Thermaltake Volcano Heat Exchanger<base href="http://www.atruereview.com/" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://www.atruereview.com/images/favicon.ico" /> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <link href="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/css/template_css.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/css/style10.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/slimbox/slimbox.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/css/rokmoomenu.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />  <link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://www.atruereview.com/images/favicon.ico" /> <style type="text/css"> td.left div.moduletable, td.right div.moduletable, td.left div.moduletable-hilite1, td.right div.moduletable-hilite1, td.left div.moduletable-hilite2, td.right div.moduletable-hilite2, td.left div.moduletable-hilite3, td.right div.moduletable-hilite3, td.left div.moduletable-hilite4, td.right div.moduletable-hilite4, td.left div.moduletable-hilite5, td.right div.moduletable-hilite5, td.left div.moduletable-hilite6, td.right div.moduletable-hilite6, td.left div.moduletable-hilite7, td.right div.moduletable-hilite7, td.left div.moduletable-hilite8, td.right div.moduletable-hilite8 { width: 175px; 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The setup was tested on a system consisting of an Intel Pentium 4c, 2.4 processor overclocked to a 3.3GHz on a MSI 865PE Neo2-PFS motherboard. </p> <p>The Volcano was first tested with no fan installed on it. Then it was tested with a 9cm variable speed fan, 21.96CFM - 46.14CFM lowest and highest fan speed respectively. The fan was setup to pull air through the heat exchanger. Naturally, the test numbers of the Tribe with its default waterblock are included for comparison. All of the aforementioned test scenarios were tested twice; with the Tribe's radiator fan at its lowest speed and at its highest speed.</p> <p>Idle temperatures are obtained by turning on the computer and doing nothing for 10 minutes. Load temperatures are derived from running Sandra's Burn-In Wizard (CPU Arithmetic and Multi-Media Benchmarks only) 20 times. The temperature ambient air was about 25C. </p> <p>The results were: </p> <p align="center"><img src="atruereview/thermaltake_volcano/graph1.gif" alt="Thermaltake Volcano Heat Exchanger" title="Thermaltake Volcano Heat Exchanger" width="386" height="216" border="0"><br> <img src="atruereview/thermaltake_volcano/graph2.gif" alt="Thermaltake Volcano Heat Exchanger" title="Thermaltake Volcano Heat Exchanger" width="385" height="218" border="0"> </p> <p>As the results show, even with no fan installed Thermaltake's Volcano can and does improve the cooling performance of a water-cooling system (in this case, the Tribe). It is very interesting to note that the performance of the Volcano improves only marginally when a fan is installed. Even more interesting is the fact that there seems to be no difference in performance, whether the installed fan is running at low or high (though acoustically there is a big difference, 20dBA vs. 29dBa). </p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong></p> <p> Thermaltake's Volcano Heat Exchanger is certainly an interesting water-cooling upgrade accessory. As my tests show, thanks to the additional radiator, the Volcano improves the cooling performance of a water-cooling system compared to a "standard" waterblock. Furthermore, fans can be installed onto the unit to improve cooling performance even more. </p> <p>The Volcano however has a few caveats. Installation is a bit challenging and will require a degree of patience. Also, the height of the unit limits its compatibility with certain computer cases. Overall though, the Thermaltake Volcano Heat Exchanger is a worthy alternative to a standard waterblock. </p> <p><strong>Pros:</strong></p> <ul> <li> Good cooling performance (compared to standard waterblocks)</li> <li> Compatible with all common CPU types</li> <li> Three different tube connector sizes are included</li> <li> Fans can be installed</li> </ul> <p><strong>Cons:</strong></p> <ul> <li> Very Heavy</li> <li> Potential case incompatibilities</li> <li> Challenging to install</li> </ul> <p><strong>Ratings:</strong></p> <table width="227" border="0"> <tr> <td width="105">Aesthetics:</td> <td width="183">Very Good</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Packaging:</td> <td> Excellent</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Performance:</td> <td>Good</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Compatibility:</td> <td>Very Good</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Installation: </td> <td>Fair</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Price: </td> <td> Good</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Overall:</td> <td>Good</td> </tr> </table> <p>(Ratings Possible: Terrible, Very Bad, Bad, Fair, Good, Very Good, Excellent)</p> <table align="center" border="1" width="75%"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#0066ff"> <td><div align="center"><strong><font color="#ffffff">More Information</font></strong></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><div align="center"></div> <div align="center"></div> <div align="center"><a href="http://atruereview.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php?page_id=363&form_keyword=thermaltake%2Bvolcano&rd=1">Compare Prices</a></div></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><a href="atruereview/thermaltake_volcano/heat_exchanger2.php"></a> <a href="thermaltake_volcano/heat_exchanger2.php">Previous (Installation)</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <div id="footer" class="clr"> <div class="rk-1"> <div class="rk-2"> <div id="the-footer"> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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