AC 5 rev 3 on XFX 7800GT UDER revision?

[Angilion]

Has anyone here fitted an Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer 5 revision 3 to an XFX 7800GT Extreme Edition UDER version?

I might or might not do so, but I want to know if it fits. Not much point deciding to fit one if it isn't compatible with this card. It's compatible with the reference design for 7800 series, but the UDER revision of XFX 7800GT is a bit different to the reference design and I'm not sure if the differences make it incompatible with the Arctic Cooling cooler.

Alternatively, is the Zalman VF700-CU a better buy? I like the fact that the AC exhausts straight out the PC, but I'll buy the Zalman if there's a good reason to.

 

[Hunders]

I have the Zalman on mine and its the UDER revision card.

From what I have read your better off with the Zalman because sometimes the fans on the Arctic Coolers can die or make clicking noises and the heatsink clogs up with dust making the temps rise due to low airflow.

The Zalmans are more expensive but I'd quite happily buy another without hesitation if I had to.

 

[Angilion]

I don't think dust is an issue for me, as the 9800Pro I recently removed didn't have any dust in the heatsink after over a year of heavy use. I have filtering in my case, maybe that helps.

I'm still in two minds. The Zalman seems to fit everything...but the AC exhausts out the case and I like that. I'm a low-noise freak and that allows me to reduce case cooling. I don't care that it effectively takes 3 slots (a card in the slot 2 from the graphics card slot end up touching the AC heatsink). I have 4 spare slots between the graphics card and my soundcard. I'm also not happy with the weight of the copper Zalman hanging off my card, though logic tells me it can't matter because no-one seems to be having problems caused by it.

My ideal would be a Zalman that exchausted out the case.

Having said that, the stock cooler on my card blows into the case, like a Zalman, and it hasn't increased case or CPU temps significantly.

Hmm...