The Global WIN VOS32

Global WIN has a long tradition of making heatsinks suitable for overclocking. The VOS32 is their latest heatsink for Slot-type CPUs, and it's larger than any other heatsink made by this manufacturer before. Apart from its size and performance, it has another interesting feature: It's the first heatsink that is suitable for both SECC1-type (Athlon, old P2s) and for SECC2 (P3, newer P2s) CPUs. By default, the clips for SECC1 are installed; if you'd like to install the heatsink on a SECC2 CPU, you can remove the SECC1 clips and use the included SECC2 clips instead.

The heatsink of the VOS32 is significantly higher than the actual CPU, and the fans are located a bit off-center. This set-up allows for better motherboard compatibility. Unfortunately, the VOS32 needs a minor modification to fit the ASUS K7M rev 1.04: six of the pins need to be shortened by 2mm. The modification is easy and can be done very quickly; it also does not affect cooling performance. I suppose that as soon as the VOS32 becomes widely available on the market, retailers will sell VOS32 that are "premodified" for K7M, so as a customer, you will not have to worry about doing the modification yourself.

If you install the VOS32 on a K7M, one DIMM slot will be blocked by the fans. However, there's an easy solution to this problem: You can simply screw the fans on the side of the heatsink. This leaves all of the DIMM slots usable but slightly decreases cooling performance. In my tests, the CPU temperature was about 1°C higher with the VOS32 fans attached to the side of the heatsink.

Details on how to modify the VOS32 for K7M and how to attach the fans to the side of the heatsink can be found here in The Heatsink Guide.

The fans

The VOS32 ships with two 60x25mm YS Tech fans, the same ones that have been used on the popular FDP32/FEP32, FKK32 and VEK32 heatsinks. The fan specs, according to Global WIN, are 26CFM at 4200rpm +/-10%. That's a very high tolerance, +/-10% -- this tolerance is present not only in the specs but also in the actual product. Some of these fans spin at 4500rpm, whereas others spin at only 3900rpm. Nevertheless, the fans provide excellent performance, and according to a few heatsink retailers I questioned, they are also extremely reliable. The disadvantage is that they are very loud, especially the ones spinning at >4400rpm. When choosing a fan, the heatsink manufacturer always has to make a compromise between lower noise or better performance; Global WIN clearly opted for the "best performance" choice.

The VOS32 includes GW-101 thermal compound. This compound may not be the best available on the market, but nevertheless, performance-wise, it is substantially better than the thermal pads found on some other heatsinks.

 

Installation

 

The VOS32 comes with snap-in clips; you simply put the heatsink on the CPU and push down the clips, e.g. with a screwdriver (but a pencil will do if you don't have a screwdriver by hand). Installation is fast and easy; uninstalling the VOS32 is also easy, but it takes a bit more time and also requires a screwdriver. Both fans come with MOLEX connectors and support rpm monitoring; a MOLEX Y-adapter is included, which you can use if you have only one free fan connector on your motherboard.

 

Conclusion

 

The VOS32 provides excellent performance and great versatility, and it is also quite affordable. The only real disadvantage of the VOS32 is the high noise that it creates.
 
VOS-32 at a glance
Fans: Two 60x25mm YS Tech
Fan rpm (measured): 4450
Weight: 440g
Advantages
  • very good cooling performance
  • Suitable both for SECC1 and SECC2
  • not very expensive, considering the performance
  • fans can be mounted on the side, so that no DIMM slots are blocked
Disadvantages
  • very loud
  • needs minor modification to fit K7M
Index The Global WIN VOS32-plus
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