Written By:
Date Posted: February 22, 2002

Anyone who is familiar with Thermaltake can tell you that they're known for their "Orb" series of coolers. They've expanded their product line quite extensively, and now they offer a low profile heatsink for rack mount installations called the Thermaltake P4 Tiny Fin 478.

We've looked at several Athlon heatsinks, but not once have I had the need to look at a Pentium 4 solution. Truth is, most of the Athlon coolers were of the "performance" variety, simply because they run that hot. We've had a Dell Precision P4 1.8GHz in house for quite some time, and the stock cooling did what it needed to do. I had contemplated a rack encased entertainment unit for awhile, but that's a project I haven't started for a number of reasons, one of which is a decent cooler that would fit into a 1U case (think pizza box). Well, I have still yet to get my rack mount case, but we're still going to put this heatsink to the test.

Specifications

P/N: A1240
Fan Dimension: 70x70x10 mm
Rated Voltage: 12V
Started Voltage: 7V
Power Input: 4.68W
FAN Speed: 4800±10% RPM
Air Pressure: 4.08mm- H2O
Max. Air Flow: 30.37CFM
Noise: 39dBa
Rated Current: 0.39A (Max.)
Bearing System: 1Ball & 1Sleeve
Life Time: 30,000 hours
Connector: 3 PIN
Thermal Resistance Socket 478: Ca= 0.42 °C/W

The fan used on the Thermaltake P4 Tiny Fin 478 is of the low profile 70mm variety. It isn't too loud, but does make a noticable whine. Considering that most server racks make a ton of noise, I don't think this would matter. Either way, for home use, it isn't nearly as loud as the common Delta 60mm fans.

The heatsink is composed entirely of copper. Considering it's small size, it is actually one of the heavier ones we've worked with. Despite the obvious machining swirls, the heatsink itself is quite smooth. I do think that most DIY users will want to lap it though, as the machining is obvious to the human eye.

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