Thermaltake's Volcano fan IS over rated

[mlg]

Check out phamcomputer.com (I got there from a link at overclockers.com). They sell Thermaltakes, so bad-mouthing them isn't in their interest (up-selling an Alpha is, of course ). They concluded that the fan is 26CFM and 36 must have been a typo. I was wondering about that, because of the fan's big, fat hub that looked rather inefficient.

 

[Hanky]

26cfm still seems to be a lot, because 36dbA Y.S.Tech fans also only make 26cfm as far as I know. So 26cfm at 31dbA would still be a hell of a fan.

 

[GiZzO]

Yep i beleive it,
Thermaltake throws out a bunch of bogus specs, then they get all this attention which they have gotten, out of just a plain below avg nothing special HS. Thats really some silly marketing but still alot of ppl that don't know any better..are just like wow! It work..they diffently got the name out.

26cfm is still way to much i think, look at my page and compare it too other fans that spin
4500rpm @ 32dB (perfect example look at the Adda AD0612HS-A70GL...same specs get 23CFM)

click on the top of the rpm table to sort by rpm
GiZzO's Fan Page

 

[geeman]

I have a volcano II, not a great cooler, but quieter than a superorb. Who makes a cheap quiet cooler, that's reasonably effective?

 

[Nevin]

If you look at the recent review of the Volcano II on HardOCP, you'll see that when the stock "36"cfm fan was replaced with a proven 38cfm fan, the measures CPU temperature dropped 10F. These results are much more consistent with a 26cfm to 38cfm change than a 36cmf to 38cfm change. A 36cfm to 38cfm airflow change would only change the measured temperatures by 1 or 2 degrees at most.

My personal opinion is that Pham Computers is probably correct and that the 36cfm rating was a typographical error that the manufacturer decided to stick with since it was responsible for generating most of the sales. It is disturbing to think that so many people purchased a product based on an error in the specifications.

HardOCP Volcano II Review

Nevin

 

[kgraeme]

I bought one, but not because of the manufacturer's specs, but because of reviews that it cooled reasonably well AND was quiet.

It's not quiet enough for me though. It seems to have a raspy, rattly quality to it. The FOP32-1 was a little noisier and had an annoying whine.

So like was asked above, anyone got suggestions for a good, quiet cooler? The Silverado reviewed at Tom's isn't available to the U.S market yet.

 

[EvilDonnyboy]

What the hell u complaining about? It perfoms well for a damn cheap price. If you stuck on a 7k fan, it'd perform just as well as the best. I you want the very best, pay the $$ for the best. Other wise don't expect premium performance for a budget hsf.

 

[frastini]

everyone seems to boast that it performs well for the price..

anyone ever noticed how the heatsink looks exactly like a taisol 733?

the taisol 733 was 13-14$ shipped in a group buy a while back..

if the 23cfm estimates for the everflow are correct.. ur about 1-2cfm

up from the 60x60x10 delta stock fan on the taisol.

with this in mind, the thermal take volcano doesnt seem THAT impressive

 

[lifeguard1999]

Well Hanky, I disagree with you. A 26 CFM fan @ 31.5 dBA is nothing special. There are plenty of 60mm fans that can perform similarly.

 

[Hanky]

lifeguard1999,

Please name at least one.

(It's obviously nothing special for fans with a size of 80mm or more, but I still can't imagine of a 60mm fan with such a cfm/dbA ratio...)

 

[Hanky]

lifeguard1999,

OK, I've found a 25cfm/31.5dbA Nidec fan on GiZzO's fan page, but that's the only one I found. I'm very surprised though because Y.S. Tech and Papst don't offer comparable fans. (Their fans with cfm's around 26 are not on GiZzO's list by the way.) Especially Papst offers usually the best cfm/dbA ration, so this Nidec fan really surprised me...