The Vantec CCK-6035D

It seemed natural to compare two titans of socket-370/7/A cooling: the CCK-6035D and the FCE-62540D. Same fans, same grease (supplied in the box), one heatsink of aluminum and one primarily of copper. I dug up the old specs and setup my test rig to put the gold monster through its paces.

CPU	Intel Pentium 3 700 @ 980MHz
Heatsink & Fan	Vantec CCK-6035D & FCE-62540D (VantecUSA)
Motherboard	Asus CUSL2 rev 1.02 w/1006a BIOS (provided by AD of K)
Memory	Mushkin 128MB CAS2 PC133 (256MB total)
Hard Drive	IBM 30GB 75GXP 7200 RPM ATA100
CD-ROM	Plextor 16-10-40 CD-RW
Sound Card	SB Live! Value
Video Cards	Creative GeForce GTS 32MB
Case	InWin S500 w/PowerMan 300W Supply
Software	3DMark 2001: default benchmark test

It should be noted that the excellent S500 ATX case was used for testing. What's so exciting about this arrangement isn't necessarily the super mid tower setup with a horizontally mounted power supply, but its fantastic air flow characteristics. Without the aid of any other case fans, the S500 manages to hold the inside temperature close to the ambient outside temperature.

CPU Temperature Comparison

The 6035 plainly bests the aging 62540, which is still a great product, but fits in fewer applications. At idle, the 5º rise compared the the aluminum cousin is negligible. Now, a 2º and 1º drop in the high and average temps respectively seems insignificant but remember how difficult it is to keep a current hungry P3 below 110ºF when playing Unreal Tournament or Quake3. By merely swapping out the metallic content, Vantec has managed to raise the bar once again and to that end deserves proper recognition.

That fan is a double edged sword. Back in the 90's, bragging rights were held by many who had a half dozen fans and a peltier or two. When an unsuspecting visitor pushed the power button, they were greeted by a whoosh that sounded more at home on an airport runway than in a home. Those days have long passed and now a growing trend is to save our collective ears. Nearing the seven grand mark when cranked up, the fan is obnoxious. The whine produced could easily annoy even the casual web surfer, it certainly did me. When I sit down, I might not leave my office for 3-5 hours and any howling sound, beit from a fan or unruly dogs is not welcome. Rather than continue with this rant, have a listen for yourself.

The dBA tests confirmed the ludicrous noise level. While you don't have to shout over the whoosh and whine, its din over time could create quite the headache for some. The power drain was enormous for a three pin motherboard header. Almost touching the 5 watt mark, you'll have to check your MB manufacturer to see if the current drain (400mA) will exceed recommended specs.

If you're contemplating building a high end anything or are deaf or don't care about possibly becoming deaf, buy the CCK-6035D. The heatsink design maximizes motherboard compatibility and heat dissipation. It's the largest heatsink/fan arrangement that I can use on a wide variety of Mobo's. For a slight reduction in performance, you could swap the fan for a 4500 rpm cheapie.

The price is somewhat high, but when you're assembling that great P4 or T'bird creation, who cares about spending $10-$12 more than normal for a cool heatsink & fan? You won't hear any objections from me.

William Yaple
07/17/01