Installation :

The Big Typhoon’s installation bracket is designed to be used with the default motherboard back plate; however some motherboards use a custom back plate which is incompatible with this installation method. In that case you are advised to use the back plate included with the Big Typhoon. The manual included outlines this clearly and explains with pictures how to check if the Typhoon will fit straight away or not.

Motherboard removal was necessary in my case, as I could not reach the screws otherwise (the PSU was blocking the path) and the DFI NF3 back plate is one of those on the not compatible list.



Placed back inside the case, the BT takes up quite a bit of room, but clears the DDR slots as well as the caps around the CPU socket; its small base and height make the BT compatible with practically all motherboards out there.



Performance and Noise :

I’ve seen plenty of topics in different enthusiast forums regarding which heatsink somebody should purchase to get the best performance/noise ratio. I’ve compared the Big Tyhpoon in the graphs below to the Scythe Ninja and Thermalright SI-120 in hopes to provide some answers.

First at stocks speeds:



The included fan is really a winner in my book; it offers performance on par with the Papst 120mm. As you can see with the Papst @ 100% the difference between the Ninja, SI-120 and BT is negligible. However when the fan’s speed is halved the BT falls back and trails the Ninja by a good 5-6°C.

Let’s turn up the heat:



The Big Typhoon is right up there with the best heatsinks currently available; the 2-3°C difference is well within my margin of error.

The Verdict:

Thermaltake has made a winner, the Big Typhoon really impressed me, for a lower price than the competition you get a high quality heatsink and excellent 120mm fan – used together they deliver performance on par with the best out there.

The BT fits all current CPU sockets and is fairly easy to install, although you do need to remove the motherboard. I advise to use the included metal mounting plate if your Athlon 64 motherboard has a plastic one, weighing in at 813gr it’s a wise thing to do.

PRO
Excellent performance
High compatibility
Included 120mm fan offers good performance/noise ratio
Very competitively priced

CON
Weighs over 800 gram – use of metal mounting plate advised (comes included)
At VERY low fan speed performance is less stellar

Where to buy?

Extra note: An XtremeSystems forum member has done a simple yet nifty modification of his Big Typhoon using a piece of foam. It forces all the air to go through the heatsink's fins and increases performance a bit. Not a bad find!


Photo by davexl from XS.org

Last newcomer in this roundup is the AMD retail heatsink equipped with heat pipes ->