Low noise cooling is a standard requirement for any after market heatsink these days. If the heatsink isn't quiet, well... most consumers aren't interested. To that end heatsinks have gotten big. Really big. The simple reason is that a slow spinning 120mm fan operates fairly quietly, and that size will provide sufficient fin space to get the cooling job done. In this review Frostytech is evaluating a heatsink made by Titan called the Cool Idol TTC-NK75TZ. It is basically identical to the Evercool Transformer 6 heatsink we tested previously.

Titan's Cool Idol heatsink is made from three separate aluminum fin sections joined to a copper base by six 6mm diameter copper heatpipes. The heatsink uses one 120mm PWM fan mounted on vibration absorbing rubber posts that is capable of spinning from 800-2200RPM. The use of six heatpipes and three aluminum fin sections is fairly unique, but at 850 grams in weight the Cool Idol is seriously under supported. The bulk of the heatsink hangs heavy on the fragile copper heatpipes, so right out of the box it was leaning to one side.

While compatible with both Intel socket 775 and AMD socket 754/939/940/AM2 processors, as of this writing Intel's socket 1366 is not supported. The retail price for the Titan Cool Idol heatsink is expected to be in the region of $48CDN ($48USD).

Titan Cool Idol Heatsink

heatsink specsheet manufacturer: titan model no.: cool idol (ttc-nk75tz) materials: aluminum fins, copper base and heatpipes fan mfg: titan tfd-12025h12zp fan spec: 800-2200rpm, 12v, 0.32a pwm fan dim: 25x120x120mm heatsink & fan dim: 126x163x142mm weight: est. 850 grams includes: mounting bracket, thermal compound, fan speed controller, instructions Compatible with Sockets: 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+, 775 Est. Pricing: $48USD ($48CDN)

The 120mm fan used with the Titan Cool Idol TTC-NK75TZ heatsink is held in position with four vibration absorbing rubber mounting posts. The rubber posts fit through the standard screw holes in the fan frame, and keep it elevated just above the tips of the aluminum fins. If the fan motor happens to develop vibrations down the road, the rubber 'shock absorbers' can reduce that from becoming noise.

Out of the box the Idol TTC-NK75TZ heatsink had a visible bend in the heatpipes to one side. The mass of the fan and aluminum fins is only supported by four heatpipes, so it doesn't take much effort to flex them. Resist the urge to bend the upper portion of the heatsink back to level, you may crack the heatpipes in doing so. Whatever bending has happened shouldn't affect performance significantly.

Installation Hardware

Titan's Cool Idol heatsink is compatible with Intel socket 775 and AMD socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+ processors. The heatsink uses two metal brackets which attach to the base that allow it to mesh with an Intel/AMD rear motherboard support plate. The screws holding the heatsink in place are threaded from the rear, into the upper bracket.

This can make installation a little tricky. On top of the juggling act, you'll also need to remove the motherboard from the computer chassis. Supplied with the heatsink is a syringe of good quality thermal compound and a small manual PCI bracket fan speed controller.

FrostyTech's Test Methodologies are outlined in detail here if you care to know what equipment is used, and the parameters under which the tests are conducted. Now let's move forward and take a closer look at this heatsink, its acoustic characteristics, and of course its performance in the thermal tests!