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/core_2_cpu_coo...">http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/core_2_cpu_coo... because it featured the lowest noise level and best cooling performance. I'd like to see another review for a second opinion and to see how it compares against the Tower.Vigile - Monday, February 19, 2007 - link
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=298">http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=298Wesley Fink - Monday, February 19, 2007 - link
We have just received the latest versions of the Scythe Ninja and the Scythe Infinity. They will be covered in an upcoming review.Sh0ckwave - Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - link
Awesome. my Infinity kicks ass with a papst fanVooDooAddict - Monday, February 19, 2007 - link
Excellent!mostlyprudent - Monday, February 19, 2007 - link
Sweet!Operandi - Monday, February 19, 2007 - link
It looks like the Zalmans are operating below your noise floor when they are run at low so it's hard to compare noise results within your results. Your prices are also a bit off; on Newegg the 9500 has been in the mid $40 range for awhile now which makes it more competitive.Also I don't believe Zalman makes a passive PSU aside from the unit integrated into some of their passive cases.
PseudoKnight - Monday, February 19, 2007 - link
I hope they can do better on their next iteration or at least drop the prices on these ones. I had a great experience with their product support. The heatsinks also look fantastic. heh.Wesley Fink - Monday, February 19, 2007 - link
We agree that Zalman product support is excellent. They also have put a lot of thought into the engineering of the installtion, and into describing that installation very well - which we mentioned in the review.We have tremendous respect for Zalman as a company, but we also know our readers depend on us for objective testing, and not reviews that are just ads for products. There are plenty of sites where you can get those kinds of reviews. We strongly believe that a "review" of a single product is an advertisement - reviews require comparing two or more products objectively.
Zalman missed the value mark this time, but we're certain they will be back with other great products in the future.