Here's ZM50-HP's Big Brother
Yup, that's what the Zalman ZM80A-HP heatsink essentially is. The ZM80A-HP heatsink that we are going to review today is actually an improved version of what Zalman Tech released initially - the ZM80-HP. Due to the size of the heatsinks, the initial version was difficult to install. The surface-mounted components on many graphics boards as well as the motherboard capacitors around the AGP slot were preventing the massive heatsinks from being mounted. Zalman immediately responded with the new ZM80A-HP heatsink. Instead of just modifying the design, Zalman also improved the specifications.
Now, if you have not read our review of the Zalman ZM50-HP heatsink, I suggest you do that first. We will not be concentrating much on the installation process of the ZM80A-HP as it is basically the same as the ZM50-HP. The more detailed explanation in the Zalman ZM50-HP review will give you a much better idea of the installation process.
Okay, let's start with the ZM80A-HP's specifications!
Specifications
ZM50-HP
|
ZM80-HP
|
ZM80A-HP
|
|
Weight |
130g
|
385g
|
400g
|
Heatpipe Material |
Gold Plated Copper Tube
|
Gold Plated Copper Tube
|
Gold Plated Copper Tube
|
Heat Dissipating Material |
Aluminum
|
Aluminum
|
Aluminum
|
Surface Area For Heat Dissipation |
400cm2
|
1000cm2
|
1300cm2
|
Compatibility : Any graphics card with mounting holes around the GPU.
As you can see, the Zalman ZM80A-HP is truly monstrous, compared to the comparatively puny ZM50-HP. With a weight of 400g, this has got to be the heaviest heatsink ever! The weight was put to good use as the ZM80A-HP has three times more surface area for heat dissipation than the ZM50-HP! Pretty impressive numbers, I must say but we'll see how it really performs...