Thermaltake Big Typhoon
1. Introduction
Thermaltake Big Typhoon - 01 - Introduction
Thermaltake is one of the most recognizable brands when it comes to cases, cooling solutions and generally modding accessories. Their products feature great design, efficiency and innovation. Thermaltake has given us the chance to take a close look at its latest HSF (Heat Sink Fan) labeled Big Typhoon.
How it works :
The copper base on the bottom of the cooler is placed on your CPU (we'll see how later on). As soon as the processor heats up, the heat is transferred to the base which in turn transfers the heat to a special liquid flowing inside the 6 copper heatpipes. This liquid flows through the heatpipes towards their colder ends which parcel out the heat across the 142 aluminium fins of the cooler. There, the 12cm fan takes over whose sole purpose is to cool these fins.
As you can see, the secret behind this design of the Big Typhoon is located in the heatpipes. The continuous flow of the hot liquid away from the base, towards the fan and inversely the colder liquid towards the copper base attached to the processor, is what keeps the temperature down.
Here are the detailed specifications as provided by ThermalTake:
Product name | Big Typhoon |
Heatsink Dimension | 122 x 122 x 103 mm |
Heatsink Material | Copper Base & Aluminum Fin (142Fin) |
Fan Dimension | 120 x 120 x 25 mm |
Rated Voltage | 12V |
Started Voltage | 7V |
Power Input | 3.6W |
Fan Speed | 1300 ±10% RPM |
Compatibility | Intel P4 LGA775 Intel P4 478 Prescott FMB1.5 AMD Athlon 64 / Athlon 64 FX AMD Athlon XP up to 3400+ AMD Sempron up to 3400+ |
Heatpipe | Copper Tube ( 6 mm) x 6pcs |
Max.Air Flow | 54.4 CFM |
Max.Air Pressure | 1.87 mm H2O |
Noise | 16dBA |
Connector | 3 Pin |
Weight | 813 g (28.70 oz) |
The Big Typhoon is a relatively silent cooler. It generates noise at a level of only 16dBA which will most probably make it indistingishable from the other fans in your computer. The 12cm fan spins at 1300rpm, a lot less than the majority of HSFs, something that contributes a good deal to the silent operation of the Big Typhoon.
Another great achievement of the Big Typhoon is its compatibility. You can install the cooler in all different kinds of sockets without any modification at all, just by choosing the right mounts on the H clips included with the product. More on that later.
The Big Typhoon HSF as a whole, takes up space of 12cm x 12cm x 14cm and weighs 813 grams. That's almost a kilo which will be hanging off your motherboard. However, the copper heatpipes are strong enough so as not to bend and also most of the weight is centered on the base. So there's no need to worry that it will damage your motherboard or your processor. Let's see in detail, how to install the Big Typhoon on an LGA775 socket P4 processor.