Written By:
Date Posted: September 25, 2002

Vantec is well regarded in the enthusiast community for their excellent line of desktop coolers. The server, and low-profile desktop market never needed performance coolers for a couple of reasons. For servers, they're built within very tight specifications, and the cooling that is provided is usually more than enough. For the low-profile desktop, the same arguement applies, and let's face it, if you have one of these, stealth and aesthetics are probably a concern, and nothing contradicts that more than a screaming Delta that is found on most coolers. In both cases, PC design of both of these simply don't allow for the larger coolers.

Things have changed however, as more and more servers are being hand built by enthusiasts, and with the heat emitted by modern processors, passive cooling isn't suitable anymore. 1U, or low-profile PCs, still make for a tight fit, thus Vantec saw it fit to release a "smaller" cooler. We received the CCK-6012 some time ago, but given the needs of a personal project, we finally had the need for this cooler. Before continuing, here are the obligatory factory specifications...

Specifications

Recommended For: Intel Pentium III up to 1.4Ghz , AMD Athlon XP up to 2000+
Clip Material SK7
Heat Sink Material: Copper
Heat Sink Dimension: 60.0 x 61.6 x 12.0 (mm)
Fan Dimension: 60.0 x 60.0 x 10.5 (mm)
Outline Dimension: 60.0 x 61.6 x 22.5 (mm)
Bearing Type: Double Ball Bearing
Clip: CLP508
Weight: 220.0 (gm)
Thermal Resistance: 0.78°C/W
Fan Size(mm): 60.0 x 60.0 x 25.0 (mm)
Fan Speed(RPM) 4800
Air Flow(CFM) 21.19
Noise Level(dBA) 36.5

As explained earlier, the Vantec CCK-6012 is a 1U cooler. Typical application would be for a low profile, rackable server chassis, but I could imagine that owners of the Shuttle XPC SS40G (the Athlon bare bone) could make use of this cooler as well.

Like the early CAK series of GlobaWin coolers, the CCK-6012 is made out of a solid block of copper. The fins are part of the base, and not simply welded on. In theory, this may lead to better performance, when compared to a similar heatsink with soldered on fins, as there are no miniscule gaps between the base and fins. This will allow an even path for heat to dissapate, and it won't have to work around any imperfections or gaps.

Despite its small size, the heatsink itself is quite heavy. We're not talking about "Alpha" heavy, but it was a bit of a surprise. Considering the heatsink is a mere 22mm in height, you can see where I'm coming from.

Vantec's "shine" makes it's way here again. The base of the heatsink has a great polish, and personally, I wouldn't really bother lapping it as it is pretty smooth to the touch. Keep in mind that the polish isn't due to Vantec lapping the heatsink, but rather it's some kind of a glaze. I'm not sure if it's detrimental to performance, but I don't think it'll be a factor.

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