Thermalright HR-03 Vs Zalaman 900-CU HTPC build

[Dman_15]

Pretty straightfarward you'd think, thermalright has to win hands down but would it. In a HTPC the Hetapipes will be in the shape of an 'n' possibly meaning heat would be trapped at the top and not disperse downwards to the fins of the heatsink.

 

I've attached a ms paint to show what i'm on about.

 

Anyone able to shed some light on this?

[General Septem]

I wonder. This hadn't occurred to me before, but I actually bought an HR-03 a while back which didn't fit on my 6600GT. So it was time to buy a new card... :tooth:

 

So I bought a 7950GT which I knew was compatible. It worked with the stock cooler (it got damn hot) but it crashed a few minutes after booting to Windows. I figured it was because I hadn't installed the drivers for it yet. It got way too hot to leave it like that, though, so I installed the HR-03. The card never booted again.

 

I sent it back for a replacement and got another one back. I installed the HR-03, and again it didn't boot. This time I heard a popping noise and fire came up from the card.

 

Could it be that the position of the cooler caused it not to work, and the resulting heat caused both cards to fry? I suppose it's possible.

 

Fortunately I got my money back in full (less shipping) and now I'm running my 6600GT with a Zalman VF900-CU I've since purchased. It runs great. It's virtually silent and keeps temps lower than I've ever seen them.

 

My recommendation is go for the Zalman. The HR-03 is bulky anyway.

[Dman_15]

interesting, anyone have anything else on this or have one installed in a HTPC?

 

on a side noth how loud is the zalaman in reality?