Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX: Does VX Rule Cooling?
by Wesley Fink on June 7, 2007 5:10 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Conclusion
We concluded in our comments on the Scythe Andy Samurai Master vs. Thermaltake MaxOrb review that the heatpipe tower has emerged as the best performing design among the coolers we have tested. None of the down-facing fan coolers have been able to really challenge the outstanding performance we have seen with the heatpipe tower designs that mount a side-blowing 120mm fan.
Our benchmarking of the Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX has not challenged that conclusion. There is no doubt the Big Typhoon VX is, along with the Cooler Master GeminII, the best of the down-facing cooler designs. However, a maximum overclock of 3.85GHz compared to 3.90 to 3.94GHz with the best heatpipe towers is just not good enough. Even more persuasive is that the best cooling at load at 3.85GHz was 62C compared to 43C to 50C for the best heatpipe towers at this speed. If the small but consistent difference in overclocking is not convincing, then surely the much improved cooling of the best heatpipe towers will give you food for thought.
We have seen other reviews that compared the Big Typhoon VX to the Thermalright Ultra-120 and found the Big Typhoon the winner. We can only point out that results from reviews using an older Intel CPU or an AMD CPU are not comparable to test results using a Core 2 Duo test bed. We use a Core 2 Duo because that is the processor most overclockers today would choose for their system. The headroom is incredible on these CPUs and a high overclock can be very demanding of cooler performance.
We also tested the Thermalright coolers with the excellent high-output S-Flex SFF21F cooling fan. The Big Typhoon VX uses a fan with an output as high as 86.5CFM. It is hardly fair to compare that performance to a Thermalright mounting a 30CFM to 47CFM fan. We certainly expect the cooler with a fan running at more than twice the airflow to perform best. Last of course is the CPU itself. We have found the Zalman 9500 and 9700 to be among the very best coolers on an AMD 939 or AM2 CPU. However, neither of these coolers was more than average on our Core 2 Duo test bed.
We have tried to keep an open mind about the arguments for down-facing fans. We agree a fan or fans blowing down on your motherboard sounds like a better cooling solution than a side blowing fan. It should also cool your motherboard components better, and that should mean better performance. However if down-facing cools better, then why can't these down-facing designs compete with the best heatpipe towers in performance on our Core 2 Duo test bed? We have no auxiliary cooling in our test bed, so the down-facing designs should shine in better performance. Unfortunately they don't.
While performance does not top our charts, there are still many things to like about the Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX. It is one of the easiest to mount coolers we have ever tested. While we do have concerns about two pounds being supported by Intel-style push clips, the installation itself is easy and does not require you to remove your motherboard. It is equally easy if you are mounting the VX on an AMD processor.
The attached fan speed control is also very useful on the Big Typhoon VX, particularly since it is attached to a very high-output fan capable of 86.5CFM at high speed. The fan is quieter than screamers of old, and yet can be dialed down for much reduced noise. However, none of our noise measurements suggest that those seeking silence will be happy with the VX fan. Personally, the fan is quiet enough at low speed with a closed case to satisfy our ears, and the noise frequencies are not grating, but silence purists will want better. Fortunately they can swap the VX fan for their own favorite silent fan.
Of course, a lower output fan will lower performance further, but the Big Typhoon VX is reasonably robust at stock speeds and you can likely build a quiet system that effectively cools as long as you don't expect much in overclocking.
With these latest tests of the Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX we have now tested four down-facing designs - the Cooler Master GeminII, Scythe Andy Samurai Master, Thermaltake MaxOrb, and now the Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX. All of these are top-of-the-line coolers which should compete with the best high-end coolers we have tested. Unfortunately we are disappointed again, since none of these four could really compete with our top tier of coolers.
The evidence from our Core 2 Duo test bed is now reinforced by the Big Typhoon VX results. It is increasingly clear that the tall heatpipe towers with horizontal fins attached to vertical heatpipes are the best air-cooling performance you can buy these days. These towers use side-blowing fans to further dissipate the heat. Most use one fan, but some can use two or more fans in a push-pull configuration.
Top air-cooler performance solidly belongs to the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme (coupled with an S-Flex SFF21F fan) at 3.94GHz. Right behind and tied at 3.90 GHz are the Tuniq Tower 120, the regular Thermalright Ultra-120, the Scythe Ninja B Plus with SilenX fan, the OCZ Vindicator with SilenX, and the Scythe Infinity with dual push-pull Scythe fans. All of these coolers outperform the Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX and every other down-facing cooler in overclocking and cooling efficiency on a standard Core 2 Duo test bed. Most are also quieter than the Big Typhoon VX.
In the end the MaxOrb and Big Typhoon VX, both from Thermaltake, perform almost identically. With the MaxOrb weighing about half as much as the Big Typhoon VX we would have a hard time recommending the Big Typhoon VX over the MaxOrb unless you want to use a different fan. If you absolutely have to have a down-facing fan cooler, buy the Thermaltake MaxOrb. However, if you want the best cooling efficiency and the best overclocking for your money choose one of the heatpipe towers from the top of our performance charts.
We concluded in our comments on the Scythe Andy Samurai Master vs. Thermaltake MaxOrb review that the heatpipe tower has emerged as the best performing design among the coolers we have tested. None of the down-facing fan coolers have been able to really challenge the outstanding performance we have seen with the heatpipe tower designs that mount a side-blowing 120mm fan.
Our benchmarking of the Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX has not challenged that conclusion. There is no doubt the Big Typhoon VX is, along with the Cooler Master GeminII, the best of the down-facing cooler designs. However, a maximum overclock of 3.85GHz compared to 3.90 to 3.94GHz with the best heatpipe towers is just not good enough. Even more persuasive is that the best cooling at load at 3.85GHz was 62C compared to 43C to 50C for the best heatpipe towers at this speed. If the small but consistent difference in overclocking is not convincing, then surely the much improved cooling of the best heatpipe towers will give you food for thought.
We have seen other reviews that compared the Big Typhoon VX to the Thermalright Ultra-120 and found the Big Typhoon the winner. We can only point out that results from reviews using an older Intel CPU or an AMD CPU are not comparable to test results using a Core 2 Duo test bed. We use a Core 2 Duo because that is the processor most overclockers today would choose for their system. The headroom is incredible on these CPUs and a high overclock can be very demanding of cooler performance.
We also tested the Thermalright coolers with the excellent high-output S-Flex SFF21F cooling fan. The Big Typhoon VX uses a fan with an output as high as 86.5CFM. It is hardly fair to compare that performance to a Thermalright mounting a 30CFM to 47CFM fan. We certainly expect the cooler with a fan running at more than twice the airflow to perform best. Last of course is the CPU itself. We have found the Zalman 9500 and 9700 to be among the very best coolers on an AMD 939 or AM2 CPU. However, neither of these coolers was more than average on our Core 2 Duo test bed.
We have tried to keep an open mind about the arguments for down-facing fans. We agree a fan or fans blowing down on your motherboard sounds like a better cooling solution than a side blowing fan. It should also cool your motherboard components better, and that should mean better performance. However if down-facing cools better, then why can't these down-facing designs compete with the best heatpipe towers in performance on our Core 2 Duo test bed? We have no auxiliary cooling in our test bed, so the down-facing designs should shine in better performance. Unfortunately they don't.
While performance does not top our charts, there are still many things to like about the Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX. It is one of the easiest to mount coolers we have ever tested. While we do have concerns about two pounds being supported by Intel-style push clips, the installation itself is easy and does not require you to remove your motherboard. It is equally easy if you are mounting the VX on an AMD processor.
The attached fan speed control is also very useful on the Big Typhoon VX, particularly since it is attached to a very high-output fan capable of 86.5CFM at high speed. The fan is quieter than screamers of old, and yet can be dialed down for much reduced noise. However, none of our noise measurements suggest that those seeking silence will be happy with the VX fan. Personally, the fan is quiet enough at low speed with a closed case to satisfy our ears, and the noise frequencies are not grating, but silence purists will want better. Fortunately they can swap the VX fan for their own favorite silent fan.
Of course, a lower output fan will lower performance further, but the Big Typhoon VX is reasonably robust at stock speeds and you can likely build a quiet system that effectively cools as long as you don't expect much in overclocking.
With these latest tests of the Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX we have now tested four down-facing designs - the Cooler Master GeminII, Scythe Andy Samurai Master, Thermaltake MaxOrb, and now the Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX. All of these are top-of-the-line coolers which should compete with the best high-end coolers we have tested. Unfortunately we are disappointed again, since none of these four could really compete with our top tier of coolers.
The evidence from our Core 2 Duo test bed is now reinforced by the Big Typhoon VX results. It is increasingly clear that the tall heatpipe towers with horizontal fins attached to vertical heatpipes are the best air-cooling performance you can buy these days. These towers use side-blowing fans to further dissipate the heat. Most use one fan, but some can use two or more fans in a push-pull configuration.
Top air-cooler performance solidly belongs to the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme (coupled with an S-Flex SFF21F fan) at 3.94GHz. Right behind and tied at 3.90 GHz are the Tuniq Tower 120, the regular Thermalright Ultra-120, the Scythe Ninja B Plus with SilenX fan, the OCZ Vindicator with SilenX, and the Scythe Infinity with dual push-pull Scythe fans. All of these coolers outperform the Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX and every other down-facing cooler in overclocking and cooling efficiency on a standard Core 2 Duo test bed. Most are also quieter than the Big Typhoon VX.
In the end the MaxOrb and Big Typhoon VX, both from Thermaltake, perform almost identically. With the MaxOrb weighing about half as much as the Big Typhoon VX we would have a hard time recommending the Big Typhoon VX over the MaxOrb unless you want to use a different fan. If you absolutely have to have a down-facing fan cooler, buy the Thermaltake MaxOrb. However, if you want the best cooling efficiency and the best overclocking for your money choose one of the heatpipe towers from the top of our performance charts.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
34 Comments
View All Comments
Zarf - Thursday, August 23, 2007 - link
I notice on your photos that you've mounted the VX120 such that the heatpipes are working maximally against gravity for the condensate inside to return to the evaporation point on top of the CPU. I can't say I'm thoroughly versed in heatpipe design, but it is generally best to have them oriented such that the condensate capillary-action return is not fighting against gravity. In fact, if you mount the VX120 correctly, three of the six heatpipes will experience gravitational assistance in returning the condensate from the cooling fins back down to the CPU, and the other 3 heatpipes will be experiencing only a very slight negative gravitational gradient. The way Anandtech has mounted the VX120 is, in my option, incorrect for vertical motherboard mounting in a tower case.neweggster - Sunday, June 10, 2007 - link
You people complain that having this sort of HSF is like owning stock to a big company. You guys act like Anand has done you wrong in a test of a HSF that doesn't reflect what you would do, furthermore; complaining that the results are not efficient because the lack of case fans.First off who cares, second we want to buy things that are more efficient and thats why side blown HSF are better then down blowing HSF. Conclusion is that if you have to do more to get a side HSF to work efficiently then why bother?? Why argue the points that this HSF style works far better when adequate exhaust fans are used. The comparison shows little to no difference when using side case fans to get this VX working more efficiently.
I would much rather use side blown HSF and have to do less configuarations to get it to work optimaly then to use a down blowing HSF that you have to have more exhasut fans and better configurations of the case airflow.
The point is that DOWN BLOWING HSF SUCK PERIOD!! Does not matter, we see that side blown HSF work better and ideally generate less static heat around the mobo, so why argue that you can improve the down flow HSF designs to get better performance and have to do more then just using what works best.
neweggster - Sunday, June 10, 2007 - link
Edit, I meant to say Down blowing on this sentence but said Side.Conclusion is that if you have to do more to get a side[/B(should be Down) HSF to work efficiently then why bother??
cornfedone - Sunday, June 10, 2007 - link
It seems as though that everyday some company comes up with another gimmick for the clueless. There must be a lot of suckers with more money than brains.Avalon - Friday, June 8, 2007 - link
The reviews lately on the downward blowing coolers seem to imply that we only care about cooling other system components with that airflow to increase our overclock. Not so.I like downward blowing coolers because I like my other components running cooler. They will potentially last longer, and I won't need to add on additional fans or heatsinks for each part.
tallman45 - Friday, June 8, 2007 - link
The differences and performance between the 2 can be vastly different in a real world setupA PC case with a Side Door Fan which most have would greatly benefit the Down facing Heatsink since cool outside the case air is pumped through the cooler. Where in any instance the side mounted fan is gettimg all its air directly once it has passed over the already hot Sticks of Ram which had already passing over HDD cage, hardly cool air to start with
The other benefit of downfacing fans is that they cool both the base of the CPU and Mosfits that surround the CPU socket area
strikeback03 - Friday, June 8, 2007 - link
Of course if you already have side door fans then you have airflow over the motherboard, making the largest benefit of a down-facing fan less needed.erikpurne - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
I totally see the point the downwards-facing-coolers people are trying to make. All they're saying is that Anandtech's test-bed is unrealistic as it lacks a case exhaust fan that virtually everybody interested in this type of coolers would have installed.A backwards-facing tower cooler will tend to push the heated air out the back vent whether there's an exhaust fan there or not, since it's pointing directly at said vent in many case designs. It sort of doubles as a case fan. Meanwhile, a downwards-facing HSF will just keep recirculating the hot air.
On another note, how do you (Anandtech) compensate for differences in ambient temperature when testing the coolers? I didn't notice it mentioned on the testing methodology page.
Frumious1 - Friday, June 8, 2007 - link
It seems that what you're saying is that cooling towers are inherently superior to the downward-blowers, since with the latter you need a case fan but you don't with the towers. I can't recall any cases I've seen in recent history where the rear of the case doesn't have perforations/fan mounts, and the fact remains that blowing air down at the motherboard is a great way to create turbulence. But hey, if you have two case fans - one at the front as intake and one at the rear as exhaust - then the downward blowing HSFs are maybe competitive with the cooling towers. Except then you have three fans instead of one or two, which almost certainly makes more noise.Wes also pointed out above that testing with four coolers didn't appreciably alter the results. The testbed is consistent and appears reasonably fair. "What if you use case X with a mod so that cooler Y blows air out the side vent that just happens to match up perfectly with motherboard Z?" Well, in that case you're probably already familiar with the setup and you just want someone to give you the thumbs up. Here you go: thumbs up! Sounds like a great setup for that particular case/HSF/mobo combination. A typical case+mobo seems a better idea as a testbed, however.
Personally, I have my PC located such that a wall blocks the left side, so the front and rear vents are MUCH more important and any case that has vents on the side wouldn't work well. I've seen quite a few computer desks that do the exact same thing, so I'd say more people than not will benefit from a heatpipe tower cooler over a downward blowing cooler.
tallman45 - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
Why test the most used replacement fans on the market, the Arctic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro and 64 Pro.They may not be the best cooling but they are under $20 delivered and are virtually silent.
Arguably the best bang for the buck