Acoustic Performance

Now let’s check out the noise levels with the original and alternative fan from Scythe:

As you see, Thermaltake BigTyp 14Pro stays within the subjective comfort zone at the minimal fan rotation speed. However, at the max speed of ~1470 RPM you will hardly be able to use it for a long time. It is interesting that despite higher rotation speed of the Scythe fan, new Thermaltake cooler works quieter with it when tested at a 1m distance, which seems to be the most practical distance. Kaze Maru has more fan blades, it rotates about 200 RPM faster in quiet mode, but still generates less noise than Thermaltake’s default fan in the plastic frame. By the way, this frame doesn’t resound in the heatsink, so it is hardly the source of the problem. I believe it is most likely the height of the fan that matters here.

Conclusion

Well, I can conclude with all certainty that Thermaltake BigTyp 14Pro represents one more highly efficient CPU cooling solution for overclocking needs. Yes, the new cooler is not cheap and not ultra-quiet, but it is undoubtedly efficient. It is a definite step forward from the good old Big Typhoon, but still not a jump forward, as many of you may have expected. In fact, we can hardly expect contemporary air cooling systems to reveal any revolutionary efficiency improvements.

Anyway, there is room for Thermaltake BigTyp 14Pro to improve. First of all, its heatsink effective surface could be larger and the upper and lower rows of heatpipes inside the heatsink could be shifted a bit. They could also try using a fan with side panels, i.e. framed fan, and make the heatsink plates of variable height on air flow entry. It would be good to throw in a universal backplate and LGA1366 retention kit and replace the disastrous SilMORE thermal compound with something more efficient. And most importantly may the manufacturer never forget that overclockers are ready to welcome new successful cooling solutions more often than once every three years :)