Thermaltake Volcano 7+ Heatsink

Manufacturer: Thermaltake Technology
Supplied by: Thermaltake Technology
Price: TBA

By Dean Barker (2/8/2002)

Introduction 

Thermaltake brought variable rate fans to the market with the Volcano 7.  While the Volcano 7 didn’t represent the extreme high side of performance, it was a step in the direction that many of us had been waiting for.  To explain, the Volcano 7’s fan is a 80x80x25mm job with its speed controlled by a sensor on the side of the heatsink casing.  As the case temperature rises so does the fan speed and with that, its cooling efficiency and fan volume.  With the Volcano 7+, Thermaltake has taken the variable speed fan / heatsink idea SEVERAL steps further.  This variable fan feature is about the only thing that the Volcano 7 has in common with the Volcano 7+ aside from the name.  Naming it the Volcano 8 may have been more suitable, given the vast differences between these two products.  The Volcano 7+ is Thermaltake’s first mass produced heatsink utilizing thin fin technology (or as they call it, "tiny fin technology.")  Couple this with solid copper heatsink construction, a universal design that is applicable to Intel P4 socket 478, Intel socket 370, and AMD Athlon socket 462 and you wind up with something completely new.  Let’s get down to business and see if the Volcano 7+ is worth its salt.  Before we do, we want to thank Kenny out at Thermaltake for sending over samples of this new sink for us to abuse on the grill.

I have no idea where this little guy on the package came from.  

The package is a see through plastic number, so you can see what you are getting before you throw down your hard earned jack.  Let's look at what came in the package.

Included is the sink of course, mounting clips for both the AMD Athlon and the Intel P4, the fan speed switch, thermal grease, a bag of screws, and a Tt case badge.

The sink itself is beautifully constructed.  The attention to detail is fantastic.  The guys on the manufacturing line are definitely happy in their work.  If the Volcano 7+ looks smaller than the Volcano 7 to you, that is because it is.  The fan up top as well as the sink are 70mm as opposed to the 80mm of the Volcano 7.  The Tt logo finger guard over the fan is the same only a tad smaller.  Also notice how the fan is slightly elevated off the sink to eliminate the "dead spot" of air flow.  

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