Volcano 9: A tip to improve cooling

[lazerin]

By now, I think everyone knows that the volcano 9 heatsink is the same as the volcano 7's. The only difference is the outrageously powerful 76cfm SmartFan II that accompanies it. It is the SmartFan II alone that provides the main cooling power of the V9. However, if you've studied the aerodynamics of the V9 in action, you will see that the Smartfan II, at max rpm, blows out a ton of air, but not all the air can escape because the V9 only has 2 exit points on the sink itself and the shroud severly reduces the area of those exits. This causes a backlog of air and reduces the airflow from the 76cfm to something less (not sure how much, but a considerable amount).

With this in mind, some of you may be wondering whether you can mod the V9 somehow to improve airflow? Well, wonder no more. These good folks have taken the liberty to experiment for you!. Best thing is, this particular mod will NOT void your warranty .

If anyone does decide to take up the mod, please inform us of the improvement (if any) in temps.

Regards,
Lazerin

 

[lazerin]

..

 

[technogeeky]

Whoever wrote that is putting the fan backwards. It's supposed to blow air down onto the HS, not up from it.

 

[Army_Of_1]

good article but their prices are a complete ripoff! I mean no offense but $26 smart fan II, $19 tri led case fans etc.. oh well still a good writeup and good find.

 

[james.miller]

hmmm gonna try that

 

[lazerin]

Regarding the prices....it's in AUD (Australian Dollars). Note my location under my avatar...

So if your in the states, the exhange rate for AUD to US is 56c.
$26AUD is around $14US

 

[lazerin]

Whoever wrote that is putting the fan backwards. It's supposed to blow air down onto the HS, not up from it.

Just wondering, where did you get taht from?

 

[technogeeky]

Thermaltake's website.

Or, at least, for my setup:

http://www.thermalright.com/installation.html

The ThermalRight heatsink

 

[lazerin]

Techno, the article didn't have the fan backward, I was asking where you got the idea that the fan was placed backwards from?

 

[technogeeky]

This improvement is possible due to the heatsink being so tall......

With any type of fan on the market,if you were to put your hand over the opening (intake)of the fan you would hear how the sound changes. Now when I lifted the fan off the heat sink I could hear and feel the fan speed increase and give out better performance..


The fan really only makes noise when you put something up against the input. 2 cm is plenty enough room for air to move out to the side.

 

[lazerin]

The fan also whines when it cant push the air through.

 

[ManOfKnight]

is anyone having bad temps with their Volcano 9?

 

[Kunaak]

Not I.
MY V9 does well at 3200 rpms, with a 166 fsb at 1.775v.
44c average. burning the chip in right now it's 48c. no real complaints about my V9.

 

[Cheesy Peas]

wait... isnt the V9 an all copper unit, where as the 7 is just a copper base?

 

[Robin Hood]

wait... isnt the V9 an all copper unit, where as the 7 is just a copper base?

No. The Volcano 7+ is the all copper HS. The V9 HS has a copper plug and is identical to the V7 HS (except colour) but with the Smart Fan II on top.

 

[lazerin]

Anyone taken up the mod yet?

 

[!ncubus]

I tried it yesterday. i made some wooden spacers and found some longer screws laying around. It actually didn't make much difference to me, maybe 1 or 2 degrees. I'm making my own water cooling setup , so it doesn't really matter anyways. I was getting about 44 celsius on my 1600+, now about 42.

 

[lazerin]

Kewl. Still, it is an improvement even if its not a big one

 

[Zeke968]

My volcano 9 heatsink is now in storage because the temps with it were way too high - 10 degrees higher than my SLK-800a. The coolmod LED adapter is also not being used because it disrupted the airflow. To give TT some credit the smart fan II is awesome

I would have saved some cash if I'd just bought the right stuff to begin with. I will be wary of all TT products in the future.