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when you have the money to experiment all you want, then go ahead, have some fun, tell everyone off with evidense that you have gathered yourself, but until then, I think that the zalman is just too expensive unless you pay only $45 like clue69less did

Most likely that was due to mounting errors. Tuniq>anything Zalman.

No, mounting errors have nothing to do with my results. My test results have been consistent with the 9700 and the Tuniq over numerous mounts on real and synthetic setups. Of course, having done well over a hundred HSF mounts over the last year, I've got the technique pretty much down. Other reviewers have also reported that it takes a high heat load to bring out the best in the 9700.

Some reviewers recommend lapping the Tuniq base and predict a couple of degrees of improvement. I lapped mine and got at best 1C improvement. The 9700 came with a mirror finish so no need to bother with the lap job. 9700 = better quality finish.

That's one thing I will agree with you about, zalman definitely has its quality, just focuses more on looks than performance and is too expensive without the sales

Most likely that was due to mounting errors. Tuniq>anything Zalman.

No, mounting errors have nothing to do with my results. My test results have been consistent with the 9700 and the Tuniq over numerous mounts on real and synthetic setups. Of course, having done well over a hundred HSF mounts over the last year, I've got the technique pretty much down. Other reviewers have also reported that it takes a high heat load to bring out the best in the 9700.

Some reviewers recommend lapping the Tuniq base and predict a couple of degrees of improvement. I lapped mine and got at best 1C improvement. The 9700 came with a mirror finish so no need to bother with the lap job. 9700 = better quality finish.


I was thinking about lapping my Tuniq but decided it looked like to much of a pain in the butt to do that


As for your results I guess everyone has something diff to report. The majority seem to think the Tuniq is still the best aircooler on the market though.

Anyone got any results from any websites comparing the 9700 and the Tuniq?

I think it all matters on how good the fan on the hs is. If you put a monster fan on the 9500 pupmping 200cfm instead of the pathetic baically 10 it has, it would be a very nice hsf. And if you put a monster fan on the ninja, I think that would be the best one on the market because of the twelve heatpipes. And since the zalman has either a very good fan or a crappy fan depending on which product you have, the performance will differ between all the people who test the products

So, I've had the air cooler that does the best job in having the Tuniq? 60C under load in my Thermaltake case with AS5 on a Gigabyte 965P DS3. I've learned that my case is really the problem...and that was a pretty expensive lesson. Too bad the Tuniq doesn't fit my mobo but its giving me an opportunity to help MikeGR out and I'm cool with that.

So it seems that I've paid $25 more than you think the 9700 is worth. ...the cost of a nice bottle of Chardonnay. If I get it installed in my new case and see that it doesn't live up to my expectations I'll have learned a lesson, abeit not an expensive one. I do believe it will outperform my Artic Freezer 7 Pro with less noise and know that it will fit my Striker from Slim. I don't know for sure that the Ninja will fit, which is why I opted for the Zalman for now. If the Zalman stinx like you feel it does perhaps I'll research to see if the Ninja fits above or within the Striker Extreme's heatsink city. ...if this makes me a sucker in your eyes, that's quite alright by me.

Don't worry about, it will respect you no matter what your decision is, but just ell me the results

$70 for a cooler that gets beaten by a handful of less expensive better looking coolers such as the Tuniq tower and Scythe Ninja. What a rip off. This is why I hate Zalman products, overpriced and under performing for the amount of cash that the suckers are will to give out just because of the name.


This is how flaming gets started, with bait such as the above. I have enough $$ that I can afford to experiment and as long as I'm able I'll continue to do so. I'm sorry you feel the Zalman 9700 NT is not worth its price. Many feel the Asus Striker is not worth its price either. I choose to buy what I want to experiment with. My listed rig is a toy, nothing more...if I've chosen the wrong cooler I'll see that and continue to take non-abrasive advice from non-abrasive posters. If however I'm happy with my purchase , like I am with the overpriced Asus Striker, well, then all's well that ends well, eh?

I predict that you will be happy with the performance of the 9700. If you run at stock clock or near it, the 9700 is way overkill. If you OC to the limit of your CPU, it will be +/- a degree C from the other best HSFs. If the Ultra 120 would fit your mobo and you want to experiment, pick one up. It is an excellent quality unit and you can try a few fans to see the cooling/noise balance.

One thing to realize is that there is a fair bit of variability in performance in some maker's HSF products. After reading great reviews on the TT Big Typhoon a while back, I picked one up. It was mediocre at best, not as good as a Zalman 9500. So I put it on the shelf. After another year of reading great Typhoon reviews, I saw one at CompUSA for 60% off and I picked it up. When I checked it out on my synthetic rig at medium-high loads, it was better than one of my three 9500s and way better than the first Typhoon I picked up. After looking at many Typhoon reviews, I see that I'm not the only one to see big variability. My three 9500s are all within about a degree at high load. Zalman is a quality manufacturer.

I agree, but we found out the ultra is actually all aluminum instead of a copper aluminum mix, so even though most tests show it outperforming the zalman, I am starting to have my doubts about the ultra 120 now

Cool. Thanks all. I know its frustrating to watch someone walk into something you feel is a mistake so I appreciate the advice as its helped a lot. I don't always make the best purchasing decisions, trust me, I know that. I'm not going to overclock my Xeon too much...up to a max of 3Ghz...maybe. There's not too much motivation to overclock a rig whose primary function is music recording and listening and whose secondary function is to play 1997's Centipede 3D, Pacman, and Incoming (I just don't like today's 1st person shooters, with the exception of Halo).

When I had a 9500 in December it seemed to do okay, but the Tuniq beat it, hands down, no contest, and that was in the oven that is my Thermaltake Mozart TX in this room. If the Zalman doesn't fit the bill NewEgg'll take it back, thank you NewEgg.

You always seem to be optimistic and I like that about you. I think that you have realized what you want the zalman for and I think that you have thought this decision well out and I trust you will have good results. Good luck.

I just want to know the temps and why you spent so much money on the oven known as the thermaltake motzart and why you can't return it

I wanted the coolest looking roomiest case to me, though I know others think its disgusting. Thermaltake (marketing, of course) said it was a great cooling case and it got good reviews. There are 4 models, 2 with clear side windows, 2 with side vents. I had totally taken for granted how well my CoolerMaster Centurian 5 cools, and assumed there'd not be that much difference.

My Mozart has the clear windows but this is the second time I've had a case with clear windows that didn't cool so great...the first time was with a Lanboy...cheap little thing it was. So, out with the bling-bling and in with what's practical (okay...more practical)

I'm hoping that the combination of a case with good airflow and a respectable cooler will get me down into the same temp class I'm seeing on this OC's FX-55 rig, ...42C idling and 43C under load @ 2.8Ghz. Maybe those temps aren't accurate, I like them okay. These 2 computers heat this room up a lot so I now realize I need a case with good airflow for decent results.

My Tuniq Tower did a GREAT job of cooling but it wasn't very quiet above 1300rpm, as we discussed above. I hope the Zalman's at least in the same league. Clueless seems optimistic and so I'll get to see.

You use the backplate to spread the stress out over the board instead of just at the screwholes. It shouldn't be a problem unless you move the pc around a lot, ex lanparties or car trips, in which case lay it flat so that the motheboard is against the floor & the cooler is standing up vertical, then you should be fine.

I don't think MikeGR is going to want to pay shipping to Athens Greece for the Tuniq Tower...DHL wants $160 and FedEx was $127. That's rediculous, pure and simple.

Taco, I don't know how much it'd be to ship it to you but it probably won't be economical either. When we buy something from NewEgg and they ship it for free or for $5-10 I wasn't aware that we were getting such a good deal. ...learn something every day.

well, if you want something with excellent airflow and is pretty room, there are three chioces I'd say you had, the p180, the armor, and this beast with 9 120mm fans
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119103
Probably the only case actually worth over 200