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Thermaltake Volcano 7 Mini-Review (first review)

My first thought about this cooler when I received it, is that it was going to be a great cooler with low test temperatures due to it's size and copper core.  The box is the most visually appealing heatsink box I have seen so far.  It is a colorful box with a little window showing a bit of the heatsink.

Here are the specs from Thermaltake.com:

SPECIFICATION
P/N	A1124
Fan Dimension	80x80x25 mm
Rated Voltage	12VDC
Started Voltage	7VDC
Rated Current	0.18AMP ~ 0.45AMP
Power Input	2.16W ~ 5.4W
FAN Speed Control Setting:
2900 rpm at 25°C~
5000 rpm at 35°C
Max. Air Flow	46 CFM at 2900rpm
	53 CFM at 5000rpm
Noise	27 dB at 2900 rpm
	39 dB at 5000 rpm
Bearing Type	Two Ball Bearing
Life Time	50,000 hours
Connector	3 PIN

Here is a picture of the Volcano 7, when you look at it, the grill is probably the first thing you would look at.  I have to say that the grill is awesome in terms of design and looks.  You may also notice from the picture the green thermal diode.  This diode tells the fan to switch to higher or lower speeds when the temperature inside the case changes.  This will be discussed more on the next page.

The Volcano 7 has a copper core with a thermal pad on the bottom.  As with most heatsinks, the thermal pad that is offered on this heatsink is not sufficient enough for overclocking, but it should give you moderate results if you plan on using the included thermal pad.

Installation of the Volcano 7 was pretty straight forward, just line up the cooler with the Socket 462 slots and push down on the clip with a screwdriver.  This is very easy to push down, unlike some of the Cooler Master models which require immense force to clip on.

Make sure you apply some Arctic Silver 2 or 3 to get the best results.  Don't use the thermal pad that is included if you want to over clock your CPU.

This is a picture of the heatsink on the motherboard.  Notice that I have modified the fan with an Antec Trilight 80mm case fan in this picture.  The results will NOT be based on this fan.

Test System:

• AMD Athlon XP 1700+ @ 2000+

• ECS K7S5A motherboard

• 60GB Quantum 7200rpm HDD

• Thermaltake Volcano 7 with Arctic Silver 2 thermal paste

Results:

Setting:	Volcano 7 with original fan	Volcano 7 with Trilight fan
Room Temp at 86 degrees F	Idle: 111 F  Load: 121 F	Idle: 115 F  Load: 125 F
Room Temp at 78 degrees F	Idle: 105 F  Load: 114 F	Idle: 107 F  Load: 118 F

These results are heavily based on the room temperature and should be noticed.  The results are pretty good for a 15 dollar heatsink from NewEgg.com.  Compare these results with the stock AMD heatsink which runs at around 150 F full load.  Please note that I used 2x loops of 3Dmark2001 SE 330 to achieve the load temperatures.

Conclusion:

This fan is absolutely perfect for any AMD Athlon XP up to 2200+ with temperatures well within range of AMD's specifications, this cooler deserves a 4.5 out of 5.

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