Zalman VF3000A VGA Cooler Review
Our Test s
Contents
We ran some simple tests to check the performance of the Zalman VF3000A, measuring the GPU core temperature with the aid of the SpeedFan software, and sound pressure level (SPL) with a digital noise meter set 4" (10 cm) from the video card, with the GPU at full load running the folding@Home GPU client. For this measurement, we turned off the CPU cooler, so its noise wouldn’t interfere. Please keep in mind that sound pressure level measurement is just for comparative purposes, because a precise measurement would have to be done in an acoustically insulated environment, which we don’t have.
We compared the results from the VF3000A at minimum and maximum speeds with the Zalman VF1000 LED, the Scythe Musashi (also at minimum and maximum speeds), and the VGA stock cooler. You can check the results in the table below.
| Product | Noise | Room Temp. | Core Temp. | Temp. Diff. | Speed |
| Stock Cooler | 61 dBA | 16 °C | 73 °C | 57 °C | – |
| VF1000 LED (min.) | 44 dBA | 16 °C | 74 °C | 58 °C | 1400 rpm |
| VF1000 LED (max.) | 51 dBA | 16 °C | 61 °C | 45 °C | 2600 rpm |
| Scythe Musashi (min.) | 40 dBA | 16 °C | 65 °C | 49 °C | 850 rpm |
| Scythe Musashi (max.) | 47 dBA | 16 °C | 58 °C | 42 °C | 1950 rpm |
| VF3000A (min) | 47 dBA | 19 °C | 52 °C | 33 °C | 1500 rpm |
| VF3000A (máx) | 57 dBA | 19 °C | 49 °C | 30 °C | 2800 rpm |
In the graph below, you can compare the temperature differences between the GPU core and the room. Remember that the lower the value, the better performance is.
The measured results are impressive. The VF3000A cooled our VGA better than the other coolers we have tested so far, even at minimum speed.