Introduction

The heat is on! Summer has finally started. I think we have been spoiled because the heat really hasn't been all that bad so far this year.  I had been able to forgo using the A/C for a while now and saved quite a bit on my electric bill. Sadly, good things never last. The nice thing, though, is that throughout this heat wave, I have nothing extraordinary to do outside. I can sit in the nice cool house and let it all pass. However, this means that outside leisure activities are out of the question. I do like to golf.

I've always had a spot in my heart for Zalman GPU coolers. I've owned a couple of them. There is still one sitting in my closet right now. My very first cooler was  the VF700 for my 6800. I was one of the few that bought a 6800 GS and found the BIOS flash to unlock it to an Ultra. The problem was that the increased speeds and voltage needed a better cooler over the stock to not artifact from heat. This was where I ventured into the GPU cooler market and found Zalman.  After that, I stepped it up to a VF900 when I purchased my 7800 GT. I was experienced and avid about GPU overclocking to extend longevity. Both were solid coolers that had excellent performance. I ended up keeping the 7800 GT until the 8800 GT was released 2 years later.

The Zalman VF3000F VGA Cooler for the GTX 580/570 looks to extend the Zalman tradition of excellence. The VF3000F features high performance cooling to match the high performance power of both Nvidia GTX models. The main feature to achieve this is Zalman's IHD (or Interactive Heat transfer Design). This uses 2-way heat transfer through the high performance heat pipes and maximum dissipation area. For airflow, there are two 92mm ultra quiet fans. Zalman includes a full tube of ZM-STG2 thermal grease to maximize heat transfer. There is also Zalman's Fan Mate 2 controller system for manual fan speed adjustments.