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The
package In Typical Vantec style the Aeroflow is proudly
displayed nestled in its clear plastic packaging. From the front it's the TMD
fan that grabs the attention immediately, it's certainly different looking enough
to make you want to look a little closer. 
While
at the back you get to see the thoughtful inclusion of a mini syringe of Stars
350 thermal compound and a small fan-fold leaflet that sets out the technology
used to theoretically make this cooler more efficient than anything similar that
might be sharing the shelf or lurking close by. 
With
the package removed I think it's fair to say that the TMD fan is still the dominating
Feature. For those of you who aren't familiar with the principle of YSTech's TMD
(Tip Magnetic Driving) fan, the idea is that the bulky motor windings are moved
from the centre of the fan and replaces by four smaller windings situated at the
four corners of the square fan enclosure. This obviously reduces the mass of the
central hub which means a smaller dead zone and so potentially more airflow. It
also means lower power consumption, better torque and balance and less noise.
The
noise reduction comes as a result of the TMD fan not having any fan blade tips,
the primary source of fan noise. Instead the blades stretch from the central hub
to an outer ring with only a leading and trailing edge and no blade tip. The
fan Vantec opted for was the slightly bigger 39dBA model PD1270155B-2F. Being
a 70mm fan this allows for greater airflow at much lower noise levels, particularly
when combined with the TMD technology, but it also limits what you can use in
its place should the fan fail or should you decide you want to use something else
instead. My biggest concern with the fans is that some seem
to be better balanced than others. Although the fan on the test unit was great,
I also have an identical fan here that vibrates like....well, best not to go there!
The addition of the solid outer ring means that it's far easier for these fans
to be out of balance, and you know what your car's like when the wheels need balancing.
Quiet it may be in terms of the motor but if some vibrate like the one I have
in my drawer here you'd better hope there are no loose panels on your case or
it'll drive you insane! 
The
side-on view gives the impression that large sections of this sink are solid aluminium
without fins cut into it but this isn't the case. Each corner of the sink rotates
the fin orientation through 90 degrees so the what looks like it is a solid block
is actually a side view of the next set of fins. The retaining clip is entirely
toolless and though it's quite stiff it's a whole lot easier than most SocketA
coolers you'll have used. 
With
the fan removed and looking from the top we can see that Vantec have opted to
use a copper slug machine pressed into the aluminium sink body. This makes for
rapid heat dispersion from the core while in theory the aluminium should be more
efficient than the copper at dispersing that heat to the air. I'm not sure what
the reasoning is behind recessing the centre portion of the sink other than it
requires less copper. I can't imagine there are any cooling benefits to doing
this. 
From
the bottom we can see the relatively small contact area of the copper slug, it
certainly doesn't cover much more than half the surface area of a P4 heat spreader,
though to be fair it is the hottest part that's contacted. The base shows some
light machining swirls but is otherwise very flat. 
Of
slightly more concern to me was the fact that the copper slug was actually very
slightly proud of the rest of the base. It's not easy to see but the picture below
shows the light shining through the gaps as I placed a mobile phone swipe card
on the copper. 
If
this is a design feature then someone should perhaps explain to me the benefits.
I'm more inclined to think it's a manufacturing flaw, and hopefully one that's
limited to our review sample rather than a product wide fault. Having
seen this problem I was a little concerned about the performance levels we'd witness. | 
