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.
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rjm55 - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
Maybe the real point is that those who bought these down-fan coolers for better cooling are just disappointed to find out they don't work as well as the top guns.stepone - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
The point I was making was that the 120 VX (& down blowers inparticular) benefit more from exhaust fans than tower coolers do and a proper case setup will nearly always include at least 1 120mm extraction fan.Seriously who buys an after market HSF & then uses no case fans (HTPC users maybe but most HSF units will be 2 big for those cases)?
As for your sour grapes implication, you're being very close minded...
Is it not possible that other people's opinions & real world experience of the 120 VX could be different & that they're trying to simply get people to take a 2nd look at this HSF instead of being petty individuals in a vindictive jealous rage trying to steer others to the same mistake?
As for Anand techs dissing of Hexus's tests this doesn't seem fair.
Sure they used a different testing methodology than yours but that doesn't make their results worthless and although I disagree with some of their methodology as well it doesn't negate their results. Just as it doesn't negate yours.
To me these 2 reviews make it clear that a case with good ventilation & 2-3 fans will benefit the 120 VX more than a tower cooler & perhaps skew you in that direction but cases with 1 or no fans should go with a tower cooler for better results.
And yes I am happy to seed the crown of best HSF to the Ultra 120 as I do believe it is the best around at the moment. I just believe that the 120VX is a better cooler in real world cases then you give it credit for as your test setup does not reflect the type of system setup that most people will be using in their PC's.
Still good job Anand Tech for providing a review at all.
Thanks... (boy that was way too long :-)
rjm55 - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
Am I dense? If the down facing fan coolers need case fans to approach cooling as well as the towers with side fans isn't this proof the towers cool better?It is also interesting that Wesley found the down fans and side fan models both benefited from adding a case fan. So what's the point?
DaveLessnau - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
As I mentioned in your last heatsink review, it's because you don't have a case fan. All you're doing with the down-facing fan on this heatsink is circulating the same hot air around and around the case. All it does (all it CAN do) is get hotter. No one in their right mind would run a computer without at least one case fan, ESPECIALLY when over-clocking. In this artificial (and incorrect) test environment you've created, those side-blowing heatsink have a definite advantage since they can force some hot air out through that empty case fan slot.
I realize you did this test in the same environment as the last one so you could compare apples to apples. But, there's no point in a proper comparison across tests when the tests themselves are faulty. Put the case fan back in your test bed and at least re-test one down-blowing and one side-blowing heatsink.
Wesley Fink - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
Our current case does have a PS fan that removes hot air from the top of the case and rear vents to exhaust rear air, but no case fans. All coolers were tested under these consditions.We did test 2 of the down-facing coolers with a rear case fan installed. Cooling performance was improved a few degrees, but overclock remained about the same. We then tried the rear case fan with two of the heatpipe towers. Cooling performace was also improved using a case fan on the heatpipe towers but overclock was almost the same. We suspect that if we were testing with much lower output fans the case fan would make more of a difference.
In the end we would need to retest all coolers with a case fan installed, not just the down-facers. Right now we doubt it would reveal more than we already know, based on quickly checking 4 coolers with a case fan.
Our new test bed will include a "quieter" variable speed PS with a different fan configuration. We will also include a large low-rpm case fan. We do plan to retest a cross-section of the coolers for new baseline results when the new cooler test bed is finalized and updated.
Martimus - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
I know that I have written in both of the previous reviews that blowing the hot air back onto the component is counterproductive, and that turing the fan around would help that part at least. But, the side blowing fan is just a better design. It has better airflow, and doesn't end up with the turbulence and back pressure that a downward facing fan has. Side blowing fans aren't always practical though, because they stick out much farther, and cause much more strain on the motherboard.strikeback03 - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
The height of the VX is 150mm, including the control knob on top, so say 135mm for the top of the fan. Most of the weight is far away from the motherboard. The Tuniqstrikeback03 - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
typo submitted the comment unfinished.The Tuniq is 155mm tall and the Thermalrights 160.5, and I would not be surprised if they put less of a moment on the motherboard due to the mass not being all concentrated at the far end.
Bull Dog - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
Very nice review. I love the dig at Hexus at the end. Their review really did piss me off in the fact that they used such a crappy fan on their Ultra-120.jkostans - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
I agree, this review is 10x better than the Hexus one. The Hexus review was a slap in the face to legit reviews.