Overclocker Cafe - Thermaltake Volcano 11 Heatsink Review

Thermaltake Volcano 11

Specifications

Application: AMD Athlon/Duron socket A
Heatsink Dimensions: 70 x 66 x 30.8mm
Material: Copper base and fins with aluminum shroud
Weight: 476 grams
Fan: 80 x 80 x 25mm Variable Rate
Fan Speed: 1300 RPM @ 20'C increasing to 4800 RPM @ 55'C.
Air Flow: 20.6 CFM @ 20'C increasing to 75.7 CFM @ 55'C.
Noise: 17dBA @ 1300 RPM increasing to 48 dBA @ 4800 RPM.
Connector: Three pin

When you first look at the Volcano 11 it looks like an overweight CAK II sink. You have to admit that Thermaltake has been paying attention to aesthetics. This sink would be almost wasted on a case without a window.

Two rows of forty fins each provide a significant amount of surface area to keep things cool. The upper most part of the sink is an aluminum shroud. This shroud serves two purposes. First it helps focus air flow down off the fan into the fins. Secondly, it acts as a mount in which to attach your fan to.

Looking more closely at the way the fins are attached to the base, we see they are folded on the end and in someway bonded to the base. This method of fin attachment has always been hit or miss. If it is done right there is no problem. If it is done wrong, leaving gaps between the base and the point of fin attachment, the efficiency of the convection process gets thrown down the tubes. We will see which it is during our testing.

The base of the Volcano 11 measures 70 x 66mm and is 6mm thick. The base was acceptable but we have seen much better lapping jobs our of Thermaltake in the past. Take the Volcano 7+ for example, as in this pic.