Introduction

It is amazing that Thermaltake has been around for only seven years. It seems like computer users have been using their products longer than that. For me it seems ages ago when I bought my first Thermaltake heatsink: a Golden Orb. From there I bought memory cooling kits, a Blue Orb, and a Volcano 7. I have been pleased with all the Tt products I’ve used (and abused), and continue to buy them today. All of the case fans in my current system are Tt Thunderblade fans and would recommend them to anyone.
A while back Thermaltake introduced the Big Typhoon, and the hardware community was stunned and amazed by this monster. The Big Typhoon was not the first heatpipe heatsink available, but it was one of the first with six pipes, and one of the first with a huge 120mm fan. Thermaltake seems to always be aware of the overclocking community’s need for high performance. So, why don’t we take a look at this beast and see what it can do?

From the Thermaltake website:

Features:

• Application for Intel P4 LGA 775, and AMD K7, K8
• 6 Heatpipes, transfer the heat quickly
• High density aluminum fins provide more surface area for good heat dissipation
• Copper base solder, perfect contact to ensure the best performance
• 12 cm silent fan, perform well at low noise, 16dB only

Specifications:

Packaging

The package is the plastic clam-shell type. No blister packs and no need for sharp objects to get the heatsink out. The package is easy to open and reseal, just in case for some reason you might need to reuse the packaging someday. On the front is the traditional red and black color scheme we have seen from Thermaltake for a while now, and the huge 120mm fan is staring at you right from the middle. Flip the package over and you can see some nice color pictures of everything included in the kit, and the specs are listed as well.


Included in the package are the heatsink itself and a small black box containing the mounting hardware.

A Closer Look

Probably the first thing you will notice about this cooler is the sheer size of it. Even before I purchased this cooler I was unsure about how well it would fit in my system, even after getting the measurements from the website. I was mostly unsure of the height and whether it would conflict with the case fans installed in the side window. I’ll show you later how close it really was.


The heatsink consists of the black and orange style fan, two arrays of aluminum fins suspended by six copper heatpipes, all leading down to a copper base.


The base itself is like most Tt heatsinks, as it is not shiny or lapped to a mirror finish. Instead, it is covered with mill marks and seems slightly rough to a fingernail being scratched across it. I was definitely disappointed to see that the razor test showed quite a bit of light passing through the center of the heatsink, meaning it was not flat but indeed concave. I wouldn’t mind so much if I was using this cooler in a CPU with a small exposed core, but I have an Opteron with the IHS still intact.


On top of this behemoth is the 120mm fan and a chrome grill sporting the Tt logo. Thermaltake has been using their orange and black style fans for a while now. While the color scheme might not match the rest of the fans in your system, it definitely does stand out from the crowd. I would say the fan is quiet, but definitely not silent. It has a medium pitch whine to it, but it may not be noticeable over other fans in your system.


Under the fan you can see that the aluminum fins are two separate sections, and the Thermaltake website lists that there are 142 fins (71 on each array). The fins are extremely thin, and surrounded by a shroud which helps to mount the fan to the heatsink. The shroud itself is held on to the heatsink by four screws, two on each side.


Thermaltake has taken the extra step and sleeved the fan for you in a white cloth-type sleeving.


Finally we see the box of mounting hardware, which also includes a printed color installation sheet.