Thermaltake recently introduced a new version of their very popular Big Typhoon CPU cooler.  The heatsink portion of the Big Typhoon VX is identical to the original model but the VX uses a more powerful variable speed fan and incorporates new mounting hardware that supports LGA775, AM2, and K8 platforms.  In this review we will take a detailed look at the Big Typhoon VX heatsink fan (HSF) to see what affects, if any, these new changes have made on performance, noise and installation.

Big Typhoon VX Main Features:

• Excellent cooling performance, supports up to 130W TDP
• Large copper base and seamless soldering process
• Incorporates 6 copper heat pipes
• High density aluminum fin array provides large surface area
• 120mm Variable speed fan
• Supports Intel LGA775 and AMD K8 & AM2 platforms
• Tool-less, easy installation

Specifications (from the Thermltake website)

Heat Pipe Technology

The Big Typhoon VX cooler uses six copper heat pipes to transport heat from the heatsink base up into two arrays of thin aluminum fins.  A heat pipe is a highly efficient conductor of heat.  A properly constructed heat pipe has a very low thermal resistance, which is roughly independent of its length (unlike ordinary metal rods whose thermal resistance increases with length).  Heat pipes are commonly used to transport heat from one location to another.

Heat pipes work on the principle of evaporation and condensation.  A working fluid (frequently distilled water) evaporates inside one end of the heat pipe (the hot-end) absorbing heat in the process.  A partial vacuum inside the heat pipe allows the water to evaporate at low temperatures.  Once formed, the water vapor diffuses from an area of high vapor pressure (where it is being generated) to the other end of the tube where the vapor pressure is lower.

The vaporized fluid then condenses back to liquid (cold-end) and the heat is dissipated into the air from the metal cooling fins.  The working fluid returns to the hot end via capillary action thru an internal wicking structure (sintered metal coating, fine wire mesh, or grooves) so the heat pipe does not have to rely on gravity to recycle the working fluid.  The key to a heat pipes high efficiency is the latent heat of vaporization. 

The Big Typhoon VX CPU cooler comes securely packaged in a clear plastic clam-shell insert inside a colorfully printed box.  In addition to the HSF the package also includes mounting hardware, thermal grease, and a printed Installation sheet.

• Big Typhoon VX heatsink fan
• LGA775 mounting hardware
• AM2/K8 mounting clip
• Thermal grease
• Installation Guide

A Closer Look

The Big Typhoon VX is almost identical in size to the original Big Typhoon HSF.  It is a rather large cooler but thanks to its tapered shape, the cooler provides good clearance around the CPU socket area.

The main heatsink section of the Big Typhoon VX is identical to the original.  The main differences between the two models are a more powerful variable speed fan and a different style of mounting hardware that is used on the VX model.

Before we go into detail about the changes, lets review the basic construction of the Big Typhoon heatsink.  This cooler uses a relatively large copper base and six copper heat pipes to transport heat up into two closely spaced aluminum fin arrays.  Three heat pipes go to one set of fins and the other three heat pipes go to the other set of fins.  An aluminum fan shroud serves to tie the two sets of fins together and allows mounting a 120mm fan on top of the cooler.

The fan assembly can be easily removed by taking out the four corner screws.

Each heatsink array contains 71 aluminum fins, which are densely spaced.  This provides a lot of surface area for heat dissipation but also requires a little extra push from the fan to move air thru all those closely spaced fins.

The original Big Typhoon HSF used a 120mm fan made by Hong Sheng (A1225L12S) with a maximum speed of 1,300 rpm.  The new VX model uses a 120mm fan made by Everflow that includes a small speed control attached directly to one corner of the fan.  The Everflow fan (F121225SM) is rated for up to 86.5 CFM and 34 dBA at 2,000 rpm when operating at 12V.  This is a nine bladed, medium speed fan that uses sleeve type bearings.  It pulls a maximum of 3 watts (0.25A) so should be OK to plug directly into a motherboard 3-pin fan header.

Thermaltake includes a nice wire fan guard that will help prevent stray wires and fingers from getting caught in the fan blades without restricting airflow.

The copper base of the Big Typhoon VX appears to be flat but has a moderately coarse finish.

The second big change for the Big Typhoon VX cooler is the mounting hardware.  The previous Big Typhoon used Thermaltakes classic H-style steel mounting plates.  While they provided a very secure and robust mount, their use typically required removing the motherboard for installation.  The new Big Typhoon VX instead uses two separate mounts.  One is designed for Intel LGA775 systems and uses four plastic push-pin feet like most OEM style coolers.  The AMD mount is designed to work with both K8 (socket 754, 939, 940) and AM2 systems. 

Well discuss these two new mounting systems in greater detail in the next section

AMD K8/AM2                      Intel LGA775

AMD K8/AM2

For the AMD test system I used the included K8 mounting clip, which attaches to the two center lugs on the stock AMD retention frame.  Prior to installation both the CPU IHS and cooler base plate were cleaned with Isopropyl alcohol before applying a little Arctic Silver 3 thermal compound.

To mount the Big Typhoon VX cooler, you just set it into position on top of the CPU, slide the retention clip into place, engage the two clips onto the retention frame lugs, and then rotate the locking arm 180 to clamp the cooler down.

On my AMD test bed (Asus K8N-E Deluxe), the Big Typhoon VX heatsink fan cleared all of the surrounding components except for the heatpipes touching the extra tall Corsair Pro memory modules in slot one.  Moving the RAM back into the last two slots eliminated any potential interference problems.

Unfortunately the AMD mounting clip does not secure the heatsink on top of the CPU as firmly as I am used to seeing.  It was actually quite easy to slide the heatsink from side to side and rotate it after being mounted.  This doesnt make me feel too secure about transporting this bad-boy while mounted sideways in a typical mid-tower case.  While certainly easier to install, IMHO the new AMD mounting scheme is not near as sturdy as the original Thermaltake H-style steel plate system was.  Its a shame, because the AMD clip could have been easily designed to overcome these weaknesses (hold the central heatsink lugs captive and reinforce the center section for a tighter fit).

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Intel LGA775

The Intel LGA775 mount for the Big Typhoon VX uses four plastic push-pin feet like a typical OEM style cooler.  In theory this should be a very easy system to mount but as I quickly discovered, that was not the case on the Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard.  Because the top heatsink section of the Big Typhoon VX is so large, it prevents using a screwdriver/tool to engage the four feet.  And on my particular motherboard the VR heatsinks around the socket area made it hard to even get your fingers in to work.

On the bright side, the Intel mount does a much better job of keeping the cooler fixed in position once mounted because it holds the central heatsink lugs captive where as the AMD mounting bracket just slides thru.

The Big Typhoon VX comes with the included 120mm fan blowing down, which works well with most installations as it generates additional airflow around the CPU socket area for cooling voltage regulators, heatsinks, and memory modules.  This is especially important on the Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard as the passively cooled NB chip runs very hot and requires airflow from the CPU cooler.

After mounting the Big Typhoon VX several times on both my AMD and Intel test systems, Im less than impressed with the new tool-less mounts.  The AMD clip doesnt hold the big cooler in position very well and to be honest, I dont really trust the plastic push-pins on the Intel mount.  Even after the push-pins were fully seated and locked, it was too easy to pop them back out without applying much pressure.  Push-pins may be OK for some of the smaller coolers but for a very large cooler like the Big Typhoon VX, I dont trust them

Intel OEM Heatsink Fan                 Big Typhoon VX

For our first set of tests the Big Typhoon CPU cooler was mounted on an open frame Athlon64 test rig consisting of the components listed below.  The ambient room air temperature was maintained at 23C 0.5C and the CPU was loaded by running CPUBurn. 

• Asus K8N-E Deluxe nForce3-250 motherboard
• AMD Athlon64 3200+ (0.13 mm Newcastle core)
• Seasonic SuperTornado 400 watt ATX power supply
• (2) Corsair CMX512-3200C2  DDR RAM
• ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
• WD800JB IDE HDD
• Sony 16X DVD, FDD
• Windows XP Pro with SP1

Tests were conducted using the coolers integrated variable speed fan (at three different speed settings) and a Nexus 120mm silent fan.

• Everflow F121225SM: 0.25A, 2,000 rpm, 86.5 CFM, 34 dBA at 12V
• Nexus D12SL-12: 0.30A, 1,000 rpm, 36.9 CFM, 22.8 dBA at 12V

To facilitate taking more accurate CPU temperature measurements a very small Omega thermocouple is attached to the side of the Athlon 64 IHS with Arctic Alumina thermal epoxy.  The measurement equipment used during testing included:

• CPU/IHS Barnant Model 115 digital thermometer (accuracy +/- 0.4 C)
• Ambient air Barnant Model 115 digital thermometer (accuracy +/- 0.4 C)
• Extech Model 407736 digital sound level meter (accuracy +/- 1.5 dB)

For comparison, I included the results from several other popular HSFs for the K8 platform and the stock OEM aluminum cooler that comes bundled with the Athlon 64 3200+.  All HSFs were tested on the same CPU under the same conditions.

• Zalman CNPS9500 AM2 with integrated Zalman variable speed fan
• Thermalright Ultra-120 with 120mm Stealth, Panaflo L1A and Delta SHE
• Thermalright XP-120 with 120mm Panaflo L1A and 120mm Delta SHE
• Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro (stock fan at 12V and 7V)
• Cooler Master Hyper 6 with 80mm CM variable speed fan and 80mm Vantec Tornado
• Athlon 64 3200+ OEM aluminum heatsink with 70mm fan

The following data is presented for comparative purposes only.  Your actual results may be different depending on the variables unique to your system (CPU, overclock, ambient temperature, case air flow, temperature monitoring, etc). 

CPU Temperature reported by Asus PC Probe utility (internal diode)

Tc Temperature obtained with calibrated thermocouple attached to IHS

Delta T Fully loaded Tc temperature rise above ambient

dBA Sound pressure level recorded 3 away (background ~30 dBA)

As you can see the Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX CPU heatsink fan did an excellent job of keeping the fully loaded Newcastle core cool.  It came very close to delivering the same level of cooling performance to noise as the current industry leading Ultra-120 CPU cooler.  When operating at High speed (2,000 rpm) the fan noise was very noticeable.  Using the built-in fan speed controller to reduce the fan rpm quickly reduced the noise and at Low speed (1,250 rpm) it was acceptably quiet and yet still delivered very good cooling performance.  Swapping out the Thermaltake variable speed fan for the virtually silent Nexus 120mm fan still provided very good cooling.

The second set of tests was conducted on a red-hot Pentium 4 EE based test rig consisting of the components listed below.  The ambient room air temperature was again maintained at 23C 0.5C.  Four instances of CPUBurn were executed at the same time (two to load both physical cores, and two to load the two virtual HyperThreading cores), which resulted in 100% CPU usage.

Test Rig Configuration

• Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard
• Pentium 4 Extreme Edition dual core 955 @ 3.46 GHz
• (2) Corsair CM2X512-8000UL DDR2
• (2) nVIDIA 7800 GTX 512 MB video cards in SLI
• Western Digital WD1200JD S-ATA HDD
• SilverStone Zeus ST75ZF 750W PSU
• Windows XP Pro with SP2
• nVIDIA 91.31 nForce driver

Tests were conducted using the coolers integrated variable speed fan (at three different speed settings) and a Nexus 120mm silent fan.

• Everflow F121225SM: 0.25A, 2,000 rpm, 86.5 CFM, 34 dBA at 12V
• Nexus D12SL-12: 0.30A, 1,000 rpm, 36.9 CFM, 22.8 dBA at 12V

Just like on the Athlon64 CPU, a small Omega thermocouple is attached to the side of the 955 IHS with Arctic Alumina thermal epoxy.  The measurement equipment used during this phase of testing included:

• CPU/IHS Barnant Model 115 digital thermometer (accuracy +/- 0.4 C)
• Ambient air Barnant Model 115 digital thermometer (accuracy +/- 0.4 C)
• Extech Model 407736 digital sound level meter (accuracy +/- 1.5 dB)

Software Utilities

• Lavalys Everest Ultimate Edition 2006 (hardware monitoring)
• Asus PC Probe II (hardware monitoring)
• CPUBurn (load the CPU)

For comparison, I included the results from two other popular HSFs for LGA775 platform.  All HSFs were tested on the same EE 955 CPU under the same conditions.

• XP-120 with Antec TriCool 3-speed fan
• Ultra-120 with Antec TriCool 3-speed fan

The following data is presented for comparative purposes only.  Your actual results may be different depending on the variables unique to your system (CPU, overclock, ambient temperature, case air flow, temperature monitoring, etc).   

Amb Ambient room air temperature

CPU Temperature reported by Everest utility (internal diode)

Tc Temperature obtained with calibrated thermocouple attached to 955 IHS

?T Fully loaded Tc temperature rise above ambient temperature

CPU Temperature reported by Asus PC Probe II utility

Note: My original P5N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard died awhile back and the CPU temperature reported by the replacement board is so far off (~20C) its not worth reporting thank goodness for the thermocouple attached to the 955 IHS.

Once again, the Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX did an excellent job of keeping the fully loaded CPU cool even the red-hot EE 955.  And again, it was very close to delivering the same level of cooling performance to noise as the Ultra-120.  When operating at High speed (2,000 rpm) the fan noise was definately noticeable.  Using the built-in fan speed controller to slow the fan down quickly reduced the noise and at Low speed (1,250 rpm) it was acceptably quiet and yet still delivered very good cooling performance.  Swapping out the Thermaltake variable speed fan for the virtually silent Nexus 120mm fan still provided very good cooling.

The Big Typhoon VX heatsink fan delivers excellent performance, offers a broad operating range, and looks great.  The speed of the included 120mm fan can be adjusted to provide the right balance of cooling performance and noise.  However, getting to the speed control on top of the cooler isnt very convenient.  It would have been nicer if users were given the option to mount the speed control in a rear PCI slot bracket or 3.5 bay cover.  Replacing the fan with a low speed unit still provides very good cooling with virtually silent operation. 

As you would expect, the new VX fan system offers even better performance and places the Big Typhoon VX right up their with the top performing CPU coolers on the market today.  It delivers outstanding thermal performance but is crippled IMHO by the new tool-less mounting systems.  While both of the new mounts are potentially easier to install than the original Big Typhoon, the new mounting schemes are not as robust as Thermaltakes classic H-style steel plate system.  In the end, users will have to decide whether or not they value the added performance and ease of installation over a more secure mounting system.  For my money, I will stick with Thermaltakes sturdy mounting system used on the original Big Typhoon.

The Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX is currently available with a typical street price of $54.99 USD (November 2006).  Newegg has the Typhoon VX (CL-P0310) on sale for $55.99 as of this publication date. 

Strengths:

• Excellent performance
• Very good heatsink build quality
• Bundled 120mm variable speed fan
• Easy to install (will vary by motherboard)
• Supports both Intel LGA775 and AMD K8/AM2 platforms
• Looks good

Weaknesses:

• Mounting hardware not as robust as previous systems
• Fan speed control mounted on top of cooler (not easily accessible)

I would like to thank our friends at Thermaltake for sending us the Big Typhoon VX to review thank you!