Volcano Vs. Vantec

(Page 1 of 2 )

Now is a great time to be an overclocker. With more and more items showing up in the market to help out the budget minded, performance seeking PC aficionado, things can only get better. I remember when I purchased my first celeron 300a, there was only one type of HSF unit for the serious overclocker, ALPHA. As of late, Alpha has fallen by the wayside in favor of bigger, better and cheaper CPU coolers. Such as the two we have here today in the OCA secret labs. The Thermaltake Volcano II and the Vantec FCE-645240D. Both very fine units that can be had for less than a $20 spot. I believe my first Alpha was over $54.00 with both fans before shipping.

Manufacturer: 
Thermaltake (Volcano II) $15.00 SRP
Vantec (FCE-645240D)     $19.00 SRP

 

Now is a great time to be an overclocker. With more and more items showing up in the market to help out the budget minded, performance seeking PC aficionado, things can only get better. I remember when I purchased my first celeron 300a, there was only one type of HSF unit for the serious overclocker, ALPHA. As of late, Alpha has fallen by the wayside in favor of bigger, better and cheaper CPU coolers. Such as the two we have here today in the OCA secret labs. The Thermaltake Volcano II and the Vantec FCE-645240D. Both very fine units that can be had for less than a $20 spot. I believe my first Alpha was over $54.00 with both fans before shipping. 

Both of these HSF units are fairly new to the market and are close in price, and similar in design, so I thought why not put them head-to-head and see who comes out on top? As you know, I love to show you pictures of what we are looking at here so lets get started.

 

 

Above you see the Vantec on the left and the Volcano II on the right. Both units appear to be very similar in shape and size. Lets take a look from another angle below.

 

 

At closer glance from a different angle, you can see the Vantec is actually wider than the Volcano II. Is bigger always better? We'll see. One last comparison pic before I get on to the specs of each unit.

 

 

Above is another good angle that shows off the sheer size of the Vantec unit. Also, we see both clipping mechanism's in this picture. I will touch on that a bit more here soon. Lets skip on over to page 2 and checkout the unit specs.

 

 

 

 

 

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Heatsink Material AL6063T5 Thermal Resistance .45ºC/W Heat Sink Dimensions 60.6x80x40 mm Fan Dimensions 60x60x25 mm Out Line Dimension 60.6x80x70.5 mm Weight 260.0 gm Wire Type 3 Pin Molex 2510 200.0 mm length Max Airflow 36.7 CFM

 

Ok, some of you peeps may not be interested in the actually factory specs, but I did want to provide them for the techie types that like to see 'em. Lets skip on to the next page to checkout the clips of each unit.

The clips of each HSF unit make a VERY big difference when you are trying to mount it to your delicate Socket A or FC-PGA chip. As we all know, both chips are very delicate and any grinding of the edges will leave you with a paperweight at best. As a side note, I HIGHLY recommend anyone installing their own HSF, place a copper spacer on their chip! That said, lets take a close-up look of the Volcano II's clip.

 

 

Notice the sweet little notch that lets you put a screwdriver securely on it which helps immensely when applying pressure to get this HSF on your chip. It is also a 1 piece unit unlike the Global Win's and Vantec clips. The Global Win clips blow for sure, so hats off to Thermaltake for taking the time to develop a simple but secure clipping method. Ok, lets take a look at the Vantec.

 

 

Above is the Vantec clip design in all it's glory. It may look funky, but I'll go on record to say this is the best clipping design I have used to date! With the simple push of a finger, it slides smoothly and securely on your chip. VERY SIMPLE. I nearly jumped for joy when I attached this unit on my CPU, it really is incredible. And if your like Justi and do not have a steady hand, this is definitely for you. The Vantec clip is also a two piece unit, unlike the Volcano II. Let me show you what the hell I'm talkin' about.

 

    

See how the clip easily moves back and forth to accommodate it's easy attachment to any chip. Good stuff Vantec! I think this design is going to be copied by other manufacturers in the future. I hope Vantec has a patent on it! Lets check me out installing it on the MOBO.

 

    

 

Looks pretty and is absolutely HUGE. As always, that gets props here at the OCA labs. Oh yeah! Lets take a closer look at how easily the clip goes on below.

 

    

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