The Zalman 9700 Tritium

[AD-15]

hello,

I am looking at two coolers, the Zalman 9700 and it's tritium edition counterpart, and from what I see the only big difference is the 4 pin connector (so it may be controlled by the BIOS) and the fins are plated in what zalman call 'Black pearl.' It apparently prevents copper oxidisation (I don't see the point, Cu is incredibly unreactive in air anyway).

My questions are, will the 4 pin connector still be connected to the motherboard CPU fan connector? And does the plating have any effect on cooling performance?

Thanks!

[MrP]

the 4 pin will still be connected to the motherboard (they also fit the old 3 pin plugs IIRC.

as for ther performance, maybe, maybe not!

[chuckskull]

The 4pin CPU connector goes into the CPU fan socket on newer boards. It is backwards compatible. I bought the black one purely for looks, I's used the 9500 and 9700, always liked them.

[AD-15]

Have you had both editions of the 9700? Is their a difference in the cooling performance?

[Fabula]

Tritium?
Sounds radioactive to me. Good for glowing case mods.

[FInalD]

I have the 9500 which is an AM2 only one, and almost identical to the 9700 by the looks of things, and it's crap at cooling my CPU! I can't overclock unless I want noise and a hot CPU.

InvG

[this_is_gav]

The 9500 has a 92mm fan, the 9700 a 110mm, supposedly - basically more surface area on the 9700.

[chuckskull]

Have you had both editions of the 9700? Is their a difference in the cooling performance?

Their both made on the same production line with identical parts. Just some are anodised later. Any difference in cooling is just natural variance.

[AD-15]

Their both made on the same production line with identical parts. Just some are anodised later. Any difference in cooling is just natural variance.

I understand, but surely the fact that the Cu is anodised means there will be some sort of an insulation effect?

What exactly is the covering (the Black Pearl stuff)?

[chuckskull]

I believe it's mainly zinc and nickel, both are reasonably conductive and the finish is very good with zalman products so I wouldn't worry. The bottom of mine is as clear as a mirror.