Vantec CCK-6035D Heat Sink

Date Reviewed: August 3, 2001
Reviewed By: Jason Rabel
Company: VantecUSA

Production Update:

Shortly after finishing up the July Heat Sink Comparison, Vantec sent me a couple of their "Final Production" model CCK-6035D heat sinks. I figured I should test it out to see how it compared to the earlier model that they sent me that was used in the big comparison. At first glance they looked identical, but upon closer inspection I was able to find a few differences between the two.

Pre-Production Model:

The preproduction model, which was used in the July Heat Sink Comparison, was an excellent performer and quite a technological leap in Vantec cooling. 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 the "black label" 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)

Production Run Model:

The production run model that Vantec sent me doesn't really show any major design changes. The first thing I noticed is that the base was machined much smoother than the pre-production model. (Forgive my picture of the base, after testing I set it on something and it made that smudge mark.) One thing I forgot to mention before was the excellent clip design. It's nothing fancy, but it definitely gets the job done! The clip doesn't require the use of a screwdriver, and is very easy to put on and take off. Two thumbs up for Vantec! One difference I noticed is the change in the fan, the production run model isn't the "black label" that everyone is used to, this one actually had a delta sticker and model number. Lastly, the way the fins were soldered on the base seemed a little bit "cleaner", but the fin count and shape remains the same.

Testing:

Why bother test them if they look the same? Well, in the past we have seen coolers that look the same, however perform drastically different (the replica's of the golden orb's come to mind). In all honestly I wouldn't think Vantec would make a final model that would perform worse than their prototypes, that just wouldn't make any sense. So I clamped down the heat sinks on the Athlon rig and proceeded to test them out. If you would like to read more about the whole testing methodology and specs, check out this page of the July Heat Sink Roundup. Anyhow, here's a rundown of the numbers:

Conclusions:

I would have to say they perform equally well, the difference in temperature is probably attributed to the room warming up. I really like this heat sink from Vantec, it's simple, efficient, and reasonable priced (About $34 USD).

*UPDATE* - Since a few people have complained about my conclusion I figured I should say a little more about this. First of all, I'm not going to give an in-depth opinion about a heat sink that I already did talk about in the July Heat Sink Comparison. If you want to read all about it, read the conclusion page there. Sure I could of dragged out this review to a few pages and talked much about nothing, and probably compared it with some heat sinks again, but that would of wasted my time & yours, and I don't do that crap just so I can get the page impressions. The purpose of this review was to merely make sure that the final production run of the Vantec heat sink was on par with the pre-production model we received before. As for the room temperature increase, if you read the stated "Ambient Temperature" it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what the minimum & maximum temperatures of the room were. Basically when I started testing it was 84.3F with the first heat sink, and after all the testing the room temperature rose to 84.9F. It's very hard to control the room temperature during the hot summer with all the computer equipment on. So the .4F increase in heat sink temp is still less than the .6F increase in room temp. If you subtracted out the temperature then you would find the production model actually performed .2F BETTER than the pre-production.

VantecUSA was kind enough to send out a couple of these to us so it would only be fair to give a couple away. If you would like a chance to win one, head on over to the contest page and drop your name in the box!

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