When I received the unit from Vantec, I've already read all the reports about how great this cooler was. I've been pleased with the performance of their past coolers, though none have totally stunned me. I did know that the Vantec CCK-6035D was made of copper, and we all know the stories about how it's going to revolutionize consumer CPU cooling. Up until recently, most heatsinks were all aluminum, with a few, like Alpha, using some copper in their design. We're seeing more copper coolers though, and like I said in my Vantec FCE-62540D review, aluminum has probably seen it's last days.

Basically, the main advantage with copper is it's ability to quicky transfer heat away from the CPU core. The problem though, is that copper retains the heat longer than an aluminum unit. This is probably why we see such big and powerful fans packaged with these copper heatsinks. The Vantec CCK-6035D is no exception, and bundles the loud, but efficient Delta 38cfm fan with it.

Specifications

Recommended for: Intel PIII Coppermine 1.13 GHz and up, AMD Thunderbird 1.33 GHz and up
Clip Material: SK7
Heat Sink Material: AL 6063T5 & Copper
Heat Sink Dimension: 65.0 x 64.0 x 39.0 (mm)
Fan Dimension: 60.0 x 60.0 x 25.0 (mm)
Outline Dimension: 78.0 x 64.0 x 64.0 (mm)
Bearing Type: Two Ball Bearing
Clip: CLP508
Weight: 386.0 (gm)
Thermal Resistance: 0.29°C/W

Like the Vantec FCE-6030D, the Vantec CCK-6035D is also a "thin fin" design. The idea behind the thinner fins is that by making the fins thinner, you can put more on the heatsink, increasing surface area for heat to transfer. I'm also sure it assists the heatsink to dissapate faster. With the Delta fan attached, it makes a mockery of the AMD retail unit.

Unlike the Vantec FCE-6030D, the fins are not part of the heatsink base, ...they're soldered on. I was concerned that this would hamper it's performance, but upon closer inspection, Vantec has seemed to have done a good job attaching the fins. It may not be obvious in the picture, but the fins are very well polished. Very impressive.

Despite being the same colour as the heatsink, the shroud, where the fan attaches itself to, is not made of copper. It's an aluminum shroud has been anodized to a copper shine. Other than securing the fan, the shroud should assist in directing the airflow, which by default is directed into the heatsink.

Like with the last two units reviewed, has included the high performing, very loud Delta fan. A fan guard is included, so that your fingers don't get chopped off. I didn't mention it before in the other reviews, but Vantec includes the 3 to 4 pin adapter for the fan. Because the Delta draws so much power, it can blow your motherboard headers. You can plug the fan directly into your power supply instead. I do know that the Abit KT7A has no problems handling the fan though, since I've always used the mobo connections.

The base certainly doesn't need to be lapped. I was simply stunned to see how finely polished the base was. It's extremely smooth, and can substituted as a vanity mirror, if that's your thing.

Vantec has chosen to take a good thing, their clip, and change it. Although I was always able to attach, and remove their previous units without tools, I know some may still resort to using needle nose pliers. Honestly, the new design is really tool free, but it isn't without problems. If you look at the pictures (note the one to the left), the clip has a type of hinge on it. When I attached the solid side of the clip to the socket, the latch kept falling back into the heatsink. It was extremely frustrating. Eventually, I ended up taping the locking latch so that it'd stay put. I put the securing side of the clip on, then untaped the locking side, and pushed it down until it caught the plastic latch on the socket. Once that is all attached, you push the lever back to lock it. Despite the initial problems, I've taken off and put back on the heatsink a few times since then, and it gets easier. FYI: The heatsink is quite hefty, given the weight of copper, and the clip doesn't feel like it applies as much pressure as previous Vantec clips. I was a bit concerned that the clip wouldn't apply enough pressure to the die, and the thought did cross my mind that it'd fall off if I move my computer. Being made of copper, having the heatsink fall and bounce around is not good. Thankfully, that didn't happen, and after about a week of use, I removed the heatsink, and saw a nice imprint of the Athlon in the thermal paste. So much for my worries. I still wouldn't strap my computer on my back and go for a jog, but if you need to move your computer around, just be careful.

Testing

Ok, enough with the chit chat. You're here to see how this thing does. Well, the test lab PC hasn't changed:

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. You can see the screenshot of VHM here, but as usual, I'll present it graphically in comparison with past coolers.

Final Thoughts

Well, what can I say? It kicks ass! Although this has been the best cooler to date, it does take longer to reach idle temperatures than the other units I reviewed. I didn't use a stop watch, but when I was watching the temperature drop, it just seemed to take longer. Hardly a knock on the unit, but just an obsevation.

What else is there to say? First off, the out of the box experience was great. The Vantec CCK-6035D is just so well made, that it radiates quality. The base was well polished, as were the fins. My second criteria was performance. There may be better coolers out there, but this is certainly the best I've looked at myself. Next, was ease of use. The clip is tricky, but when you get used to it, is a pleasure to use, and the included 3 to 4 pin adapter allows users to use their power supplies rather than their motherboard headers, which is certainly a bonus. Finally, the price. I've seen this cooler as low as 30$ on some sites, and I don't see how you can get something of this quality any cheaper. The fan may bother a few people. I'll say it again, it's loud, but so are all included fans with a heatsink in this class. Other than the fact that I can't believe I wrote so much about a piece of metal, I got just two words, ...simply amazing.

Vantec:

Pros: Fairly inexpensive, Delta fan and guard, pin adapter, great performance, even greater clip....

Cons: ...a clip that is a bit tricky to figure out. Delta is LOUD.

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