Thermaltake Volcano II Review - PAGE 1

Specs

What I noticed off the bat was that the Volcano II had an excellent new fan design: instead of directly attaching the 60mm fan to the heatsink, Thermaltake has included a removable fan clip so you can slide the fan out and replace it easily. The fan itself is a 4500 RPM unit, but it still pumps out 36CFM.It's also very quiet; barely louder than the stock HSF that came with my Duron in fact, and is far quieter than any other current Thermaltake product.

Installation

The Volcano II has an unusual clip design; the screwdriver slot is angled instead of being straight up and is also slightly recessed, making you insert your screwdriver at an angle. This is a mixed blessing; when installing the HSF you push straight down which is great for tight spaces, and would be great on a taller HSF, but when removing the unit I found that the angle made it a tight fit because of my small case. I also like the change because it's impossible for your screwdriver to slip out and do fatal damage to your motherboard even if you're holding your screwdriver at an angle.

Test System

The Volcano II performed excellently, easily beating out all of our other heatsinks by two degrees. This speaks well for the larger fan Thermaltake included in this unit, and an overall quality design.

Conclusion

The VolcanoII is a great Heatsink, featuring all the best qualities one would look for in a heatsink.

Installation: 86%

   Easy, the new clip protects your capacitors.

Noise: 90%

   Barely louder than the stock fan, quietest Thermaltake HSF yet.

Performance: 89%

   Great performance.

Overall Score: 89%

The Volcano II is an excellent heatsink.