I found a terrible (bad) heatsink review, avoid this roundup

[adlep]

Hmm, I always liked www.Digit-life.com, but this time, it didnt work out for them...
The review of thermaltake volcano 7+ is particularly funny... Read it for yourself and tell me what you think.
It is like an opposite to all of the reviews I read........
this roudup is bad
?

 

[Soulkeeper]

those heatsinks look interesting i'll give um that much
like complex alien devices ur somethin

 

[fatbaby]

do you have the v7+? did your experiences contradict his in the reviews? if not, you are just a biased thermaltake fanboy

the v7+ is expensive for what you get...a $25 ax7 will outperform it with lower sound. Though $30 may not be that much of a difference. THe specs are overrated, even at hte lowest speed, its quite loud.

Personally, i don't have the v7+, so i let the reviewer assume the benefit of the doubt

 

[adlep]

He he I do have it... and i disagree
Read it through..
The comlicated assembly this guy is talking about is taking like 5 minutes... what is so difficult about it I dont have a clue...
you dont have to even read the dirrections because they DRAW EVERYTHING FOR YOU!
It is not THE best heatsink, but its not bad either, I would say it is within top 10%
And you can pick it up these days for about $30.00 shipped! cant beat it really...
and it really chills my 2.4 Ghz P IV..

 

[WangButter]

Speaking of bad reviews, here's one that I found to be rather contradictory:

http://www.systemcooling.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=113

It's a review of a Thermaltake Geforce 4 Copper cooler.

While the reviewer noted that the core temperature decreased about 5 degrees C under load, the tests showed that with the TT RAM sinks, the overclockability of the Geforce's memory actually DECREASED when compared to the stock RAM sinks, and as a result, the performance in 3Dmark 2001SE was actually LOWER with the Thermaltake heatsink when compared with the stock heatsink. However, there was no mention of this in the actual writeup, and the author went on to give an unconditional endorsement of the Thermaltake product.

 

[Buz2b]

Looks like you take offense if someone prints a negative remark about your hsf. The reviewer mentioned the volcano was loud; so does practically every review and most all comments I have heard from owners of this hsf. What's so wrong with that? Yes, he does talk about the complexity of installation but I took it to mean it was complex when compared to other hsf's; which it is. Most are as simple as screw down the fan, apply thermal past to CPU and clip on the HSF. Installing numerous screws, bolts, whatever may be a simple matter, but it is more than what most others require. I think that is the point he was trying to make.
The review overall was not bad and somewhat informative. Yes, I've seen better but I've also seen worse.

 

[txgixer]

i had a P4 Dragon, it sucked, the stock intel was way more efficient at cooling. Plus, that P4 was one loud mother fugger on the high speed. It sound like a 747 was in the house.

now i have a Swiftech MCX-478 with AS III and happy with that setup

 

[FlowerMan]

Heh, anyone who puts down Tt is a friend of mine

 

[adlep]

I dont mind when someone bashes Tt in a professional way...
The heatsink is not loud... There are 3 diffrient settings to choose from, and the author forgot to mention one of them... which is low, which will do just fine for every P4 below 2.6Ghz.... (with an intel P4 setup)...
Here is some constructive criticism:

"The first one is a complicated procedure of making the cooler operable. To assemble the system (to attach the case with a fan and fasten the cooler) a user needs mechanic skills, tools and muscles. It's necessary to screw in 14(!) bolts 12 of which are to be cut into the heatsink base."

It takes 5 freakin minutes to assembly the heatsink for the use with a PIV. The detailed drawings shows how to assembly the cooler you dont even have to read the instruction which came with a heatsink.....
WHAT IS SO DIFFICULT ABOUT IT?
They decided to use screws because it is a first and only UNIVERSAL COOLER, and it can be used in socket 370, socket A, and socket 478.
In order to achieve that, they had to use screws, plain and simple......
You dont have to use muscles to assemble the heatsink...
All it takes is a phillips head screwdriver........

"Another downside is a loud fan. The powerful fan measuring 70x70x25 mm and rotating at 6000 rpm makes the Volcano 7+ a leader in a noise level. The adjuster coming with the cooler and providing reduced power supply is not an option but a necessity: irrespective of a type and quality of a system unit the fan working at the rated speed doesn't let you take pleasure in your favorite musical composition. A noise level becomes acceptable only at about 4500 rpm, but the thermal efficiency falls down in this case and the Volcano 7+ loses its palm in this aspect. "

The reviewer forgot to mension third, low setting (at 3000 RPM) which is perfectly suitable for every Norwood type PIV. Do not forget that the Intel stock cooler COMES with a 70 mm fan and it spins at 2700 RPM, yet it is an adequate cooling up to 2.4 Ghz (according to Intel). I am using my Volcano 7+ on the low setting and my temperatures are: 37 C idle and 46 C under load (Prime 95) at 2.4 Ghz, so it is just fine.....
With a PIV, you would use the medium setting for more aggresive cooling, which would be more than adequate for socket 478 processors....
You DONT HAVE TO USE 6000 RPM setting with any PIV processor, because all of intel chips are running much, much cooler than Athlons.....
The adjuster is not an option... it has to be there, and that is why they have included it in a package....

"A noise level becomes acceptable only at about 4500 rpm, but the thermal efficiency falls down in this case and the Volcano 7+ loses its palm in this aspect. "

This is a BS as well, there is only 2, to 3 degrees of diffrience with Athlons...
The diffrience when used with PIV would be much, much smaller....

"The last disadvantage is a too rigid fastener. You must apply exceptional force, break an RM module of a mainboard when pushing the teeth into the mounting holes of the module. This is because of the terrible mounting brackets of the Volcano 7+ which are very dangerous for the socket and require a very careful treatment. As a result, installation of the Volcano 7+ can be a very difficult problem even for experienced users."

No, interesting with my Tt 7+ everything went smooth and easy.... it wasn't more difficult to put it on than with regular Intel stock cooler.
.....?

 

[Buz2b]

adlep,
We are a bit defensive, aren't we? While the HS might not be too loud at the lowest setting, it does offer 3 settings for the user; two of which are apparently unacceptable. Just because you are perfectly happy with the lower setting doesn't mean the author has to accept this also and assume that all users will feel the same. The critisism is fair in this regard.
As to the bit about "a user needs mechanic skills, tools and muscles. It's necessary to screw in 14(!) bolts 12 of which are to be cut into the heatsink base." Well, you could say he was a bit melodramatic in his descriptive language; but many writers are guilty of this. The bottom line is as I stated earlier; while it may not be that difficult, it is STILL much more involved than "standard" heat sinks. Is it that big a deal? Who knows; he is just informing us of the procedure involved.
The last problem of fastening the HS is one I cannot say I have seen mentioned before on other sites. I guess you can assume either he doesn't like having to put any pressure whatsoever on or around the MB or maybe he did something differently (and maybe wrong) in his situation. Hard to tell really.
I have no idea who the author is nor am I familiar with his reviews. However, just because he is critical of your particular (current) favorite HS, doesn't mean the review is either "terrible" or should be avoided. Give folks the benefit of the doubt. I personally never read just one review on something and decide to buy it based on that. I get as much info as I can and I think the majority of folks (at least the ones with half a brain), do the same. Reviews are for gathering information and getting relative comparisons of particular items; nothing more. I currently use an SK-6 on my rig. Although one of the top performers, in most reviews it is menioned that it is a bear to clip on to the CPU. I knew this but accepted it as something I had to deal with if I wanted the performance. Can the Volcanoe 7+ say the same? Heck, if you really think about it, you probably gave his review more publicity than it would otherwise have gotten. Not everyone who sees your rant about the author will buy it either. So you probably did him more good than harm. :Q Oops!

 

[Mday]

lol adlep.

stfu =D

 

[adlep]

Oh well,
I am not defensive, it just seemed to me not professional, that is why I posted it over here...
But if you think its fine, its fine.... really no offense.....

 

[adlep]

Here is my small collection of Tt V7+ reviews btw......
And this one is unusual purerly from the statistical point of view... it is an outlier...:


review, favorable

another favorable one

they like it as well

this one is sweet..

yet anoter favorable review

review

the final one

I am done... if you can not see anything wrong, then it is OK.......
No offense

This is a forum.. the purpouse of this bbs is to exchange information and opinions......
I think that based on my personal experience, and all of these other reviews, opinions I am entilted to have a certain opinion about this particular heatsink...?

 

[Buz2b]

I am entilted to have a certain opinion about this particular heatsink...?

And so am I and others.

the purpouse of this bbs is to exchange information and opinions......

And that is exactly what I have done. I think you are really wound up a bit about this and don't need to be. Look back on my posts. I never once said that this was a bad HS. Not once. All I did was take you to task for belittling the review just because it differs with your opinions. If you take a good look at all your reviews you so kindly posted and read them objectively, you will see some of the same items mentioned that are in the review that you hate. They all mention that it is loud at higher settings. They almost all mention that you have to put it together; one even said that there was more hardware than "Junkyard Wars". Some even mentioned the clip problems. In fact the first even said it was not a good clip for Socket A.
So what's the beef? To use an old and very worn saying, "take a chill pill" guy. I'm not badmouthing your HS. I'm sure it is a fine one. Just because someone else has a different opinion does not mean that the review is either terrible or should be ignored. Give it a break.

 

[Nerdwannabe]

Have you guys check out the author's testing technique? Testing Technique also Cooler Testing Strategy

Here are a lot of good readings in those 2 pages. Wish some of you guys can spend some time reading those articles.

Look how he mentioned the temp number from motherboard thermistor can be misleading and inaccurate.
Many heatsink/fan reviewers are still using such poor testing method to declare their test results.

As far as the negative comments about TT fan. Yes, it require additional assembling, thus makes it difficult to install than the rest of the unit. For end user products, it should be simple and dummy proof. How many people ever mount their clip backward or forgot to take off the thermal interface protector film? I seen plenty of those posts before. Is assembling a more pain in the butt? I would think so for many users.

 

[McCarthy]

LOL!

OMG WangButter, that Thermalfake GF4 cooler review is a riot. If you're looking for a great way to blow thirty bucks and slow down your performance, that's the kit for you!