The included 3-speed fan control is a very nice touch. With the V7 Thermaltake made it unique by making the fan temp controlled and here they went a step further by including this. It's just a simple control which as you see I used velcro to attach it. It's 1 3/4 inch long and an inch high and the sides are not covered. But if you don't leave your side panel off then you must make a hole to fit the control through. Of course you don't want to be opening the side panel each time to control the fan speed. Look closely at the above pic, notice any speeling mistakes?

• Shuttlke AK-31 rev. 3.1
• AMD Athlon XP 1700+
• 512 pc2100 crucial ddr
• maxtor ata 100 7200rpm hd
• ambient temp at 68 degrees F

AMD XP 1700+ at default speed

AMD XP 1700+ overclocked to XP 1800+ (1540)

The good is it does cool very well, even on low speed. The heatsink itself is among the best there is and a better performer than the SK6. The bad is it can be a bear to install and the fan is annoyingly loud on medium and high speeds. Only on low is it tolerable. But for those of you who aren't bothered by those screamin' delta fans then forget my previous statement. The Ugly is the heatsink bottom should have been polished to a smoother finish.

• cools very well even on low speed
• 3-speed fan control
• all one-piece copper heatink
• handsome design
• comes with a seperate connector for showing fan speed
• if you later get a P4 setup this will still work with it

• fan is loud on medium and high speeds
• bottom is not polished smooth
• can be difficult to install

It's a winner at cooling, no doubt about that! My main wish was that Thermaltake would have included a fan which was more quiet on medium speed. But frankly using just the low speed it didn't interfere with any overclocking I did. That's more of a compliment to the most excellent heatsink and it's one-piece construction. But in those hot summer months using the medium and high settings will probably be needed and it is nice knowing you have those options thanks to the 3-speed fan control. But again, where to put it if you don't leave your side panel off. You must drill a hole to place it outside your case to make the control more convenient. If you are looking for a new and better cooling solution than what you currently have then the Volcano 7+ is certainly one to consider. Thanks goes out to Thermaltake for sending us the V7+ for this review. It is no doubt the best yet from Thermaltake.