Conclusion

The Zalman VF700-AlCu is better in every way, except for its performance. The installation procedure is MUCH easier than the ZM80D-HP, and the cooler is much lighter too. Unfortunately, because of the smaller surface area, its cooling performance suffered.

I like the flower heatsink design, but it didn't work as well as I've expected in the VF700-AlCu, unlike the CNPS7000 heatsinks. Well, there's the VF700-Cu with its full-copper heatsink, which is supposely better than VF700-AlCu. I've just received it from Zalman so stay tuned for its review!

Back to the VF700-AlCu... Would I buy this cooler? It depends.

If you want ease of installation, and its relative silence and performance which is still much better than many stock coolers, you can consider the Zalman VF700-AlCu. But if you want absolutely the best performance, then I will probably go for ZM80D-HP.

Please note that both coolers are not exactly suitable for overclocking. At press time, the cooler has not hit the retail market, but I would expect the VF700-AlCu to be much cheaper than the Zalman heatpipe coolers. That is another reason to get the VF700-AlCu, if price is an issue for you.

Questions & Comments

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