Vga cooler suggestion

[Mr.Ferrari]

Hi ya. Well im thinking of gettin a new card. Im returning my x800pro, im not happy with it...Im looking at a X850XT. Now a major problem that i saw with my pro was cooling. And this x850 looks like it has pretty good cooling. So my question is:

Is the cooling on that x850 BETTER then a zalman VF700-Cu?

If i was to buy that zalman, would it be better cooling then that x850, or would it be a waste of money? Does that x850 have better cooling that that zalman?

[kingsownall]

i dunt think so. usually aftermarket parts are better than the stock version u got on the video card

[Hi Ho]

Are you overclocking the card? If not, the stock cooler is fine, unless noise is your main concern. Stock coolers are genrally more noisy than aftermarket coolers.

What aspect of the X800Pro are you not happy with?

[blue60007]

I think you'll have a hard time returning your card if you've overclocked it and have been using it a while.

[Mr.Ferrari]

Yes, i do plan on overclocking. In the future to the max. The problem wiht my x800 is overheating. While stock, and playin a moderate game like halo, it goes up to 70c, and i cant really oc, without gettin a zalman. Now this card X850XT is on sal and comes out about a lil more then 10 bucks more then the pro. And the pro is still under 30 day, now if ia buy that zalman for my pro itll be another 30 bucks, now including restocking fee itll come out about equivalent...so why not go for the better card? Unless ofcourse i need that zalman for this 850. Lol go easy on me, im a n00b =]

EDIT: I just saw blues response. Blue i oced it for 1 day, and then have it bak to defaults. If its on defaults will they find out if its oced? And thats a problem? Uh oh...

[silentbobdrummer]

I think you'll have a hard time returning your card if you've overclocked it and have been using it a while.
I think its funny when some companys market overclocking but if you overclock it, it voids the warrenty.

[Mr.Ferrari]

Erm any help to my post? I need to decide on the cooler. Stock or zalman? Is it worth the money over stock. Stock does look pretty darn good.

[glc]

Why don't you TRY the stock cooler first? You don't have to swap the cooler as soon as you remove the card from the package.

[jfk]

I agree with glc, try the card first with stock cooler. There is nothing wrong with 70C under load in a video card. They are designed for higher temperatures. My X850XTPE runs at 70C under load with the stock cooler. I put a Zalman on it and temperatures only dropped about 3-4C under load. It does cool down quicker than with the stock sink/fan though. The Zalman is quieter than the stock fan in "quiet" mode, and almost as loud under "standard" load (the Zalman coolers have two power settings). The Zalman also requires good case cooling as it does not exhaust the hot air out the back of the case. Although I definately believe that the X850XT will have a performance improvement over the 850Pro, if I were you returning the Pro, I'd skip the 850XT and get a 7800GT. About the same money and a better performer. Best value in a card right now. Does require a PCIE slot though, and I don't know if that's what your board is. JMO, FWIW.

[Hi Ho]

I agree that the 7800 GT will probably outperform the X850XT. I also agree tha video cards can run very hot. The warning threshold on my 6600 GT is 150 C. :eek: