Thermaltake has been around for a while now in the heatsink game. This heatsink is the newest in the Volcano line, the Volcano 7+. The Volcano 7+ is made of a solid copper piece with many thin fins. This heatsink is a universal Cooler which means it can be used on AMD Thunderbirds, Durons, Athlon XPs, and Intel Pentium 4 478. I think this is a really cool feature because if you ever decide to switch brands you don’t have to buy a new heatsink.
The Volcano 7+ heatsink does not come in a box, it comes in a plastic case sort of things. It’s actually nice to see more of a display unit rather than a box with a bunch of specs.
The Volcano 7+ comes with a ton of stuff in the package, you get the heatsink, a fan which is connected the a shroud, thermal compound, a socket A clip, socket 478 clips, a fan control device, instructions, screws, and a Thermaltake case badge. I really like the fact that Thermaltake provides so much and that they are not using a thermal pad.
The heatsink part of the Volcano 7+ is made of a solid piece of copper which has 2 rows of thin fins. The construction of this heatsink is really good because it is made of one piece of solid copper.
The base of the Volcano 7+ has a great finish, there are no blemishes on it and the reflection is awesome. Thermaltake really took time and care when making this heatsink, the shine proves that.
The fan of the Volcano 7+ is attached to the shroud, it has a 3 pin connector for power and another 3 pin connector for RPM monitoring.
The Volcano 7+ comes with a fan control which lets you change the speed of the fan to high, medium and low. Below are the specs of the fan and the specs of each speed. This fan control device is a really cool feature which Thermaltake includes.
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SPECIFICATION
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P/N
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A1254
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Fan Dimension
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70x70x25 mm | |
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Rated Voltage
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12VDC | |
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Started Voltage
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7.0VDC | |
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Rated Current
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0.55 AMP Max. | |
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Power Input
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6.6 W Max. | |
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Fan Speed switch Cable :H,M,L Fan Speed
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FAN Speed
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H: 6000 rpm | |
| M:4800 rpm | ||
| L:3000 rpm | ||
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Max. Air Flow
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49.0CFM | |
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Noise
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H 6000rpm@47 dB(A) | |
| M 4800rpm@35 dB(A) | ||
| L 3000rpm@24 dB(A) | ||
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Bearing System
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2 Ball bearing | |
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Life Time
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50,000 hours | |
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Connector
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3 PIN | |
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Thermal Resistance
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INTEL P4 AMD XP |
0.29C/W 0.32C/W |
The Volcano 7+ comes with instructions on how to put together the heatsink for use with AMD and Intel. The instructions are good and explain well how to put it together and install it.
The Thermaltake Volcano 7+ comes has the ability to work with both Intel and AMD. It will support AMD’s Duron, Thunderbird, Athlon XP and Intel’s Pentium 4 (socket 478.) This is a very cool idea which I think more companies should use. Even though I do not have anything Intel, if I did this heatsink would be that much more appealing to me because if I ever decided to change to and AMD CPU I would not have to buy a new heatsink. The Pentium 4 clips are on the top and the socket A clip is on the bottom.
Because I only have socket A CPUs that is all I will be testing. To put the Volcano 7+ together you just have to drop the clip into the groove and then put the shroud into place and screw 2 screws onto each side to hold it in place. The clip that you use for socket A CPUs is one which requires a screwdriver. The groove is not very deep for the screwdriver and this is a bas things. With all the positive aspects so far about this heatsink the clip leaves a lot to be desired.
Even though I do not have a Pentium 4 I installed the Pentium 4 clips to the Volcano 7+. To install the Pentium 4 clips you need to screw the brackets onto each side of the heatsink with 4 screws. After you have the brackets on the side of the heatsink you just use 1 screw to hold the clips on each side.
Test Bed
- AOpen AK77 Pro(A)-133
- 1.2Ghz Thunderbird
- 256MB Crucial PC2100
- Asus Geforce 2 GTS 64MB
- Globalwin YCC-8870 case
I installed the Volcano 7+ to my normal test bed, I am using my AOpen AK77 Pro(A)-133 motherboard to test with. Installation of the heatsink was more difficult than it should have been, my screwdriver slipped off the clip twice, hitting my motherboard. The Volcano 7+ was a pretty tight fit between the capacitors, this may be an issue with some motherboards which have little space around the socket. I would suggest you check to see if your motherboard has enough room around the socket before buying a Volcano 7+.
The only bad thing about the fan controller device which I can see is the fact that it will stay inside of the case. If you want to change the speeds of the fan you are going to have to open up your case every time. There is a solution to this problem, I have written a guide on how to mount the fan controller to an expansion slot cover so that you only have to reach around to the back of your computer.
Like always I will be using Artic Silver 3 for testing, I will also be using an external Compunurse thermal probe for the temperature readings. I will be testing the high, medium, and low settings with the fan controller. To get the idle temperatures I booted up the computer and let it idle for about 20 minutes. To get the load temperatures of each speed I used Prime 95 for about 20 minutes.
At the low setting the fan is very quiet and the results are a very good, a lot better than I thought they would be. The load temperature was only 45.7 degrees Celsius.
At the medium setting the fan was a little louder but not bad, the temps also improved with more CFM flowing. The load temperature after torture testing the CPU was 44.2 which is a 1.5 degree drop from the low setting.
At the high setting the fan was a little loud, at least for me. The load temperature at load with the most CFM going that this fan can put out was 42.2 degrees Celsius which is a 3.5 degree drop from the low setting and a 2 degree drop from the medium setting. I am very impressed with the cooling that this Volcano 7+ provides.
Conclusion:
I really like this heatsink, the Volcano 7+ has a lot to offer. The Volcano 7+ comes with everything you will need for either Intel or AMD. They give you thermal compound, which is a lot better than a thermal pad. You get a fan control device which lets you control the speed of the fan which also lets you change the loudness.
Not only do you get a lot with this heatsink but the performance of it is excellent. Even at the lowest setting the load temperature was only 45.7 and very quiet. The only negative things about this heatsink is the fact that the clip design is poor, at the high speed the fan is pretty loud and if you are going to buy this heatsink be prepared to spend about $45 for it.
Overall I would give the Volcano 7+ a 9/10 and award it the OCmodshop Seal of Approval. I would really like to thank Thermaltake for sending me this heatsink to review.
Pros
- Excellent performance
- Thermal compound included
- Works with AMD and Intel
- Fan control device included
- Solid copper design
- Quiet at medium and low speeds
Cons
- Poor clip design
- A little expensive