Zalman VF900-Cu GPU Cooler Review

Introduction
The Zalman VF900-Cu GPU cooler is the newest video card cooler from one of today’s leading cooler makers in the PC industry. Zalman recently has had the successful release and debut of a CPU cooler, the Zalman CNPS-9500 LED, and is also known for its Fata1y series of coolers. The company was founded in January of 1999, and in February of 2002 they founded its subsidiary in the United States. Zalman has done nothing but grow and is continuously releasing great products and raising the bar in performance and excellence. Zalman has won numerous awards in the past seven years and is headed toward many, many more. Zalman, in my opinion, has a real understanding for building and selling top of the line air coolers and having leading edge knowledge of heat pipe technology with a fin design, which allows for superb cooling! This particular cooler that we are looking at today appears to be a very nice piece of hardware!

Closer Look
The Zalman VF900 cooler comes packaged in a very flashy and sturdy box with clear plastic windows; one in the front and also one in the back to show off the awesome finish on this cooler.

  

Once you have opened the box and removed all the contents, you will first notice the superb quality and good looks of the cooler itself, and then plenty of hardware to install the cooler to a wide variety of video cards. There is one thing I noticed that did not come with the hardware package, something that could make it very difficult for novices to install this product, and that is the instruction manual. Fortunately, Zalman has a very good installation movie for the cooler on their website; however it is my opinion that it would have been much easier and more professional to have included an instruction manual with the VF900. Prior to installation check to make sure you have everything in the parts list, as you don’t ever want to get halfway through an installation and then realize that you’re missing the one part you need to finish!

Parts included with the Zalman VF900:
1) Heatsink Assembly (VF900-Cu)
2) Eight RAM heat sinks
3) Four Nipples
4) Four Fixing Nuts
5) One PVC Washer Plate
6) Four Rubber Rings
7) Four Springs
8) Thermal Grease
9) FAN Controller (FAN MATE 2)
10) Cable for FAN MATE 2
11) Dual-sided Tape (to attach FAN MATE 2)
12) User's Manual - in English and Korean (The user’s manual was missing for this review)

Here you can see that Zalman really took the extra time and paid close attention to lapping the base of the cooler for a very professional finish. The base is perfectly flat and has been finished with a nice high polish. Just remember that even though a heatsink has a high polish or mirror-like appearance, that does not mean the heatsink is perfectly flat. The heatsink must be flat in order to achieve the best contact to a GPU or CPU.

Here you can see the unique design of Zalman’s heat pipe technology. Note the heat pipe that runs from one side to the other of the base. The heat pipes are bent in a circular design just right for the cooling fan on this unit. You can see how the heat pipes were connected, or soldered, together to aid in heat transfer and also to help in structural stability. You can also get a good look at the mounting brackets and the many different configurations to fit your specific needs over a wide range of video cards.

  

Zalman has become known for its “fin” style heat sinks, and as you can see they do not disappoint with the VF900. The copper fins are a vital key to the way these coolers work. As the heat passes through the heat pipes it is transferred out and across the numerous fins that cover the entire distance of the heat pipes. It is in the fins where the majority of the heat is easily cooled and blown out and away from the cooler.