Why are Thermal Take heatsinks poorly designed?

[Biggs]

I was wondering how the chrome orbs, golden orbs, volcano 2's and super orbs compare to other "better" brands out there.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

G-orb: Decent, due to a very nice clip design

C-orb: Very Substandard performance. Very poor base quality. Not a good performing heatsink in any aspect

VolcanoII: seems okay so far

Super-Orb: Mediocre performance, maxes around 1.2ghz or so. Again, poor base quality.



Mike

 

[Biggs]

Many thanks, Mike, I was expecting you to answer this question.
You said the Volcano II "seems" ok so far. Locally, we only have access to a handful of HSFs and I've narrowed it down to the FOP32-1 and Volcano II for the best in price/performance/noise. So which d'you think would be better for overclocking above the Ghz range?

 

[Grinchy]

I just put a Volcano II on my Celeron 433 PPGA and was able to push it from 75 mhz with the stock 'heavy duty' hsf to 90 mhz with the Volcano II. Temps reported in BIOS (notoriously inaccurate) are about 35 idle and 40 load (centigrade) @ 2.8 volts. I suspect the chip, not the new hsf is limiting further oc, as it will post @ 95 mhz and 100 mhz, but freezes on win 98se boot.

The quality was very good - I lapped it for fun, but the finish was smooth. Clip design is nice - just put in the screwdriver and tug. About $20 with shipping and tax. The fan is totally quiet and seems to get the job done.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

Biggs,

Ever consider the Taisol CGK742092? Good performance and pretty quiet. May need to lap it for max performance, though...


Mike

 

[Biggs]

Mike,

I would but Taisols are not available here.

 

[mcvan]

Recently got a GW FOP32-1 for T-bird 850. No problems with heat -- stays at low 40s (C) and below under full load up to OC limit of CPU, which seems to be around 1G. Running at 7x140fsb (980mHz), perfectly stable. At idle, MBM reads 28-30C. Only issue I have with it is noise: the fan is rated for 26cfm @ 36dBA, which ain't that quiet.

The Volcano II fan is exceptionally powerful and quiet: 36 cfm @ 31 dBA. This puts it in the same class as the 7k rpm Deta fan used on lots of "serious" coolers -- that does 38 cfm but at a whopping 46 dBA. The reviews I've seen suggest the Volcano is at least on par with the GW 32-1. The Volano is the one I'd go for. I just wish I'd found out about it before I got this GW!

Check these reviews:
http://www.ocaddiction.com/reviews/cooling/volcano_vs_vantec
http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/cooling/volcano2/1.htm

 

[Howard]

2.8V!!! You're going to burn that thing.

 

[Jhhnn]

The Orbs are knockoffs of an older proprietary sink by HP whose true successor is the Agilent Arcticooler. As the HP equipment became obsolete, some of these sinks came onto the market and were an instant cause celebre because of their innovative design, performance, and good looks.

Enter Thermaltake who saw the marketing potential for "cool-looking" heatsinks and hence the whole Orb line. They don't really work as well as or in the same way as the originals, but they're not terrible either, and they "look cool". Their new volcano series seems to be an attempt to sell an actual high performance design.

Anybody go fishing? My father used to say that some lures are designed to catch fish, some are designed to catch fishermen. Seems like a universal constant to me.