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ThermalTake have been around for a few years now, and it's undeniable that they've come a long way since the Golden Orb. I'm reviewing the Volcano 7+ here, ThermalTake's latest high performance cooler. And a performer it is, though we'll look at that later.
What you get for your cash:
The Volcano7 actually requires assembly, which is a first for me. It's not complex however, just a matter of lining up the shroud the right way around and screwing it into the heatsink. Make sure however, that you put the socket clip in before you put the shroud on. I speak from experience here. The fan itself hasa 3 pin plug, but I would not recommend running it from your mobo fan headers. It's not a small fan and it spins very very fast. The Volcano7 is designed for either SocketA, Socket370, or Socket 478 heatsink attachment method. Clips are included for each method. The instructions detail how to assemble the Volcano7 for Socket A/370 and 478, with perdy pictures. It's pretty basic stuff. English on one side and an Asian language on the other (I mean NO offense here, I do not know which language it is). There's also a note included on the instructions - 'ThermalTake is not responsible for damage to equipment or any component caused by improper or poorly executed installation'. Not exactly comforting.
I have to say the Fan Speed Regulator
is a VERY useful accessory. Basically its a resistor with 3 settings,
high, median (i guess it's meant to be medium) and low. The switch
makes a LOT of difference in the noise levels. I'll go into that
more later. There is a 3 pin plug to connect to a fan on one end
and a male Molex connector on the other. There is no pass through
however, so this is going to take up a plug. A handy feature is
that the Regulator is detachable, meaning you can use it on any
heatsink you like.
Installation:
As I said before the Volcano7+ requires a bit of assembly. If
you're installing the Volcano7+ on a Socket A or Socket 370 CPU,
assembly is simply putting the clip into the space between the
fins, sliding the shroud over and screwing it in with 4 screws.
If you're installing it on a P4, you screw 2 side brackets onto
the heatsink and then 2 clips onto the brackets (see picture of
instructions). Then you get to the installation proper.
The clip design is your average ThermalTake fair. You'll need a flat head screwdriver to install it, and it's a matter of hooking the back clip onto the socket, lining up the heatsink and pushing the other end of the clip down onto the other clip. Now, it took me 3 tries to get the Volcano7 onto my T-Bird. This in no way reflects the clip design's abilities, it was my fault. The first time, the screw driver slipped and made a loud crack noise. Now if you've ever installed a heatsink you know that cracking is the worst sound you can ever hear. After wiping off all the thermal compound I was relieved to find my chip was OK. The second time, my screwdriver actually snapped. Now, it's not a heavy duty screwdriver, it's fairly thin, but I have never had a screwdriver snap on me before. It was freaky to say the least. Luckily I managed to avoid driving the stump of the screwdriver through my motherboard. After reapplying thermal good a 3rd time (not o mention finding a bigger, stronger screwdriver) I finally got the heatsink installed. You do need a fair amount of pressure to get the clip on, and slipping with that much pressure can be very dangerous. A good thing is that my Volcano isn't gunna fall off anytime soon. From there it's a matter of plugging the Speed Controller into a Molex connector and onto the fan and you're away. I was unable to test the P4 heatsink attachment method (being a poor, unemployed job seeking computer technician).
Performance:
I used to not care about noise. Speed and temperatures were all
I cared about. Then one day whilst trying to read my email, I
realised that the beast under my desk was really loud and really
annoying. I set to work, changed my Blue Orb to 5V and removed
some of my fans (the horror). I was still stuck with an incredibly
annoying whining from my old Volcano2. Sp I bought a Fan Adapter,
60-80mm. Sure my temps went up but the sound level was so much
better, lower and quieter. So I had a fairly quiet comp, but my
temps weren't that great. When the really hot days of summer hit
I started getting freezes because of heat. But I put up with them,
I knew how good life was without a really noisy comp. Then the
Volcano7+ arrived on my doorstep.
After taking off my old Volcano2 and installing the Volcano7+ I booted up for the first time. man did I get a shock. With the Fan Speed Regulator on high this baby SCREAMS. Maybe not as bad as the old Delta, but damn close. I took my temp readings, and then switched to medium. The reduction in noise was nice, but there was still that high pitched whine. After taking the readings I switched to Low. Hallelujah. On the low setting the Volcano7+ is whisper quiet. I leave it on low when I'm at home. At a recent LAN I attended, I shifted it up to High, even though I didn't really need to (the temps don't get that high anyway), then switched it to low when I went to sleep. It's incredibly useful that Fan Regulator. I am considering mounting the switch somewhere where I can get to it from the outside, it can be annoying to have to open your case to change the fan speed. The Fan Speeds for the 3 settings are shown below.
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But anyway, on to the temps. For the purposes of this review I will be comparing the temperatures recorded by the Asus A7V motherboard temp sensors. I realise that these sensors are probably woefully inaccurate, but the values displayed should be consistent enough for comparative purposes. I will be comparing the performance of the Volcano 2 with its stock fan, The Volcano 2 with a 60->80mm Fan Adaptor from Overclockers.co.nz and the Volcano7+ on its 3 Different Speed Settings.
The test machine is an Asus A7V with an AMD Thunderbird 1.0Ghz Processor @ Default Voltage and Clock. Case temp was kept within +/- 1 degree of 34 degrees C. Temperatures are recorded with MBM5. Idle temps were taken after 5 minutes of no activity immediately after booting into Windows XP. Load Temps were taken by running Sisoft Sandra Burn-In Test CPU and Multimedia Benchmarks in Loop as well as running 3d mark 2001 until the temp leveled at a certain temperature. Fan Speeds were recorded using MBM5. The case has 1 80mm Intake Fan at the front base, one extraction slot fan below the processor, a Blue Orb on the PCU and a 40mm Fan on the Satellite Network Card. Otherwise there is no extra cooling. The PC was shut down and left to cool for 10 mins between each heatsink / Fan Speed Test. On to the temps.
You can see that you're sacrificing about 5-6 degrees in exchange for whisper quiet operation in Low Fan Speed. Personally that's just fine by me. The Volcano7+ easily outperforms the Volcano2 with the 80mm Fan and with it's stock fan at a lower sound level, but that's to be expected, comparing a Copper Heatsink to an Aluminum one. The Volcano7+ in high mode is an excellent performer, if you can stand the noise. Medium mixes the best of both worlds, still putting in a decent performance. Without making your eardrums bleed.
All in all I am very impressed with this heatsink, it performs, looks good, and the inclusion of the Fan Speed Regulator makes it a good purchase for the Mental Aircooler or the guy looking for a quiet machine. The only thing that could be a problem is availability. I couldn't find any stores here in New Zealand that sell the Volcano7+, and I'm not sure about Australia either. I am also unsure of the price. With the Volcano7 (not all Copper, Bigger Fan, Temp Sensing Fan) retailing at around NZ$40-50, I think the Volcano7+ will probably be around the NZ$60-70 mark, putting it in the fairly expensive category. That's only a guess though, and I could be totally wrong. All in all a great heatsink.
Pros:
Looks Good
Nice Performance on all 3 Fan Settings
Fan Speed Regulator allows control of Fan Noise
Fairly Simple Install
Cons:
Availability could be a problem
Note from Agg: I noticed at the recent PC Show that Anyware.com.au had the Volcano 7+ on their stand. They're a distributor, but AusPCMarket are closely aligned with them and will no doubt be happy to sell you one. Also, OCAU Forum members can apparently take advantage of this special offer of AUD$55. That thread also has pics of a backplate adapter for the Fan Speed Regulator which removes the problem of having to open your PC to change the fan speed.
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