Cooler Master CoolViva Z1 VGA Heatsink | XFX GeForce 7600 GT AGP

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VinDSL

VinDSL

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2006
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www.lenon.com
Thought you guys might get a chuckle out of this...

A couple of weeks ago, I heard my OEM nVidia 7600 GT fan buzzing, e.g. the death knell.

A few days ago, the fan stuck. Didn't realize it until my display went black, and I blistered my finger, poking around inside the case. LoL! :D

The OEM heatsink assembly looked nice, but cooling was always marginal, so I went on a quest for a suitable replacement.

Couldn't find any useful info on the Cooler Master CoolViva Z1, but I liked the concept, and decided to try one.

Here are some snappies...


Fitment (front)
CoolViva-Z1-1.png


Fitment (back)
CoolViva-Z1-2.png


Installed (angle 1)
CoolViva-Z1-3.png


Installed (angle 2)
CoolViva-Z1-4.png


Results (nVidia X server)
CoolViva-Z1-5.png


Bottomline: Works like a champ! Identical temps, compared to the OEM heatsink.

I was thinking about installing a 80mm fan, but this sucker doesn't need one.

Unbelievable, but true! ;)
 
lsv

lsv

Golden Member
Dec 18, 2009
1,610
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I was about to write 'holy necro!', then I saw you posted this today.

Neat cooler though.
 
T_Yamamoto

T_Yamamoto

Lifer
Jul 6, 2011
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VinDSL said:
OMG!!! That would look soooo good in my case (Mountain Mods U2-UFO, 3-Window, Mirror Black).

But, then I'd have to find a black Aerocool Centaurus III fan for my VGA cooler, before they disappear. LoL! :D
Click to expand...
beast.
 
VinDSL

VinDSL

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,869
1
81
www.lenon.com
T_Yamamoto said:
beast.
Click to expand...
I think one of the reasons the CoolViva Z1 is working so well is...

The intake, if you will, for the Tuniq Tower 120 is directly above it, so no trapped heat.

BTW, that TT120 is sitting on top of an Intel P4 "Extreme Edition" NetBurst CPU @ 3.4 MHz.

You can fry eggs on that thing! It actually requires a "beast" of an air cooler. ^_^
 
C

Concillian

Diamond Member
May 26, 2004
3,751
8
81
Wow, been a while since I've seen an AGP card.

Sometimes it's fun to see the classics again, thanks for sharing.
 
T_Yamamoto

T_Yamamoto

Lifer
Jul 6, 2011
15,007
795
126
VinDSL

VinDSL

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,869
1
81
www.lenon.com
UPDATE

I've been watching the temps on this passive cooler, for the past few days. Still working great!

The highest temp I've seen is 45C, and that was during the heat of the day, when we hit 93F outdoors.

Today, for giggles, I dug an old 80mm case fan out of the closet, dusted it off, changed the connector from 4-pin to 3-pin, and laid it on top of the heat pipe section.

I didn't bother mounting it to the included bracket. If I go to the trouble of mounting it, I'll buy a new fan. :)

The difference was quite impressive, to say the least!

As mentioned above, this heatsink has been cooling my XFX nVidia GeForce 7600 GT to 43C (identical to the OEM fan assembly). Today was no exception... 43C.

When I laid the fan on top, it dropped to 35C in less than a minute. When I removed it, it went right back to 43C.


80 mm fan sitting on top of heat pipes (bracket not installed)
CoolViva-Z1-6.png


Results (nVidia X server)
CoolViva-Z1-7.png


Needless to say, but I'll be permanently mounting a nice, quiet, low profile fan (probably a Zalman) soon. ;)
 
VinDSL

VinDSL

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,869
1
81
www.lenon.com
Final snappie...

80x80x15mm Evercool #EC8015M12CA fan / Thermaltake grill / mounted on bracket
CoolViva-Z1-8.png

GPU temp is holding steady at 36C, as I type. :thumbsup:

Project complete! Total cost: 17 bones...
 
Last edited:
C

Concillian

Diamond Member
May 26, 2004
3,751
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81
You actually mounted it to a bracket? I would have just zip-tied it =P.

I'm ghetto like that.
 
VinDSL

VinDSL

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,869
1
81
www.lenon.com
Concillian said:
You actually mounted it to a bracket? I would have just zip-tied it =P.

I'm ghetto like that.
Click to expand...
The CoolViva-Z1 package is surprisingly complete! The (optional) 80mm fan bracket was included, so I used it.

When I was testing the fan, by simply laying it on top of the heat pipes, it was putting out an irritating, high-pitched whine. The included fan mount isolated the fan from the heat pipes, and effectively made it silent.

I'm actually thinking about taking it apart, and spraying the bracket black (or lime green).

I'm anal like that... :D
 
VinDSL

VinDSL

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,869
1
81
www.lenon.com
BTW, here's yet another screenie...


CoolViva-Z1-9.png


I booted up about an hour ago, temps have stabilized, and my video card is running @ 34C.

This is approx. 10C less than the OEM nVidia reference cooler. Amazing! :)
 
Last edited:
Knavish

Knavish

Senior member
May 17, 2002
910
3
81
VinDSL said:
BTW, here's yet another screenie...


CoolViva-Z1-9.png


I booted up about an hour ago, temps have stabilized, and my video card is running @ 34C.

This is approx. 10C less than the OEM nVidia reference cooler. Amazing! :)
Click to expand...

This is OT, but...

It's been a while since I've run Ubuntu as a desktop, though I do have it running my home server. What do you use to display all that status / calendar/ etc stuff on the right side of your screen? Is that part of Ubuntu?
 
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