A Comparison of 34 Coolers for the AMD Athlon XP

Manual Or Automatic: Volcano 9+

The Volcano 9's heat sink consists of an aluminum profile. An orange fan dominates the top. The fan guard is more for decoration than protection against "accidents."

The user can make any number of changes to the fan speed:

• Maximum speed (4,800rpm) using jumper;
• Continuously adjustable speed control using rotary potentiometer: jumper is replaced by potentiometer;
• Automatic speed control jumper is replaced by temperature sensor (on the right of the picture).

We recommend the last variant and advise securing the external temperature sensor to the base of the CPU. This means that the cooler will only make as much noise as is absolutely necessary.

The base of the Volcano 9 has a solid copper core (46mm in diameter) that should ensure very rapid heat distribution over the entire cooler. Because the core penetrates the top of the base plate, the airflow from the cooler can reach it directly. This adds to cooling capabilities.

Loading the CPU to its maximum capacity and then setting the fan speed first to the lowest setting and then to the highest gives the following picture:

The Volcano 9 scores slightly lower in cooling power than its brother. Because of its automatic, ear-soothing fan control, however, we think it's far better for everyday use.