Testing powerful coolers, part one.
Thermaltake Big Typhoon 120 VX vs Noctua NH-U12P. Price niche $ 50-55
Foreword

There are many different coolers on the Ukrainian market today. Among them there are both expensive and affordable models, targeted at different categories of users. Most are purely budget class, but there are also Hi-End coolers that are expensive. It is also worth noting that very expensive models do not always demonstrate the desired performance, and cheap ones do not always show poor performance. There are many well-known companies on the market, but sometimes there are also small ones that are trying to gain celebrity and popularity for themselves with high-quality and more affordable models.
The first one is probably Thermaltake, which produces many accessories for modding, power supplies, cases and, of course, a cooler. Perhaps the most famous cooler of this company is the legendary Typhoon, which helped overclock old processors for 939 and 775 sockets for Pentiums. A lot of time has passed, but many users do not change, and some even buy it. In this review, I picked up an opponent for Typhoon from the Noctua camp, the NH-U12P cooler. The company has been selling its products in Western Europe for a long time, but it is practically not common in our country, in Ukraine.
Perhaps, today there is such a situation when you can buy a good processor for the corresponding money ... and then significantly, let's say, speed up it. For this we have to thank modern technologies, and in particular Intel, which has released a very successful architecture. For more or less adequate prices, we must thank AMD, which is trying to survive in this market segment. Well, these companies, in turn, should thank us for buying their processors.

Test platform and testing conditions.

So, let's finish the introduction, let's move on to practice. For testing, I used the following system:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0) processor
MotherboardASUS P5K Premium / WiFi-AP
Coolers Thermaltake Big Typhoon 120 VX,
Noctua NH-U12P
RAM GOODRAM 2 GB DDR2 800 MHz x2 (4GB)
Video cardgigabyte X800gto 256mb + Zalman VF700-Cu
Seagate ST3750330AS 750gb hard drive
Power supply Thermaltake ToughPower 750W
ASUS DRW-1814 drive
Case Cooler Master Elite 331 (1x12 cm blowing)
UPS APC Back-UPS CS 500
Operating System Windows Vista 64bit sp1

The day before, I made a preliminary setup of the system and a stability test. I must admit that I failed to overclock the processor to 3.6. More precisely, it was possible, but the system worked in OSST for about an hour, and then I watched the "screen of death". And so it was repeated several times. Perhaps the reason was the overheating of the north bridge, although this is not known for sure. But I set myself the task of squeezing out the maximum while maintaining FULL stability, and when the system worked steadily for 6 hours, I considered the overclocking successful.

So, with FSB 400, the multiplier was 8, the final frequency was 3.2. Memory divider 1: 1, effective frequency - 800 MHz. BIOS settings:
CPU voltage 1.4
CPU PLL voltage 1.6
FSB termination voltage 1.3
DRAM voltage 1.8
NB voltage 1.4
SB voltage 1.05
Load Line Calibration (VDroop) Enabled
CPU GTL Voltage Reference 0.63x
All other settings are set to AUTO. Fan control is off except for a few tests.

core voltage

Well, now let's move on to the test subjects:
P.S. I will not dwell on cardboard and plastic boxes, however, I note that outwardly Taufun's packaging looks more solid, about the package - read below:

The cooler that will be discussed in this review does not require long introductions, it has long established itself as a quiet and efficient processor cooling system and, in a way, has become a benchmark for other coolers. Yes, this is Thermaltake Big Typhoon or rather Thermaltake BigTyp 120 VX. The latter is a modification of the original version, getting a faster fan with a maximum rotation speed of 2000 rpm and changing the mountings.

Full specification:

	Thermaltake BigTyp 120 VX (CL-P0310-01)
CPU Socket Support	LGA 775, Socket 754/939 / AM2
Processor support	Intel Core 2 Exterme, Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Pentium Extreme Edition, Intel Pentium D, Intel Pentium 4, Intel Celeron D, AMD Athlon 64 X2, AMD Athlon 64 FX, AMD Athlon 64, AMD Sempron
Radiator material	Copper base + aluminum plates (142) + 6 heat pipes 6 mm
Radiator dimensions, mm
Fan dimensions, mm
Rated voltage, V
Starting voltage, V
Power consumption, W
Rotation speed, rpm
Air flow CFM
Air pressure, mmH2O
Noise level, dB
Power connector	3-pin
Resource, hours
Thermal interface	in a bag
Products webpage
average price

Cooler Thermaltake BigTyp 120 VX is packed in a plastic case, placed in a red and black cardboard box with a window through which the cooler's appearance is quite clearly visible. The cardboard box is quite informatively filled; the full specification of the product is printed on the side.

On the back of the box the best qualities are listed, and photos of the Thermaltake BigTyp 120 VX cooler from different angles are placed.

A small number of components are included in the package. It's just a shame for such a wretched amount of thermal interface, it will only be enough for one installation.

The kit comes with the cooler:

• small installation instructions;
• clamp on four latches for LGA 775;
• pressure clip for AMD platforms;
• a packet of thermal paste.

Cooler Thermaltake BigTyp 120 VX has quite large dimensions and weight of 827 grams. The radiator consists of 142 aluminum fins mounted on six 6 mm heat pipes. A large 120 mm fan is installed on top of the radiator, which blows air downward, thus cooling not only the radiator, but also elements around the processor socket, such as RAM modules and the processor power stabilization unit.

The fan is screwed to the radiator frame with four screws.

In the profile, the shape of the bend of the heat pipes is clearly visible. The name of the company "Thermaltake" is engraved on the radiator frame.

To regulate the rotation speed of the 120 mm fan, a small regulator is installed in the top corner in the corner. It can be used to change the speed from 1300 to 2000 rpm. According to the specification, at maximum rpm, the air flow reaches 2.45 cubic meters per minute (86.5 CFM). The fan wires are in a protective casing. The eye-catching orange impeller is covered with a protective black grill, which reduces the likelihood of foreign elements entering it. In addition to the main function, it also performs a decorative role, in the center it is decorated with the logo of the Thermaltake company. At a speed of 1300 rpm, the fan runs almost inaudibly, but a noticeable noise appears as the speed rises.

The base thickness of the BigTyp 120 VX cooler is not very thick. For better heat exchange with heat pipes, grooves are made in it to the depth of the entire diameter of the pipes. The heat pipes are soldered to the base and covered with a thin enough copper plate with a stop for fasteners on top.

The quality of the surface treatment of the base leaves much to be desired, and there is no need to talk about some kind of mirror surface.

Finally, let's say a few words about the mount. The Thermaltake BigTyp 120 VX cooler is attached to AMD platforms according to the box principle - a clamping clip with a retainer. Intel platforms with an LGA 775 processor socket come with a special clip with latches, the same as for a boxed cooler. The process of installing and removing the cooler is quite simple and quick, but still there are some doubts about the reliability of the fasteners, given the weight of the Thermaltake BigTyp 120 VX.

Testing

The test platform configuration with an AMD and Intel processor was assembled from the following components:

On AMD platform:

Motherboard	ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe on nForce 570SLI (AM2, DDR2, ATX)
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 3600+ X2 (ADO3600JAA4CU), AM2, @ 2600MHz
RAM	2 х DDR2-800 512 MB Transcend PC6400
Video card	Gigabyte GV-NX76G256D GeForce 7600GS 256 MB DDR2 PCI-E
HDD	Samsung HD080HJ 80GB 7200rpm 8MB SATA-300
Optical drive
Power Supply	Fortron ATX400-PNF 400W 120mm Low Noise Fan
	COLORSit ATX-L8032 + 92mm SilverStone FN91

On Intel platform:

Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-965P-DS4 (Intel P965 Express)
CPU	Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 (LGA775, 1.86 GHz, L2 2 MB) @ 2.8 GHz
RAM	2x DDR2-800 1024 MB PQI PC6400
Video card	EVGA GeForce 8600GTS 256 MB DDR3 PCI-E
HDD	Samsung HD080HJ 80GB SATA-300
Optical drive	ASUS DRW-1814BLT SATA
Power Supply	Chieftec CFT-500-A12S 500W 120mm fan
	CODEGEN M603 MidiTower, 2x 120 mm blowing / blowing fans

We tested the cooler in three processor modes, with different fan speeds:

Idle... Idle mode, in which the processor load is minimal. In this mode, the computer works when the user is working in office applications or browsing Internet pages.

Normal... The processor load is at the level of 60%, as when performing simple tasks or tasks not intended for multi-threaded execution. We got this mode of operation when transcoding uncompressed wav to mp3 using the LAME codec, which works in a single-threaded mode.

Burn... The maximum processor load mode, which is typical for many resource-intensive tasks and modern games, was simulated by the processor stress test of the EVEREST program.

Who would have doubted, the expected excellent result is shown. The difference in readings at 1300 and 2000 rpm is 2-3 degrees, which can be easily sacrificed for a more comfortable and quiet operation.

Conclusions.

Cooler Thermaltake BigTyp 120 VX is one of the best in terms of price and features. Maybe some "aesthetes" will not like its appearance very much, but people who need, first of all, functionality, will stop at it. A large 120mm fan blowing down airflow not only cools the heatsink, but also the elements on the motherboard surrounding the processor socket, which is very important during long-term system operation. Cooler Thermaltake BigTyp 120 VX, even at a minimum speed of 1300 rpm, at which it is almost inaudible, is able to provide sufficient cooling for the processor. Therefore, it can be fully recommended not only for gamers and overlockers, but also for people who simply value peace and quiet.

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The holiday season has come a long time ago. And many could already taste all the charm of summer weather. Bright rays of the sun surround us everywhere these days. The temperature in the shade sometimes reaches thirty degrees. But how does the “hard worker” - the computer - feel in such conditions? Frankly, in such conditions, he has a hard time. But no one asks him, and he continues his daily work just as obediently. But the biggest hardships at such moments are mainly the processor ...

Instead of the cool air that the cooler outside the case should receive to cool the "flaming heart", it receives hot air currents, whose presence once again stimulates a further rise in temperature. And what to do in such cases? For most enthusiasts in the vastness of our homeland, this has long ceased to be a problem. On the market, now in a large assortment, you can find an amazing selection of different cooling systems. And if there are minor problems with the choice of water systems in terms of availability and price, then there are no problems with air systems. We can meet representatives of a huge number of different manufacturers such as: Zalman, Thermaltake, Coolermaster, Scythe, Glacial Tech, Arctic cooling, Ice Hammer. Each of them provides the buyer with a choice of a cooling system, based on his financial wealth, the need for a specific efficiency, etc. When choosing a cooler, an uninitiated person may have a lot of questions about what to prefer. But a person who is knowledgeable in this area can also enter the stopper. Since the choice and variety is too great. Various manufacturers sometimes offer coolers that are very similar in appearance. Their design and method of heat dissipation are often similar. In such a situation, the buyer has a question about the advisability of buying one or another cooling system. In such cases, he turns to the media to clarify the situation in this matter. Fortunately, today on the Internet there are a lot of different tests of most coolers. We are a similar authority. Today I will try to answer some questions that a person may have when faced with the question of buying a cooler for a processor.

Thermaltake Big Typhoon

Today our guest is a representative of the famous Thermaltake company, Big Typhoon. We meet!

It comes to us in a bright, beautiful package, without opening which you can already see the appearance of the cooler, or rather its fan. Only by taking this box in your hands, you feel the weight and dimensions of this cooling system. It should be said that we do not recognize anything on the front of the package except the name, and this also applies to the side part. On the back, the manufacturer gives us some information. Including a barcode and, more interestingly, information on the possibility of installing various fans, but more on that later. But, perhaps, at this point I should stop looking at the package, but I need to start removing the cooler from its "cocoon".

And finally, he appears before us. Its dimensions are really great. This impression is created primarily due to the resonance of the sizes of the lower and upper parts. In the lower part we have only the base, and in the upper part there is a large 120mm fan, which has a pleasant orange color typical for Thermaltake, covered with a metal casing with the emblem of the same manufacturer, respectively. "ТТ" - this is how the name "Thermaltake" is abbreviated. For me, this is an unnecessary mention of heat pipes. Speaking about this corporation, it is worth mentioning that they install very quiet fans on these coolers. Moreover, the manufacturer himself reminds us that it is possible to install two more types of fans. One of them is very similar to the one that we already have, but differs in the presence of a speed regulator, whose presence, frankly speaking, is incomprehensible to me. A similar thing would have been useful in the days of the Volcano, also produced by Thermaltake. But here we have a "slow" low-speed fan. He doesn’t really need such a regulator. Although it should be said that this manufacturer has always loved to delight the buyer with various trinkets. We can remember a similar phenomenon in their production buildings. Returning to our configuration, we do not have a speed controller. But to admit, I'm not very upset. Since it is always possible to connect a 5V cooler. Speaking about the second variant of a possible fan, its difference lies in the presence of LEDs. Which will help to embellish your case with blue backlighting. That is where we will move on from describing the fan to looking at the design of the cooler, since we have something to look at. The power cord, which is a fairly standard 3-pin, is to my surprise covered in a nice white aesthetic material. Frankly, this is rarely seen. But this once again underlines the great look of the cooler. But this cord also has a serious disadvantage. This is its length. It is very small. Therefore, you will not be able to put the cooler in any way, otherwise the power cord will not allow you, which will not reach the connector on the motherboard. Still, this is not a very pleasant moment.

Once again, we can estimate the size of this giant. It should be said that it has six copper heat pipes (and here they are!), Soldered to the base, and passing through a radiator consisting of thin aluminum fins with a relatively small thickness. The ribs are close enough to each other. The distance between them is very small. It's hard to say how this will affect how air flows through these slots. But, I hope, the sorcerers from Thermaltake did not miss this moment. But what can be said for sure is that the distance between the ribs will be clogged with dust, and it will be quite problematic to clean it out of there. So, if you decide to use this cooler in your case, do not forget to take care that there are no dust lumps in your case. This may not have the best effect on the effectiveness of the "Big Typhoon" in the future.

Now let's take a look at the base. And here Thermaltake obviously did not try. We can see the very poor quality of the base processing. The cutter marks are clearly visible to the eye. However, most coolers from this manufacturer have such an omission. Isn't that a problem with too many orders, and that gentlemen from Thermaltake do not have time to process the base? It should be noted that such a flaw can greatly affect the efficiency of the cooler. Now let's move on to the configuration that comes with the Big Typhoon. Everything, we can see this content in a black box lying at the bottom of the package. After extracting its components, we can see:

First of all, the installation instructions. With this, I must confess, the manufacturer pleased me. We have a manual illustrated with color photographs with printed comments. Not even Zalman has that. Whose illustrations are still black and white and are just pictures rather than photographs. This approach of Thermaltake is good news. And when evaluating a cooler, such moments can play an important role. Since the correct installation is exactly what most experts from various sites have problems with. Because of this, we can encounter serious discrepancies in the results. We could see a similar situation in the case of the Zalman 9500. In the case with which, however, there was some defect in the base, namely a small bulge in the center. But it was also often possible to see problems associated with insufficient cooling of the cooler, which inevitably led to poor performance. Returning to our cooler, it should be said that we also have three bags in the package bundle. In one of them we have fasteners, screws, nuts, etc. In the other two, you can see Back-Plate for various sockets, as well as mounting frames. What else the manufacturer can please us with is thermal paste. However, today each manufacturer equips its cooler with a similar thermal interface.

Before installing the cooler on the motherboard, the Typhoon was tested by a slight polishing of the base using GOI paste and woolen cloth. A similar operation has been carried out with all air-cooled systems tested today. This is necessary first of all in order to eliminate all factory defects in the processing of the base and during testing to identify the most effective design, without regard to the roughness of the lower part of the coolers.

Now let's move on to installing Big Typhoon on the motherboard. In this case, on Socket 939. Speaking about other sockets, it should be said that everything seems to be enough. In all cases, we use the standard Thermaltake Back-Plate, which we attach to the back of the motherboard with long screws, on which we put on the other side red spacers and screw in the yellow aluminum washers.

Then we use the same Back-Plate, only this time we place it on the base of the cooler. The number of screws used is different depending on the socket. For Socket A, 478,775 it is four, for Socket 754/939 we need two screws, as you can see in the photo.

Further, from the upper part, we fasten the screws with small nuts, which, I confess, is like death. This is a fairly long procedure if you do it carefully and achieve good rigidity. I personally used a small wrench for this and painstakingly tightened the nuts with it. In general, the installation for Socket A, 478,775 is the same, the only difference is that we use a different mounting frame for Socket 775. There are two installation options for mounting on Socket A, 478,775. One is referred to as Alternative, and I have already described it. It is identical for all sockets. The second is referred to as Standard. In theory, this method is very simple. We use the standard Back-Plate that comes with the motherboard, and screw the Big Typhoon mounting frame to it. But it turned out to be beyond my power. The length of the screws was not enough. No matter how much effort I put in, it didn't lead to anything other than scratching the base. Having tightened one of the screws, it was not possible to cope with the second one. With my efforts, the metal mounting frame began to bend, and I decided to stop trying such an installation. Unfortunately, I could not find suitable screws for installing the cooler. I decided to use a method called Alternative, but instead of nuts, I decided to tighten with the yellow washers with which we secure the Back-Plate. As a result, it looked like the one shown in the photo above.

It should be said that due to the fact that the fan on the cooler is placed on the upper part, this immediately removes all sorts of problems with the desired rotation. Since all the air is taken from the top, and not from the side, as is the case with most heat pipe coolers.

Further, respectively, the motherboard was placed in the case. It should be said that with this installation method, it is possible to remove or install a cooler without removing the motherboard from the case. Although it is still not so convenient, since sticking your hands between the wires, sometimes not so correct installation is possible, or rather uneven clamping, due to different tightening of the washers.

The cooler looks amazing in the case. It should be noted that there are no problems with contact with the wires or radiators of the north bridge. The typhoon got up in the hull very well. About 1.5 cm remains before the video card, which is quite enough. However, it can be a problem if your card has large memory heatsinks on the back. But in most cases they will still be placed slightly lower than the cooler fan. And in the area where the heat pipes and the radiator are located, there should be no contact. At the base, the Typhoon also does not touch any of the batteries on the motherboard. And it is worth noting an important fact that today, among the tested coolers, it was the typhoon that had no problems with tightening the screw that secures the motherboard in the central part, not far from the processor.

In the photo above, we can more clearly see that the brainchild from Thermaltake is located quite close to the video card.

Despite the fact that the system used an IDE hard drive, there were no problems with the cables. There is no contact either with them or with the wires from Molex going to the motherboard. In our case, the cooling on the north bridge is located under the video card, which definitely guarantees no problems when installing an oversized cooler on the processor. But I can tell you with confidence that on other motherboards with a standard location of the heatsink on the north bridge, there will also be no problems.

After performing some tests and removing the cooler from its rightful place, the thermal paste cast on the processors was as you see it in the photo above. Well, the pressure is more or less uniform, but there is a deviation on the left side. There is a thermal interface squeezed out from the rest of the part. After that, I decided to retest, but during installation, very carefully monitor the twisting of the washers and ensure sufficient clamping force. Still, the situation is complicated by the fact that in the case of Socket 939 we have only two mounting holes on the motherboard for screws. In this case, you need to be as careful and correct as possible during installation. Then the cooler went through a full cycle of tests. Results we will see later.

After that, I decided to remove the standard fan. And the cooler appeared before me only with a bare radiator.

Next, a Titan fan was installed on the cooler. It was with him that the Scythe Ninja tests were carried out. The fan at maximum RPM is quite noisy, but it develops a decent RPM level, namely about 2200RPM. Compared to the standard one, whose turnover according to the declared characteristics is 1300RPM, during testing, I recorded a value of about 1400RPM. It should be said that the cooler works very quietly in this version. For me, this mode can be considered almost silent. The noise level is much lower than that of a standard 80's cabinet. When a 5V fan was connected, the cooler changed from almost silent to completely silent. And thanks to Thermaltake for that. True, it should be said that despite the statements of both the company itself and the owners of this cooler, the Typhoon does not at all have such an advantage as blowing the elements of the motherboard. At 5V, it is hard to feel the air flow even with a hand brought close to the cooler's radiator, what can we say about the motherboard, which is located a dozen centimeters below. Although not everything is so sad, at maximum speed, the cooler still creates a certain air flow, capable of reaching the elements of the motherboard to some extent. But, excuse me, I would not call it blowing. On the other hand, it should be noted that after the installation of the Titan fan, the airflow really began to occur and, moreover, it was very serious. After that, the temperature of the batteries on the motherboard dropped noticeably, by about 7 degrees. Although the temperature on the processor has not changed much. It is worth noting a very serious drop in the efficiency of the cooler after switching from 12V to 5V. At the same time, the air flow becomes too weak, and in this mode I would not recommend using it on an overclocked processor. Regarding the description of Thermaltake Big Typhoon, that's all. One has only to say that its retail price is about $ 35-38.

Now let's move on to his immediate rivals.

Cooler Master Hyper 6+

Let's start with his first opponent. He is a representative of a large company Cooler Master.

Let's move on to examining it. We receive it with a 100mm fan, which pales a little compared to the 120th from Thermaltake. Since these coolers require a large air flow to adequately purge the heatsink, which can only be created by an oversized fan. In our case, it is slightly less than one might expect. In this case, you should expect a fairly high noise level. The manufacturer claims the fan speed is from 1800 to 3600! Moreover, in the latter case, we can only get such turnovers if there is a PWM on the motherboard. Our current motherboard DFI nForce 4 Ultra LP, unfortunately, does not have such, so the tests were carried out at relatively minimum speeds of 1800RPM. It should be said that the model with the “+” index differs quite strongly from the Hyper 6 model. First of all, the material of the ribs. In this case, it is aluminum instead of copper. But the dimensions have also changed. "Hyper" has become noticeably larger. The fan has also increased in size. Now, as I said, it is 100mm instead of 80m as in the “no plus” model. The weight has also changed. This time it is 795, while the last modification weighed about a kilogram! Speaking of the Hyper 6+ design, it should be said that it is already a fairly standard scheme for most heat pipe coolers. These are six heat pipes made of copper, on which aluminum fins are threaded. The ends of the tubes are soldered to the copper base. The cooler fins are covered with metal sides.

The cooler also comes with a metal casing that is screwed together with the supplied fan.

On the upper part of the cooler, we can see that this cooling system belongs to Cooler Master. Also, the ends of the outgoing heat pipes appear to our eyes.

The base of Hyper 6+, like all tested coolers today, has been treated with GOI paste. But it should be said that in the initial delivery, the Hyper 6+ comes with a very good quality base. There are no cutter marks or roughness. There is also a slight specular reflection. In this case, we have a polar situation in comparison with the cooler from Thermaltake. Cooler Master did their best at this moment. The quality is comparable to the performance from Zalman.

Next, we will proceed with the installation. It should be said that it is the same for all sockets, as in the case of Big Typhoon. It represents the installation of the required mounting frame on the cooler, depending on which Socket the installation will be made on. Next, screw the screws that come with the kit into it and fasten it with large nuts at the back. Unfortunately, the Back-Plate had to be abandoned due to a problem with the length of the screws. And here we meet the same flaws that we could see at Thermaltake. So it was decided to place the Hyper 6+ in the same way as the Big Typhoon. Thermaltake Back-Plate used:

But this time the screws were not fixed with washers, but a cooler was immediately put on them, since otherwise the mounting frame rests on the washers. So it looked like this after installation:

There was also a problem with the cooler power connector. The capacitor next to it did not allow inserting the power cord, which, unlike the Typhoon, has a longer length and is endowed with 4-pin. So I had to use a nearby case fan connector.

After installing the cooler on the motherboard, we see that one of the holes for fixing the motherboard is rather complicated. You will have to seriously try to tighten the screw. However, the previous cooler had no problems with this.

The Hyper 6+ is very spacious in the case. There is a serious gap between it and the video card:

But the cords from Molex already rest against the casing of our cooler:

When installed, the Hyper 6+ was positioned so that air was blown back onto the case fan on the back of the case.

Turning on the system, we see a pleasant illumination at the fan of our cooler. We can find something similar, for example, on the Zalman 9500.

After removing the cooler, I found serious problems with the contact between the Hyper 6+ base and the processor. This conclusion can be made based on the fact that the bulk of the thermal paste remained on the processor's heat-distributing cover. Several times I had to remove the cooler. I used various fastening methods, but this did not lead to positive shifts. It should be said that the cooler itself was held firmly on the motherboard. What was the reason for the bad pressure, it was not clear to me. I can assume that the problem is in the defective mounting frame, perhaps in something else. But one thing is clear that there are problems in the fastening. This was also indicated by the fact that during the tests the cooler almost did not heat up. The upper part was completely cold! And this is in situations where the processor worked at temperatures of about 70 degrees! Speaking about the noise emitted by the cooler, it should be said that there are no problems with this. At 1800RPM it works quite quietly, although it is louder than the Big Typhoon at 1300RPM. Unfortunately, the absence of PWM on our motherboard did not give us the opportunity to test the cooler at maximum speed. Which, as I said before, is 3600RPM. At the same time, Hyper 6+ emits an incredible level of noise. Cooler Master claims about 46.4 dBA! On the whole, the cooler is made of sufficient quality, and if there were some incomprehensible problems with the clamping, it could show more serious results than what I got. The retail price of Cooler Master hyper 6+ fluctuates around $ 45-50, and in general, this is a fairly rare guest on our market. Now let's move on to the next rival TT Big Typhoon, but already produced in Japan.

Scythe Ninja

It has already taken place on our resource, but I still go over its characteristics again and touch on some points that have not been considered before.

To begin with, this cooler is made in Japan, which is somewhat rare these days due to more Korean, Chinese and Taiwanese production. First of all, such a pedigree inspires some confidence in most users. And whether the cooler justifies it, we will find out.

The Ninja is very large compared to the cooler just reviewed. The dimensions are 110x110x150, which cannot but arouse a sense of respect for such a structure. Although, in general, the structure itself is quite standard for heat pipe coolers. Since we can once again observe 6 heat pipes on which aluminum plates are strung, and a copper base is also characteristic. But what, perhaps, stands out from the frames of the analogs of this cooler, is the length of the pipes. From the outside it may seem that there are 12 of them, in fact, as I said, there are 6 of them, but they are very long, and, forming a semi-oval, they pass through the base and have their ends on the upper part.

There are aluminum ferrules at the ends of the tubes. And in the center of all the plates there is a large round hole.

The base area is quite large, like the Big Typhoon, but it still has a rectangular shape rather than a square one. After using this cooler for some time, I have some traces on the base that indicate a rather rough installation, which is quite true, since I really had to apply force during installation. In the initial delivery, the cooler base has a very good processing quality and initially has a mirror image, which is good news.

First of all, the cooler is a passive cooling system. But we can install a 120mm fan on it. By the way, it is worth mentioning that Scythe has a solution with a pre-installed fan. It is referred to as the Scythe Ninja Plus, which has a slightly higher retail price than the regular version at around $ 45. The price of the passive version is about $ 40. The fan is installed using the supplied wires. Also, we are able to install a second fan. But for this, you yourself need to come up with what you will fix. For this role, ordinary copper wire is quite suitable, which, with appropriate bending, would allow the fan to be fixed. Theoretically, the cooler allows the installation of as many as 4 fans!

But we will be content with one, since in this case there are no problems with efficiency. For the tests, a Titan fan was again used to develop 2200RPM.

It's time to start installing. First, I will describe how the cooler is installed on various sockets. First, there is no support for Socket A at all, most likely due to the manufacturer's fear that such an oversized cooler is capable of cleaving the crystal of fragile Athlon XP processors with the appropriate pressure. On the whole, their warnings are not in vain, as the cooler weighs 665g. Although in the case of Cooler Master Hyper 6+ and Thermaltake Big Typhoon, even with a much higher weight (the difference is more than 100g), the manufacturer still endowed these coolers with Socket A support. Although in the case of Scythe Ninja, there are some specific points. But more on that later. Let's start with the fact that the simplest one is installation on Socket 478, in this case a standard mounting frame is used to which the cooler clings. In the case of Socket 775, the situation is a little more complicated. We will have to install the Back-Plate from the back of the motherboard, screw the corresponding mounts to it from the front and hook the Ninja onto them. When installing on Socket 754/939, we need to use a standard Back-Plate, to which a mounting frame will be screwed from the front side, identical to that which we can meet on Socket 478:

Unlike the last time (in the previous article on Socket 775), the installation was quite easy. The latches fit easily into the corresponding holes. Remembering the previous installation, it is worth mentioning one important fact. Namely, after prolonged use of the cooler (about a month), after my attempt to remove the cooler from its place, problems arose. To be precise, there were problems with the Back-Plate, the sticky part of which did not want to separate from the motherboard. All my attempts to extract the Back-Plate were unsuccessful. The sticky-backed metal plate did not want to come off. More precisely, it was possible to separate the metal part, but what was located under it, unfortunately, not. So before starting today's testing, I didn't have a Back-Plate for Ninja. But fortunately, for installation on Socket 939, it is not needed, since the standard Back-Plate is used. I advised buyers to pay attention to this. If, for example, something happens to your motherboard, you will no longer be able to use the warranty department. It is worth noting that such sticking occurs precisely during long-term use (more than a month), and at the same time your processor must be hot enough (in my case, it was the most fiery option in the face of an overclocked SmithField) to constantly seriously heat the motherboard's near-socket pad boards, which will stimulate more adhesion of the Back-Plate.

Let's return to Socket 939. Having installed a cooler on the motherboard, we see that it takes up most of it!

It should be noted that the wires used to install the fan rest against the latches and interfere with the installation of the cooler.

It is worth saying that Ninja is very tough. Such a fastening provides excellent clamping. In this approach, the Japanese have been very successful.

The Ninja takes up a lot of space in the case. Although, for example, a fairly large distance remains to the video card. The cooler does not come into contact with any of the elements of the motherboard. And even in the past testing on the Asus P5WD2 motherboard, near the socket of which there is an overall radiator on the north bridge, there were no problems.

There is a fairly short distance to Molex loops and cords. When using a fan, they can even fall into its blades. So it is possible to install a metal casing on the fan. The main problems arose with the wire going from the hard drive to the motherboard.

Scythe Ninja was tested in three versions: passive, with a fan connected to 5V and 12V. After testing, the thermal paste cast on the processor was as shown in the photo above. It is worth saying that, as expected, there are no problems with the clamp. As with its strength, so with its uniformity.

During its operation, the fan from Titan at maximum speed is quite noisy, although at 5V there are no noise problems.

Box cooler AMD

The last tested rival of the TT Big Typhoon was the standard BOX from AMD.

An all-aluminum heatsink with thick fins and a small rather noisy fan. All this is inherent in standard cooling. Although, it should be said that AMD nevertheless makes the BOX of a sufficiently high quality and soundly unlike Intel, which, even when SmithField appeared on the market, continued to assemble them with the same ineffective, noisy coolers. The fan speed ranges from 1200 to 3600RPM.

The base, made entirely of aluminum, as in the case with all the coolers already described, was also manually polished with GOI paste to a mirror image. It should be said that the quality of the base was already quite good from the very beginning.

Prior to this testing, this cooler had been used for quite a long time on today's system, so the print of the thermal paste looks like it can be seen in the photo above.

Today BOX made me very happy. Its simplicity and relatively normal noise level allow me to speak about it only in a positive way. And now, after a lengthy rhetoric, it's time to start the main thing, namely testing. But first, let's take a look at the summary table of the characteristics of the tested coolers, excluding BOX:

Characteristics of the tested coolers

Cooler characteristics	Cooler Master Hyper 6+	Scythe Ninja	Thermaltake Big Typhoon
Cooler dimensions, mm	88 x 88 x 35	110 x 110 x 150	122 x 122 x 103
Rated voltage, V	12	0	12 (7-start)
Rated current, A	—	—	—
Power consumption, W	—	—	~3.6
Radiator material	Aluminum plates strung on 6 heatpipes and copper base		Aluminum plates on copper base and 6 copper heat pipes
Dissipation area, sq. Cm	—	—	—
Fan speed, RPM	1800 ~ 3600	—	~1400
Fan generated airflow	31.33 ~ 72.14	—	54.4
Noise level, dBA	20.6 ~ 46.4	0	16
Number and type of fan bearings	1, rolling	—	1, slip
Full weight, g	795 (without fan)	665	813
The ability to install on CPU sockets		Socket 478, LGA 775, Socket 754/939/94	Socket 462 (A), Socket 478, LGA 775, Socket 754/939/940
Additionally included	Cooler Master Thermal Grease	Scythe Silicone Based Thermal Paste	Thermaltake Thermal Paste
Approximate retail price, $	~45-50	~40	~35-38

Test stand and testing methodology

It is worth saying that on the day of testing, the room temperature was about 32 degrees! Approximately the same values ​​could be observed outside the window. The results of coolers in a quiet state will rest on this value. Before proceeding with the description of the equipment used and the testing methodology, I will briefly describe the questions that the work will have to answer:

• Thermaltake Big Typhoon - a rational purchase?
• KPT-8, is there any equal to it?
• Cheap cases and coolers for heat pipes, does it make sense?
• Does Athlon Venice need a high performance cooler?

I will try to answer these questions. However, not only on them.

Test stand:

• Athlon 64 Venice E6 3000+ (200 * 9) MHz
• DFI NF4 UT LP (nForce 4 Ultra)
• 2 * 512Mb Kingston KVR
• Sapphire [email protected]
• Samsung 80Gb 7200RPM (IDE)
• Thermaltake ToughPower 550W
• Inwin S508

A cheap solution from Inwin was deliberately used as a case. It was interesting for me to establish the real rationality of using "super-coolers" in such conditions.

When tested in the case, we used 80mm Thermaltake fans, with revs up to 3000RPM. One of them was located on the front of the hull at the bottom and worked for blowing. The second one was located on the back of the case and worked for blowing. The third was installed on the door of the case and worked for blowing. Testing was carried out in two versions: with and without a side fan.

Coolers under test (in order of testing order):

• AMD BOX Cooler
• Cooler Master Hyper 6+
• Scythe Ninja
• Thermaltake Big Typhoon

As you can see, the "main highlight of the program" was tested last.

The processor was tested in two versions: at nominal frequencies and voltage (1800MHz, 1.4V) and with overclocking and raised voltage (2600MHz, 1.68V). In the overclocked case, I deliberately took a very high voltage level to create the maximum load for the air cooling systems tested today.

In all cases, KPT-8 thermal paste was used as a thermal interface, which has long earned the trust of many Runet enthusiasts.

The processor was warmed up by two methods. In the first case, using BurnK7:

And in the second case, with the help of S&M, the processor load is 100%.

Finally, let's move on to the test results.

Test results

And here are the long-awaited test results. In such an easy mode, even in such heat, there were no surprises. All coolers are approximately at the same level. The outsiders can only be attributed to the Box operating in 5V mode and Scythe Ninja, which was devoid of its fan and was a passive option. It should also be said that "TT BT 12V *" means TT Big Typhoon, on which the Titan fan is installed. It is worth saying that the temperature in Idle completely rested on the temperature of the room, and therefore it could in no way be less than 32 degrees.

So far, we can state a clear parity between the coolers from Thermaltake and Ninja when using the same fan.

But in the most severe mode, clear leaders are revealed. Most coolers with such a voltage on the processor could not work correctly at all, having missed the stone temperature over 70 degrees. This applies to both the boxed cooler and the passive Ninja. However, even with a 5V fan, the Japanese cooler also failed to pass the S&M test. The Big Typhoon also took this into account, but only at minimum revs. Since at maximum, he had no problems at all. This cooler has demonstrated an excellent level of performance with a small margin surpassing the Scythe Ninja.

Then I turned on the fan on the case door. Such a manipulation allowed Thermaltake's cooler to improve its result a little more, while Ninja did not nearly improve. Well, we can say with confidence that Big Typhoon has succeeded in cooling the processor even in such difficult conditions, but what can we say about cooling the elements of the motherboard?

In general, the results of coolers are at a similar level, regardless of whether a fan was used on the side door of the case or not, but there are two clear leaders, again TT Big Typhoon and Scythe Ninja. But it is worth noting that when using a standard fan, the Typhoon shows very modest results, yielding even to the BOX, this is primarily due to a rather weak air flow. Yet at 1400RPM the airflow is too low to adequately cool the motherboard. But what is most interesting, when using a 5V TT fan, we see the most modest results. Only in this case the motherboard temperature went beyond 60 degrees! So, in the standard configuration, the Typhoon, as a means of blowing the motherboard, is still rather weak, although with a more revolving fan in this component it can become a leader.

Well, we have reviewed the performance of the coolers we tested today. Now it's time to answer some questions. First, let's take a look at how Thermaltake Big Typhoon allowed us to overclock our processor:

As we can see, the overclocking is very weak. Of course, the fact that the processor initially has a rather high voltage of -1.4V, and not 1.3, has had an effect. So, after the voltage of 1.55V, the processor hardly responds to its increase. But most importantly, such overclocking was found on all cooling systems, without exception, including the Box. So here we can state the fact that standard cooling is also suitable for overclocking Athlon Venice. Of course, if you have a hotter processor, then using a heat pipe cooler is almost necessary. But cold Venice doesn't need it. At moderate voltage, even the BOX can handle overclocking this processor.

As we can see, even in such heat and not too high voltage during overclocking, the Big Typhoon keeps the processor within 50 degrees. For this he can be given a solid five! Effectiveness at altitude.

Then I tested the thermal pastes that came with some of the coolers and compared their efficiency with KPT-8. As you can see, "people's thermal paste" has once again justified itself, showing excellent results, which once again proves the rationality of all tests using this thermal interface.

conclusions

Now is the time to jump to conclusions. Hopefully, based on the results of today's testing, we can confidently say that the Thermaltake Big Typhoon is the best that can be found on the free market on the market today. At its low price, this cooler shows the highest level of efficiency, surpassing the more expensive model from Scythe in the face of Ninja in this component. Of course, the TT product also has its drawbacks and there are quite a few of them. Firstly, it is the insufficient length of the screws included in the kit, which does not allow the cooler to be installed safely. Further, a serious drawback is a very weak efficiency when using low speeds, but with the amendment that their very use is rather irrational, due to the fact that even at 12V the cooler works almost silently, but at the same time demonstrates much more serious performance. As for replacing the fan, in this case, such an operation makes sense only if you need a serious blowing of the elements of the motherboard, otherwise, installing a noisier, but also more efficient fan for cooling the processor will not betray anything new.

Speaking about the effectiveness of the KPT-8 thermal paste, it should be said that there was no surprise. She once again proved that there is no equal to her yet, bypassing her rivals with a serious backlog.

Further, today's testing has clearly shown that the use of coolers on heat pipes in cheap cases makes sense. And what is most surprising is that turning on the fan on the side door of the case had almost no effect on the results of the tested coolers.

Speaking about the rationality of using high-efficiency coolers on Athlon Venice, I should say that from my point of view, this is rather unreasonable, since the cooler's efficiency does not affect the overclocking potential of the processor. In this case, the Box version is quite enough.

Thermaltake Big Typhoon- an excellent cooler with an amazing level of efficiency and at the same time a very low price. But despite this, there are drawbacks in terms of performance (quality of processing of the base) and equipment (insufficient length of fastening screws). I would gladly recommend this cooling system to most users as one of the best coolers at the moment.

Scythe Ninja- excellent performance level. The possibility of installing several fans, which allows us to call this solution the most effective, but still quite extreme in terms of noise. The recent drop in price in connection with the release of Ninja Plus, once again heightens interest in the Japanese product. This cooler can also be recommended for lovers of silence. Even in passive mode, ninja can easily handle not very hot processors, even with a slight overclocking.

Cooler master Hyper 6+- relative rarity, overpriced, the inability to use the cooler at maximum speed on most motherboards, this is all that does not allow to speak positively about this cooler. Unfortunately, the incomprehensible problems with the clamping of the base have not been resolved. This product can be called quite raw. This can be seen both in not the most rational solutions in terms of installing a cooler, and in the terrible noise at maximum speed. But it is worth noting that along with Hyper 6, this solution is one of the first based on heat pipes to become popular, and only for this it should be given its due. Today, this cooler did not compete.

Box- I was pleased with the standard cooling. It has a decent level of efficiency and is not annoying with noise. This cooler copes well with its responsibilities for cooling the processor, both in normal mode and in overclocking.

I have a double impression of Thermaltake and its products. On the one hand, this is unconditional respect for the manufacturer, who has brought the production of coolers (and later other cooling devices) into a separate branch of computer technology. At one time, the buyer had a simple choice: either a standard piece of aluminum with a fan, or a cooler from ThermalTake, which provided significantly better cooling efficiency. Let me remind you that this was the time when the first systems on the AMD SocketA platform appeared on the market, which were very favorably received by overclockers and computer enthusiasts. Since such processors were easily overclocked, the need for powerful cooling systems increased many times over. And Thermaltake has successfully released a series of coolers of the Orb series.

Subsequently, other companies began to enter the cooling device market, trying to grab their piece of the sweet pie (or gain share of the fast-growing market :). But ThermalTake tried not to lose its leadership, and constantly offered more and more new products. Currently, the range of the company is very large, from cases to water cooling systems.

However, from a certain moment, I stopped liking Tt products, and some products resembled outright hack-work (high price, high noise level and low efficiency). In particular, not one of Thermaltake's products has received a positive rating in our reviews lately.

Therefore, I reacted with some distrust to the Thermaltake Big Typhoon cooler, which was included in today's test by pure chance (there were no other coolers with heat pipes in the nearest computer stores). Marveling at the price (over 1200 rubles) and impressed by the mass and dimensions of the cooler, I agreed on a mandatory money-back and proceeded to inspect.

Like most other coolers, Big Typhoon is packed in a transparent plastic box:

In addition to the cooler itself, in the box we found a set of mounts for all popular platforms (LGA775, S478, S939754) and colorful installation instructions on two glossy sheets.

As we have already noted, the cooler is striking in its dimensions:

For a better illustration of its dimensions, here is a photo of the Big Typhoon installed on the Asus P5WD2-Premium motherboard (on the i955X chipset).

The design of the cooler does not fundamentally differ from similar products. So we have a copper base from which six heat pipes come out:

The tubes go up and enter the aluminum radiator:

The radiator has a metal frame

Attached to a giant 120mm fan:

To prevent body parts from entering the fan, or, God forbid, computer cables and cables, a protective grill is installed on the fan.

Let's list the technical characteristics of the fan: the rotation speed is 1300RPM, the generated air flow is 54.4CFM, and the noise level is 16dBa! To be honest, I haven't watched those. characteristics before the first launch of the system with the Big Typhoon cooler, and I was greatly surprised by the quiet operation of the fan (if you listen very carefully, you can only hear the rustle of air). The last silent fan made by Thermaltake I have met only in the Aquarius II water cooling system (the copy was from the first batches).

Now let's look at the processing quality of the base, for which you can put a "strong four":

The last thing we will focus on is the description of the installation procedure. In short, a metal reinforcement plate is installed on the back of the motherboard. Through it, 4 threaded studs are installed, which are fixed with special nuts. Next, a cooler is installed on the processor, on the base of which the same metal frame is put on. The studs go through the holes in this plate and a second set of nuts is installed on them.

In general, the procedure is a little tricky, but when you hold a set of fasteners in your hands, everything becomes intuitive. However, let us note two points that have arisen for us. First, on the Asus P5WD2 Premium board, on the back of the board there were hefty tin bars that prevented the reinforcement plate from being installed. I remember that we ran into a similar problem on some Gigabyte board, and we were working on the board with a file. But P5WD2 felt sorry for, and we just put an additional gasket:

By the way, if the additional plate were installed on the P5WD2 board. cooling Stack Cool, this problem did not arise. However, in order to save money (or for other reasons), Asus stopped installing such plates, and limited itself only to the inscription on the board (which, of course, won't make it colder).

Another point concerns the tightening of the second set of nuts. This operation can be performed in a matter of seconds, if, after having tightened the nuts, press down on each side of the plate, and in a couple of movements turn the nut a few turns.

Introduction After both leading processor manufacturers announced the end of the "gigahertz race", users who had hoped that their new PC would finally be really fast and quiet breathed a sigh of relief. The most optimistic of them hoped that Intel would finally make Dothan processors available to the masses, but this, unfortunately, did not happen. Instead of one "heat generator under the lid", both Intel and AMD offered two! The issue of increasing productivity was solved by a banal method, which is known to everyone from the first class - addition. If it is impossible to further increase the frequency and thereby achieve a noticeable increase in performance, then one of the simplest ways is to increase the performance by parallelizing the computational threads. The fact that there is little sense from something like this for an ordinary home car today, to put it mildly, does not bother anyone at all. Both trendsetters in the CPU market need sales, and the new concept of "dual core" is quite capable of providing them. However, the biggest thanks for such a titanic effort to promote to the masses few who really need multi-core processors at home will be said by the manufacturers of cooling systems. No joke - the appearance and total area of ​​the processor itself remained unchanged, and all that has grown is performance and heating. Moreover, if one can argue about the first one for a long time - an ordinary user will hardly notice any increase in a number of typical multimedia and gaming applications, but with heat dissipation everything is very transparent - it has grown quite significantly. By and large, we still need to say thank you for the fact that by doubling the number of cores, the developers failed to double the total heat dissipation of the entire structure. However, even the result was enough to bring such air cooling giants as the Zalman 7000Cu and Zalman 7700CU to their knees. This is expressed in the fact that if the latter is still able to maintain the temperature of a dual-core Intel Pentium Extreme Edition with a clock frequency of only 2.8 GHz, but based on the SmithField core in the region of 75-80 degrees at an ambient temperature of 20-22 degrees, then for 7000CU this task is already beyond our strength - the temperature exceeded 85 ° С, after which we stopped further experiments with it. The situation with the new processors is practically no different from that with the latest revisions of Intel Pentium 4 based on the Prescott core - the rate of heat removal from the processor core plays a very important role. There are only two options left - either use a cooler with heat pipes, with a separate base and a radiator, or a water cooling system. The price of such a choice, today, differs by about two times - the average price level for ready-made SVOs is about twice that for top-end coolers with heat pipes. We are in no way going to ignore the topic of water cooling systems and plan to devote one of our next reviews to it, but today the focus of our attention is precisely on air coolers - 4 different, but, nevertheless, very worthy models that very well illustrate the state of affairs in the market for similar devices. Moreover - apparently, even Intel is not going to abandon classical cooling systems in the near future - the BTX standard provides for air coolers, albeit with a somewhat unusual design. Among the main trends that prevail today in this market sector, in addition to the quality of cooling and minimization of the noise level, one can note such as a significant increase in the dimensions of the radiator and a noticeable emphasis on the aesthetic component. Manufacturers of even inexpensive COs seem to have realized that a consumer who buys such a utilitarian thing as a cooling system for a processor for quite a substantial amount of money has the right, at least, to count on at least a pleasant appearance of his purchase. However, few can argue with the products of Thermaltake in those matters that relate to the appearance - its solutions have always delighted the buyer with their original design. The tradition is also observed in the company's fresh line of coolers - our today's guests are no exception, and any of them will look good in popular cases with a side window. As for the overall characteristics, then the user will not have any special problems - he will not have to specially select a case for the cooler he likes. All models fit quite well in a standard ATX case.
Evaluation of the efficiency of processor coolers can be approached in different ways, but the most optimal method will be close to "combat" conditions.

Testing methodology

To assess the efficiency of coolers, we have assembled a top-end modern PC in the following configuration -

Intel i955X motherboard;
Intel Pentium Extreme Edition 2.8 GHz processor (SmithField core);
RAM 2х512 MB DDR2 Kingston KHX5400D2 / 512;
ATI Radeon X850 XT Platinum Edition 256 MB video card;
Hard drive: Western Digital WD1600JB;
NEC ND-3540A (Black);
Power supply unit Zippy HP2-6460P;
Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS case.

The case was not chosen by chance - it is one of the most convenient cases for assembling the system, featuring a productive and quiet ventilation system.
Testing was carried out in two modes - Idle(simple system) and Burn(running 2 copies of CPU Burn).
To take readings of processor temperatures, the program was used Motherboard monitor version 5.3.7.0.
The room temperature during testing was 21 ° С and did not change during testing.
To test all coolers, we used KTP-8 thermal paste, which was not included in the kit.
The assessment of the noise level was carried out subjectively, with the remaining fans completely stopped, and was separately discussed in the conclusions for each participant. We did not carry out instrumental measurements, because as practice has shown, dry numbers practically do not allow to adequately compare two different coolers.
Perhaps enough theory - let's get to know the test participants better -

Thermaltake Big Typhoon (CL-P0114)

Our testing opens with one of the largest coolers in the company's model range - Big Typhoon is a quite typical modern solution in the field of cooler construction for the "most" processors. To a person who has not followed this sector of the market for a couple of years, such dimensions may seem simply enormous - in one box alone, you can safely pack three or four ordinary coolers from two years ago.

If you meet by clothes, then there are no complaints - the packaging is in the best traditions of the genre. In addition to the cooler itself, the box contains a small black box -

A neat box with the name of the cooler contains a set of universal fasteners, two leaflets with instructions and a packet of thermal paste.

The set of fasteners has been implemented very well - it allows you to install Big Typhoon on almost all modern motherboards, and you practically don't need a screwdriver for assembly. In order to ensure the safety of the motherboard, two rubber pads are included in the kit, which completely follow the shape of the metal mounting plates.

The gaskets, unfortunately, are not reusable - once installed, they wrinkle and become very thin.
Also, separately in the bag there is a special compact fastener designed for installing the cooler on motherboards with Socket LGA 775 and dense arrangement of components.
It is a set of three elements -

And after assembly, it turns into a compact design, which in dimensions only slightly exceeds the dimensions of the cooler itself -

Despite the visually large dimensions and somewhat unusual layout, technically, the Big Typhoon is a completely traditional design for this type of cooling systems.

Nothing new - a copper base, a set of heat pipes and a large plate heatsink.
All this is blown by the proprietary 120mm Thermaltake fan with a rather low rotation frequency of 1300 rpm.

At first glance, the rotation speed is low, but taking into account the total area of ​​the radiator and the size of the fan, it is more than sufficient - the air flow that it creates, passing through the radiator, blows almost the entire upper part of the motherboard - the chipset radiator, memory modules, power supply system mosfets processor and even the back of the video card.
There are no innovations in the design of the radiator -

Solid copper base with clamped heatpipes and a heatsink with aluminum fins. Classic design with an optimal combination of weight and size characteristics and efficiency. The use of copper fins in this case is simply impractical - the radiator will turn out to be very heavy, and not every motherboard will be able to withstand its installation.
Separate radiator design -

It is divided into two parts, each of which serves 3 heat pipes. Both parts are additionally fixed with a frame on which the fan is attached.
The processing quality of the base is average -

The base is matt and the cutter marks are clearly visible. However, for modern processors with their own heat-distributing covers, such processing is quite enough - if you do not aim to win back every fraction of a degree with blood, then you will not have to polish the base.
The cooler is quite easy to mount on a motherboard -

Thanks to the radiator placed upwards on the heat pipes and convenient fasteners, its task is quite simple to install and does not require much time. Big Typhoon is perfect for those motherboards that either do not have too much space near the processor socket, or are equipped with overall heatsinks for the north bridge - the shape of the base and the mounting kit allow you to install it on a motherboard with almost any arrangement of elements without any problems. The only limiting factor is the case - nothing less than full-fledged ATX will do.
The system fits into Thermaltake Armor without any problems, which is not surprising - the case is clearly capable of accommodating any existing CO without any problems.

The subjective impressions of the Big Typhoon are very pleasant - despite its impressive dimensions, it is distinguished by a rather convenient mounting system, light weight and practically does not pose any problems when installed on a motherboard. Considering the general set of characteristics, we can safely count on the successful completion of the test program -

The results are quite impressive - the temperature of such a hot processor in full load mode is only 63 ° C, which is more than an excellent indicator. The temperature in idle mode and there is nothing special to comment on - the processor is practically cold. Taking into account the fact that ordinary user applications will simply not be able to warm up the processor in the same way as CPU Burn does, then we can confidently say that in a hot summer time in an ordinary unconditioned room the cooler will not let even one of the most powerful processors overheat. today. Moreover, even if the system is assembled in a case of a classic design, the Big Typhoon has enough capacity to ensure the normal functioning of the system.
As for the noise level, it is almost invisible in a conventional classical system. The rotation frequency of 1300 rpm is clearly not enough to create any noticeable noise, and the long heat pipes perfectly play the role of dampers and easily dampen all vibrations. When the case fans are completely stopped, you can hear a quiet rumble, which is created by the rolling bearings of the cooler. This drawback can be easily eliminated by slowing down the fan speed to 1000-1100 rpm. In this case, the efficiency drops insignificantly, but the noise practically disappears.
In summary, we can say that the purchase of Thermaltake Big Typhoon, in addition to the fact that the user receives a cooling system with an excellent combination of characteristics, will also be an excellent long-term investment - the cooler is quite capable of surviving one or even two platform changes, even if the heat dissipation of the processors will grow at the same rate.

Thermaltake Big Typhoon

+ Excellent cooling quality, convenient mounting design, virtually silent operation.

- Not found.

= An excellent choice if you need a good air cooler that can be easily installed on any modern platform.

Estimated price - $ 42.

Thermaltake Sonic Tower (CL-P0071)

Our acquaintance with the Thermaltake range of coolers continues with a very original design with a slightly strange name - Sonic Tower. It is a large passive radiator. A very bold decision, given the level of heat emission of modern processors - as a rule, manufacturers prefer not to take risks and still equip their products with at least low-speed fans. The meaning of the name is somewhat incomprehensible - why "Sound Tower"? After all, the passive design is completely silent, and this name is somewhat inconsistent with the design of the radiator. Apparently, the manufacturer simply had no choice - the more appropriate name "Silent Tower" has already been taken over by one of the company's earlier products.
The size of the box is not inferior to that of the Big Typhoon -

The delivery set is also very similar -

The only difference is two additional brackets for mounting a 120mm fan, which did not fit into a cardboard box with fasteners. There is nothing unusual in the boxing itself -

Instructions and a set of fasteners. The mount is arranged in such a way that the clamping bar at the radiator is universal and is used for all platforms. There is even a set of fasteners for the K7 platform, though only for the holes near the socket, which is quite understandable - the mass of the radiator is more than tangible, and it is simply impossible to attach it directly to the socket itself. Moreover, the screws are special, with a hex head, which is also included in the kit.

The radiator has a completely familiar design -

Roughly speaking, it resembles the Big Typhoon radiator turned upward with a slightly increased fin area. The aluminum fins start almost from the base of the cooler, which is somewhat inconvenient and can create a number of problems when installing it on a motherboard.
The base treatment is rather mediocre, as was the case with the previous participant.

To make a completely passive cooling system without leaving even the possibility of installing a fan, Thermaltake did not -

Neat holes in the radiator fins are designed specifically for installing aluminum corners, to which any 120mm fan you like is attached. The corners are fixed with screws, and during this process it is almost impossible to avoid a slight deformation of the upper ribs -

This practically does not affect the efficiency, because this part of the radiator, when installing the fan, still ends up in the dead zone and is not blown out. The appearance with the installed corner practically does not change -

After both corners are installed, you can attach the fan. However, when looking at the rather large lower part of the radiator, we had a number of doubts about the possibility of mounting it on a test board, which were fully confirmed -

The bottom corner rested against the chipset heatsink, which made it impossible to install the heatsink. After a little thought, we decided to limit ourselves to only the upper corner, deciding that it would be enough.

After removing the bottom corner, the heatsink fitted normally to the board and was secured without any problems. We temporarily borrowed the fan from the Big Typhoon - it is just the right size and has a very low noise level. As we expected, one corner for attaching the cooler is quite enough -

Problems arose when we tried to install the whole structure on the board -

The heatsink with the fan installed completely blocked the first memory slot on the motherboard. In our case, this is still not very critical - the plank with a little effort, but still got up in the adjacent slot. But on other boards with a denser arrangement of components, there may be problems with installing a heatsink. In addition, it is worth paying special attention to the placement and height of the chipset cooling system - the Sonic Tower has very low heatsink fins, which creates a number of problems that sometimes cannot be solved without instrumental intervention during installation on motherboards less than Full ATX.
In Armor, the system becomes just perfect -

The placement is really optimal - the radiator is located just opposite the exhaust fan, which, in fact, creates an ideal picture of the placement of the passive cooling system. The air flow generated by two 120mm coolers is more than enough for the radiator to function in passive mode. Those who are not enough can use a system with a fan installed -

This configuration provides, perhaps, the most efficient scheme - the air coming from the intake fan is blown through the radiator and immediately expelled outside the case. Most likely, Big Typhoon will not be able to compete seriously, but, apparently, the developers did not set such a goal.
We present the results in two modes - completely passive and with an installed fan -

The final picture is impressive - in passive mode, the temperature was only 72 degrees! The result, as for a simple radiator, albeit a large one, is more than outstanding.
With the installed fan, the results are almost completely identical to those of the Big Typhoon, which is not surprising - these two cooling systems are very similar in design and only slightly differ in the heat transfer area, which in this case turned out to be unimportant.
Without a doubt, the main trump card of this radiator is the ability to work in passive mode, and given the price, it has practically no competitors. But for the full functioning of the Sonic Tower, a high-quality case with good ventilation of the near-processor zone is required, otherwise its advantages are simply leveled out.
It will not work to call it a real alternative to Big Typhoon - both in passive mode and with an installed fan without airflow, the chipset heatsink, power supply system mosfets and memory modules remain. In our case, thanks to the well-organized ventilation of the case, overheating of these components was not observed, however, unfortunately, we cannot guarantee this in a different configuration.
As for the noise issues, the situation is simple - there is simply no noise in the passive mode, but with the installed fan the situation is similar to that of the Big Typhoon, from which the fan was borrowed. To operate the Sonic Tower with the installed cooler, in our opinion, is simply pointless - it is easier to immediately purchase the Big Typhoon, which has much more functionality.

As a conclusion, we can say that Thermaltake has very successfully proved the possibility of using passive cooling systems on modern processors. The only but - even in the presence of a normal case, the presence of an air conditioner is highly desirable. However, if you do not have a top-end dual-core processor, then the last recommendation can be omitted.

Thermaltake Sonic Tower

+ Passive radiator, a good set of fasteners, rather low cost, the ability to install a fan.

- A number of installation problems caused by the large dimensions of the radiator.

= One of the best passive cooling systems available on the market.

Estimated price - $ 30.

Thermaltake Silent Tower (CL-P0025)

The next one on the list is a model that has been on the market for quite a significant period of time - Thermaltake Silent Tower is a classic implementation of a familiar cooler based on heat pipes. The box looks rather small in comparison with its predecessors -

The delivery set is already familiar - the cooler itself and the box with fasteners -

The scope of delivery and fasteners is almost exactly the same as that of the Big Typhoon -

Only the instructions and the complete thermal grease differ.
The design, as we mentioned, is classic - a rectangular radiator with three heat pipes.

The base is quite compact, so there will be no problems with mounting the Silent Tower on the motherboard -

It is processed in the same way as in the two previous coolers -

As we expected, the cooler is quite quietly placed on the motherboard.

There are more than enough distances to both the heatsink and the memory modules -

The cooler looks rather modest in the case -

If we compare it with previous test participants, then there is even too much space around it. However, as it turned out, this has little effect on efficiency.

The results are pretty good. The time-tested design is by no means going to give up positions - given the noticeable loss in heat transfer area, Silent Tower is only slightly inferior to the test leaders. A productive fan with a rotational speed of 2500 rpm helped him noticeably in this. In addition to being the fastest cooler in our tests, it is also equipped with an original design fan with side slots, which, according to the manufacturer, increase efficiency. As a matter of fact, there are no complaints about this - just its efficiency is quite decent. However, this is not the only characteristic that we evaluated - there is also noise. Here everything is somewhat worse than desired. Undoubtedly, in a conventional system with classic 80mm coolers, which have the same rpm, its noise will simply be invisible. But in our case, against the background of almost inaudible case fans, it was heard very well. In general, we can say that the cooler is perfect for a typical configuration, but if it is used as part of a system focused on maximum quietness, it will need some work.
The conclusions about the cooler are simple - the classic design is optimal for mid-range systems. It is problematic to recommend it for cooling the fastest processors - the noise level is too high and the presence of more efficient competitors. However, if you are not confused by the noise, then with a little "fine-tuning with a file" the cooler can significantly improve its characteristics, which cannot be said about the two previous participants, the only question is the expediency of such modifications - for the money that is asked for Silent Tower, you can purchase Sonic Tower, the possibilities of which are much greater.

Thermaltake Silent Tower

+ Small size, good efficiency, ease of installation.

- Quite noisy (relatively) fan.

= The classic implementation of a cooler with heat pipe technology, which is not going to give up its positions without a fight.

Estimated price - $ 29.

Thermaltake PIPE101 Rev.2 (CL-P0006)

Closing our four participants is a rather unusual solution with a somewhat nomenclature name PIPE101 Rev.2. Selling a radiator that was originally designed to fit a fan without it is a somewhat unusual move for the mass consumer market. Unlike the Sonic Tower, the PIPE101 is simply not designed for fanless operation. However, many will find such a solution quite justified - the ability to choose a fan according to their needs is a rather convenient option, and since Thermaltake products were originally designed for enthusiasts, this approach can only be welcomed. The radiator itself is quite compact, so the box with the cooler is quite small.

The delivery set is similar to the rest of the test participants - the heatsink itself and a small box with the name of the cooler -

The box contains a set of fasteners, instructions and thermal paste.

The set of fasteners was chosen quite well, since the overall dimensions and weight of the radiator are relatively small, there are no special delights in the form of reinforcing plates on the reverse side of the board - there is simply no need for them. Everything is more than traditional, the usual clips for Socket 478 -

Apparently, the manufacturer does not consider half a kilogram of the net weight of the radiator alone as a sufficient reason to include fasteners that use holes near the socket in the package. However, considering the fact that not all motherboards for the Socket A platform have such holes, this approach looks quite reasonable.
The heatsink itself is completely copper with four heat pipes.

The design is quite classical, but the benefits of heat pipes are not entirely obvious here - the radiator is already a single whole, so their role is reduced to additional heat transfer to the upper part of the fins. In this case, heat pipes are nothing more than an auxiliary element necessary for the most uniform heat dissipation from the radiator base. The base, in turn, does not differ in ideal processing, as well as for the rest of the test participants.

As we have already mentioned, for modern processors with heat-spreader covers, such a parameter as a perfectly flat base surface is not critical. However, taking into account the heatsink's weight and size characteristics and its cost, it has a chance to become quite popular among Socket A platform users, and in this case, the quality of the base processing means quite a lot. However, those users of this platform who are not satisfied with the standard cooler are rather difficult to frighten with such a procedure as polishing the base.
For testing, we installed a 92mm Thermaltake fan with 1800 RPM.

In theory, installing a faster fan should improve performance, even at 1800 rpm. the hum from the cooler is already quite noticeable, and it was absolutely not part of our plans to create another noise generator.
The assembled system is quite compact, and the user will not have any problems with placing the board in any modern case.

Compared to the rest of the participants, PIPE101 looks very small - against the background of 120mm case fans, it is simply lost. As for efficiency issues, the results are pretty good -

74 degrees for such a compact cooler with not the most efficient fan is a result deserving, at least, respect. Undoubtedly, it is rather problematic to recommend it as a good option specifically for top-end processors - the result of 74 degrees was achieved at a fairly low ambient temperature, and to repeat this, at least the user must have an air conditioner, which does not always correspond to reality. Thermaltake PIPE101 Rev.2 will be a pretty good choice for a mid-range system with not the most powerful CPU, and judging by the price, it is positioned in this sector.
As for the noise level, there is nothing special to say - it depends on the type of installed fan. In our case, there was practically no noise in a closed case - it did not exceed the noise level of standard case fans. If you stop them, there is still a little noise from the cooler. You shouldn't focus too much on this - in a normal system, the noise of a processor cooler in an assembly similar to ours will most likely simply be invisible. In all other cases, everything will be decided by the type of installed fan.
PIPE101 will surely appeal to fans of the Socket A platform the most - its potential is more than enough to cool any processor for this platform in absolute silence.

Thermaltake PIPE101 Rev.2

+ Small overall dimensions, classic set of fasteners, the possibility of choosing a fan.

- Not the best design for cooling modern top-end processors.

= Not a bad cooler for mid-range systems.

Estimated price - $ 30.

Summarizing

As a summary, we can say that, in general, all participants, to one degree or another, have successfully passed the test. For a more visual assessment, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the summary chart of test results -

The division of coolers into two groups is quite clear - the leaders and the laggards. The leaders confidently keep the temperature under load in the region of 65 degrees and below, while the rest fail to drop below 72. However, by and large, the one lagging behind is Thermaltake PIPE101 Rev.2. Its design does not allow it to compete on equal terms with modern solutions featuring massive radiators, and even a completely copper design with heat pipes cannot save the situation - the total heat transfer area is too small. As for the 72 degrees of the Sonic Tower in passive mode, these results are incomparable with those of the PIPE101 for obvious reasons.
As a matter of fact, it is Sonic Tower that deserves the title of the testing leader - a completely passive heatsink that can cope with such a hot processor is a rarity on the market. And if you look at its cost, then all questions disappear completely - given its capabilities, it is simply unrealistic to find an alternative to it in this parameter. The only thing that can stop a potential buyer is the tangible dimensions of the cooler. If you don’t want to worry about the size of the radiator and possible installation problems, but you need to buy a good air cooler, pay attention to the Big Typhoon. With a cost of $ 10 more than the Sonic Tower, it has a classic design, is practically not inferior to it in terms of heat transfer area and has very good functionality. As for the price difference, it is quite justified - one 120m fan of this class will cost no less than the same $ 10.
We cannot recommend Silent Tower as well as PIPE101 as universal cooling systems - it is better not to purchase them to cool top-end processors.