Written By:
Date Posted: November 15, 2001
Well known for their original Orbs, Thermaltake made quite an impression on the overclocker community when they first released their products. Not necessarily the best performers, the Golden Orbs (aka Gorb) were decent coolers, but more importantly, they looked damn good! With the introduction of the AMD Thunderbirds and Durons, the Orbs earned the reputation of being "core-crackers". They remedied the cracking problem soon enough, but not the performance. Despite the Super Orb being rated at 1.5GHz, it was pretty uncommon to find one that can actually handle the heat. They released more Orbs other than that, but performance wasn't anything to write home about.
More recently, Thermaltake went sideways in their design, and rather than going down the traditional "orb" route, they made a conventional, squarish heatsink. Hence the birth of the volcano series. Performance was merely adequate, but when coupled with a 38cfm Delta screamer (not supplied by them), the Volcanos were neck and neck with the rest of the pack. It wasn't until the re-introduction of the orb, the Dragon Orb 3 specifically, and the newer Volcano heatsinks, did Thermaltake make a real impression on performance enthusiasts.
Like other manufacturers, their newer heatsinks had some copper in it. Like other manufacturers, they added high speed, high performance fans. Unfortunantly, like other manufacturers, they were noisy. Although I think most overclockers don't mind the noise created by 7000rpm fans, I think most consumers do. For AMD lovers, even the so called "quiet" solutions tend to generate a fair amount of noise. Although they may not be overclocking, a good cooling solution was needed as CPUs got faster, and for the most part, you need a high speed fan. A larger, slower spinning fan was a good solution, but those were typically only on the larger, more expensive heatsinks. To address these concerns of noise/performance/pricing, Thermaltake has introduced the Volcano 7 Variable Fan Speed Control. What is so special? The fan will speed up, or slow down depending on your ambient temperature.
Specifications
Fan Dimension: 80x80x25 mm
Rated Voltage: 12VDC
Started Voltage: 7VDC
Rated Current: 0.18AMP ~ 0.45AMP
Power Input: 2.16W ~ 5.4W
FAN: Speed Control Setting: 2900 rpm at 25°C~, 5000 rpm at 35°C
Max. Air Flow: 46 CFM at 2900rpm, 53 CFM at 5000rpm
Noise: 27 dB at 2900 rpm, 39 dB at 5000 rpm
Bearing Type: Two Ball Bearing
Life Time: 50,000 hours
Connector: 3 PIN
Compatibility: AMD Socket 462, INTEL Socket 370
One of the nice things about the orbs were they looked pretty. Personally, I find most conventional heatsinks to look, well..., generic. Although there really isn't anything spectacular about the Volcano 7 heatsink's appearance, the chrome detailing does add a touch of quality to the product. The shroud has their logo embossed in it, and it has a nice relective shine. Same for the fan grill, so for those of you with window mods, you can show it off proudly.
Everything is solidly built, and can easily be dismantled for cleaning. Unlike the Dragon Orb I looked at, everything arrived in perfect condition. Well, almost everything. There's a chrome case badge that looks pretty nice, and it was bent when I opened the box up. Because it's made out of some metal, I wasn't able to properly flatten t out. Oh woe that be me! *sniff*
Well, if that sticker doesn't warn you enough, you really need new glasses then! Don't laugh. You'll be surprised how many people actually forget to tear off the sticker that covers the thermal pad. Anyhow, the sticker screaming "Tear off before use" also protects the base from being scratched up. Copper is a relatively soft metal, so any protection is great. Like Themaltake's last few heatsinks, they embed a copper insert into the base. Because of this, it doesn't weigh as much as other all copper based heatsinks.
Next
