Should I get a Volcano 9?

[Lonyo]

I have a friend with a spare one of these I could get cheap, I'm not worried by noise, I ALWAYS listen to music on my computer, but how good is the cooling? I'm looking for 2GHz+ with a 1700+ T=Bred B and Abit NF7 nForce 2 mobo.

He has a couple of other options as well, can't remember what they are exactly, I'll try and post if/when I find out.

Any advice on what I might achieve with the 9 is appreciated.

 

[brucehao]

I had a Volcano 7+ but not a 9. I HATED it. It was really, really loud and was not that effective of a cooler either. I know you said you don't mind the noise which is your decision to make, but you can find much better coolers out there than the ones from Thermaltake. You should probably look into something from Thermalright, Swiftech, or Alpha.

 

[deerslayer]

I wouldn't, but that's just me. I haven't heard many good things about them. You would probably get better cooling from an SLK800 or SLK900.

 

[mastay]

No. ThermalTake HSF = crap. SLK800 or 900 is obviously good, but if you are on a budget, look at the SK7. Quite a bit cheaper, but only marginally worse. From my experience Vocalno7+ on highest spin is nowhere as good as SK7 with a 1900RPM panaflo fan. I know for a fact taht Volcano 9 is worse than 7+. Plus, if he is dumping it, he probably has a good reason...

 

[LordUnum]

Originally posted by: mastay
No. ThermalTake HSF = crap. SLK800 or 900 is obviously good, but if you are on a budget, look at the SK7. Quite a bit cheaper, but only marginally worse. From my experience Vocalno7+ on highest spin is nowhere as good as SK7 with a 1900RPM panaflo fan. I know for a fact taht Volcano 9 is worse than 7+. Plus, if he is dumping it, he probably has a good reason...

I've had a good experience w/the Volcano 6Cu. The fan's quiet and it keeps my modestly overclocked AthlonXP cool. Of course, the black thermal gunk and the ridges on the copper mating surface had to go. After a good lapping and some AS2, it's a decent HSF.

The 6Cu+ on the other hand... = MIND NUMBING NOISE! :Q

 

[fhetw]

look for a SLK800A or MCX462, the slk900 doesnt seem to be worth the extra money compared to the 800a.
since your 1700+ is a b you should have no trouble getting to 2ghz on that setup. what ram are you planning on using?
depending on the stepping of the cpu you might get 2.3+

 

[eklass]

i really like my volcano 9. 0when i stick the thermal probe on there it usually stays at a low fan speed.. i never really notice it increse in speed, but that may be because i'm involved in games...

volcano 9's thermal sensor actually goes on the under side of the cpu instead of testing ambient temperature like the volcano 7 does...

 

[Nerdwannabe]

If you are looking for V9 then you should go uy a Cooler Master's HAC-V81 (X Dream). Those 2 are quite similar and X dream can be found for like $13 ea. vs V9's near $20.