Vantec CCK-7015 1U Copper P4/Xeon Heatsink Review

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The metal m478, m423/m603 socket retention plates. Note the pressure point at the center which presses up against the PCB to hold the copper CCK-7015 heatsink firmly in place.

We received the all copper Vantec CCK-7015 1U Pentium4/Xeon heatsink a while ago, but at the time the mounting plates were not ideally designed for all server-type Xeon boards. Since that time Vantec have told us the metal mounting back plates which hold the heatsink in place would be redesigned to be more universal. The old plates were designed to create a pressure point just behind the socket - fine for boards with bare PCB in that area, but potentially disastrous for Xeon boards which may have capacitors located there.

What the newer mounting back plates look like we can't say... To be on the safe side, if the motherboard you intend on using the Vantec CCK-7015 with has capacitors located on the small square of PCB opposite to the processor socket you'll need to look for another cooling solution. For the rest of you, those with nothing but PCB on the opposite side of the processor socket you are good to go - just remember to drop in the clear plastic sheet to insulate the metal from the motherboard.

The flexibility of this heatsink comes from the fact that with the right mounting plate it can be used on either a 1U Intel Pentium 4 or Xeon socket 603/4 processor. We'll be testing for the P4 platform configuration, but there is no physical difference other than the retention backplate (both are shipped with the heatsink).

'Skiving' is a process where by thin fins of metal are drawn up from a solid flat plate of copper with the aid of a special cutting blade. The remains of that flat plate of copper the fins are attached to forms the base of the actual heatsink. That means the path heat energy has to take from the base to the fins is homogeneous - there are no bonding agents required because the fins and base are actually one unit.

	Heatsink Specsheet: Model: CCK-7015 HS Material: skived copper Fan: YS Tech 4300RPM, 12V, 27 .2 CFM, 0.22A Fan Dim: 10x70x70mm FHS Dimensions: 25x73x90mm Weight: 432 grams Made by: Vantec Sold By: www.vantecusa.com

The Vantec CCK-7015 is a pretty substantial 1U Pentium 4 heatsink. Its long slender microfins are topped off with a 70mm fan that makes good use of the space available to it. In 1U servers there isn't much vertical room to spare, but with an efficient heatsink design the moderate amounts of airflow that can be generated can be put to good use.

Pentium 4 and Xeon mounting system in one. The copper skive fins are thin and plentiful.	Inside holes for Xeon/socket 423 processors. A metal backplate comes with the heatsink for each type of processor.

Now let's take a closer look at the Vantec CCK-7015 and see how it performs on the test platform, and against other 1U socket 478 heatsinks.