Written By:
Date Posted: October 18, 2001

is well known for their cooling solutions, and with their latest copper based heatsinks, they've managed to rank among the very best in performance coolers here and at other sites. The Vantec CCK-6027 is the name of the latest model, and like it's older brother, the CCK-6035D, it's an all-copper design. Where many other manufacturers have gone with gigantic heatsinks, Vantec has chosen to improve upon their last cooler by making it smaller. Surprisingly, this wasn't such a bad move, and in fact, it solves many issues some users may have when compared to other solutions. We'll get more into that later on.

As you may know, one of the main benefits of copper is it's ability to absorb more heat quicker than it's aluminum counterparts, but retains the heat longer. The solution is usually pairing a copper heatsink with a fast spinning, and typically loud fan. The Delta fan on the CCK-6027D isn't slow spinning by any means, but it does spin slower than the typical Delta.

Specifications

Recommended for: Intel PIII Coppermine/Tualatin 1.13 GHz and up, AMD Thunderbird 1.4 GHz and up
Clip Material: SK7
Heat Sink Material: AL 6063T5 & Copper
Heat Sink Dimension: 65.0 x 65.0 x 29.0 (mm)
Fan Dimension: 60.0 x 60.0 x 25.0 (mm)
Outline Dimension: 65.0 x 65.0 x 54.0 (mm)
Bearing Type: Two Ball Bearing
Clip: CLP508
Weight: 350.0 (gm)
Thermal Resistance: 0.32°C/W

Like the Vantec FCE-6030D, and the CCK-6035D, the CCK-6027D also follows the "thin fin" design. The idea is that by making the fins thinner, you can put more on the heatsink, and the result is increasing the surface area for heat to transfer. I also think that this will allow heat to dissapate quicker, which is good in this case since copper, by nature, retains heat longer than aluminum. In the above pics, you can see that the 6027D heatsink is actually smaller than the AMD retail, and much smaller than the heatsink on the 6035D. By making the 6027D smaller than the 6035D, there are three immediate benefits..., it's cheaper, it's lighter, it may fit better in cramped cases.

Although you may think Vantec crippled the 6027D, by making it shorter, performance should suffer too much since they increased the fin count. More fins = more usable surface area. The shroud is still aluminum, like the 6035D, but it's been polished to a shine to match the rest of the heatsink. And let me point out, it is shiny! I'm not sure if this helps the performance, but for anyone who has a case window, it's definently worth showing off. Other than securing the fan, the shroud should assist in directing the airflow, which by default is directed downwards, into the heatsink.

has ditched the popular high performing, very loud 6800rpm Delta fan. In it's place, a 6000rpm, 30cfm Delta fan. I believe it's rated at 38dba, and although it's still loud, it's a lot less annoying than the previous Delta fans. Performance is lost since it doesn't move as much air, but the difference isn't terrible. Besides, the 38cfm Delta will fit if you choose to replace the stock fan included with the 6027D. A fan guard is not included, which is a bit surprising. Although the Delta is slower, it still spins fast enough to cut any wiring that may stray in it's direction.

I'm going to comment on this next part, despite seeing that other reviewers didn't mention it. Vantec changed their clipping system. Ok, maybe it's just my sample, but all I can say is that the one I got is not nearly as good as their others. I've noticed other reviewers got the same clip as the 6035D, so perhaps that is what you're more likely to receive in the retail market.

Testing

The usual test bed here, but this will be the last heatsink review using this system:

AMD Thunderbird 1.2GHz (1.75v), HSF paired with regular silicone thermal paste
Abit KT7A-RAID, with socket thermal sensor touching the bottom of the CPU
Lian-Li PC60 Aluminum Case, with only the Enermax power supply fans on
Prime95 is run for 20 minutes
Room temperature is maintained at 23C/74F

The only factor I can see affecting the scores, is the Lian-Li aluminum case. I've determined the margin of error to be approximately 2C degrees. Temperatures were gathered using VIA's Hardware Monitor. As usual, I'll present it graphically in comparison with past coolers.

Final Thoughts

Considering that the fan doesn't spin anywhere as loud as the typical 38cfm Delta, I'd say the trade-off for performance isn't so bad. It's performance remains under 50C at full load, and your hearing will thank you in the long run. If you don't care about noise, replacing the stock Delta with the regular one will bring the CCK-6027D into parity with the others.

As it stands, you can find this cooler for 25$, or less. carries Vantec products, and they're worth checking out. I didn't see this particular model listed, but they can probably get it ordered for you. The 6027D looks great, and cools well enough for all current Athlon CPUs. It's relatively quiet, but I still wouldn't want to sleep with the fan on in the same room. I didn't like the clip, and the fact that no fan grill was included, but the performance, and great price make up for it.

Vantec:

85%

Pros: Fairly inexpensive, Delta fan, very good performance.

Cons: Clip isn't as good as previous ones, no fan guard.

I'd like to thank Tommy at for hooking us up with the review sample.

Home>>