Thermaltake Volcano 7+ Copper Heatsink and Fan Review

Testing

Test System:

Environment:

Hardware:

Using SiSoftware Sandra, I used the Burn-in Wizard and ran the CPU Arithmetic and Multi-Media benchmarks at 100% utilization for 15 minutes once using the stock Intel HSF, and once with the Volcano 7+ at each speed setting. For the Idle temperatures I let it sit at the login screen for at least 15 minutes for each session before taking a reading.

I'm just as surprised as most readers are! Why is the High fan speed setting warmer than the Medium speed setting? After doing a little diagnosis, I found out that because the fan speed is so high, it's pulling so much air through its fins that the surrounding air inside the case is blown violently enough to disrupt the ordered airflow from the front of the case out to the back. This means that some of the warm air could not be exhausted by the rear fans and as such the V7+ would recycle the warm air back to the heatsink. This internal circulation caused a build up of the internal ambient temperature, making the entire system, including the CPU, to become warmer than usual.

This problem could be remedied by using a more powerful exhaust system, such as a faster or larger fan, or for those with the large server cases, use two or more exhaust fans instead. I'm sure that if I was using a server tower, the High speed setting would've shown more acceptable results.

Conclusion

Just because this item is an older one doesn't mean that it wouldn't be effective. The current Volcano 9 does not even support a socket 478 configuration out of the box, leaving the Volcano 7+ as the most effective socket 478 cooler out there. Even from my results, you can tell that this is an overclocker's fan, and its best features can only be utilized effectively with an environment needed by the overclocker, such as a roomy case, complete with a strong airflow system. Until a Volcano 9+ comes out, I would recommend this item to anyone who is in need of an overclocking HSF.

Pros

Cons