Socket-A Heat Sink Comparison

Date Reviewed: July 3, 2001
Reviewed By: Jason Rabel
Companies: GlobalWinUSA, VantecUSA, Thermosonic, Thermaltake, PowerCooler

What's on the platter?:

In this roundup I have compared 6 of the most popular & latest heat sinks. Most of these heat sinks you have seen before, however the newcomers are the Vantec CCK-6035D which is a pretty big all copper heat sink, and the Thermaltake Dragon Orb 3 which is a copper / aluminum mix with a 7000 RPM fan. The rest of the heat sinks we have reviewed in previous comparisons but are here for comparison purposes against these new ones.

The actual lineup of coolers is as follows:

• Vantec CCK-6035D

• Thermaltake Dragon Orb 3

• GlobalWin CAK38

• GlobalWin WBK38

• Thermosonic Thermoengine

• Power Cooler PCH137

Vantec CCK-6035D:

Vantec has really put forth the extra effort in the CCK-6035D. While the design may look similar to their previous non-copper FCE-6030D, if you look a little closer you can see they are two totally separate designs. The CCK-6035D is basically a bunch of parts that have been soldered together. The base is solid copper, with a reinforcing bar through the middle where the clip is (probably to prevent the base from warping), and there are a bunch of rows of thin fins of copper which look like they clip together and have been soldered to the base. Then there is an anodized aluminum cover (it almost matches the copper color) which the fan mounts on top, and the cover forces the airflow over the fins. The standard fan is a Delta 38CFM and includes finger-guard. A 3-4 pin adapter and silicone compound is also included in the box.

(click on image for close-up)

Thermaltake Dragon Orb 3:

Thermaltake has also been doing a little R&D lately and has come up with a whole line of Dragon Orbs. The Dragon Orb 1 has an aluminum base, the Dragon Orb 2 has two sets of radial fins, and the Dragon Orb 3 has a copper base. To say the DO3 has a copper base is an understatement. It looks like a huge cylinder of copper has been machined with the flat base on one side, and the rows of pins on the other, then the aluminum radial fins and the rest of the base were pressed into place around the copper slug. The Dragon Orb 3 also has a 7000 RPM Everflow fan pumping 38CFM of air into this beast to keep it cool. The Dragon Orb 3 is very reminiscent of Thermaltake's earlier design, the Copper Orb. You could almost say the Dragon Orb 3 is an industrial strength version of the Copper Orb.

(click on image for close-up)

GlobalWin CAK38:

The CAK38 shouldn't be new to anyone, it has been for sale for quite some time and is very popular. The design is simplistic enough, it's just one big hunk of copper. The fan, like most other heat sinks use, is the black label 38CFM delta, however it is mounted on some spacers to raise it from the heat sink.

(click on image for close-up)

GlobalWin WBK38:

The WBK38 is the successor to the FOP38, neither of which contain any copper. The WBK38 gives near copper performance at a significantly lower price than the bigger all copper heat sinks.

(click on image for close-up) 

On To Page 2 For The Rest -->