Conroe heatsink group test

Thermaltake Mini Typhoon

Price: £25.50 inc VAT
Supplier: KustomPCs
Manufacturer: ThermalTake

The Thermatake Mini typhoon is the only heat sink in this group test to boast an all copper construction. As its name implies it’s a smaller version of the Big Typhoon, and its structure is nearly identical to the 120mm monster.

It uses the same design, with six separate heat pipes threading through the copper base, and then through the copper fins. Only three of the heat pipes can be pointing in an upward direction, when the heat sink is used in a tower case.




Base: The Mini typhoon uses a very similar base to the large version, but it isn’t so infernally heavy. This means it can use the standard Intel clips that work so well on all the other coolers. The mounting system itself is another story entirely.

The pins are attached to a plate that slots into a pair of guides on top of the CPU block. Unfortunately it doesn’t stay in the guide when you’re tying to clip the pins into the board. Invariably when you pop one pin in, the plate hops out of the guide leaving you fumbling as you try to slot it back in. Meanwhile you’re holding the heatsink in place with the other hand and cursing vehemently.

Noise: The caseless 92mm fan is, as you might expect, noisier than the 120mm unit on the Big Typhoon. What you might not expect is how much noisier it actually is. While it doesn’t suffer from the interminable buzzing that the Vapochill Micro made, it has its own particular deviance.

When the fan’s running it makes a gentle howling sound. A mixture of whooshing and thrumming, it sounds very much like an 80mm PSU fan. It also uses a three-pin plug, instead of the Intel four-pin, but this is to be expected from a heat sink that fits both LGA775 and Athlon 64 heat sinks.

Performance: When it came down to it, the Mini typhoon just couldn’t keep up with the big feller. Instead of equalling, or even coming near the Big Typhoon’s cooling performance, it only managed to cool 4°C lower than reference on our loaded test CPU.

Conclusion: Given that it’s more expensive, louder, and doesn’t perform as well as the Freezer, AK-960, or the Auras the Mini Typhoon is impossible to recommend. Even though it’s constructed entirely out of copper, the unit seems unable to provide as much cooling as the Aluminium finned units on test.

Score:

Value 1
Performance 1
Noise level 2
Assembly and mounting difficulty 2
Quality and aesthetic 2

Overall 1