A couple of years ago a handful of companies released coolers which had TECs (Thermo Electric Coolers) implemented. Unfortunately they proved not to be the most efficient cooling solution and they are still remembered as a project which “just went wrong”. They had three major problems. First, their extreme power requirements required an external power source. Second, their performance was good only when the processor was not loaded. Finally, they were exceptionally expensive. These problems forced the companies to discontinue the TEC coolers and no other company released any kind of air based TEC cooler since, well that is until now. Titan just released a CPU cooler, codenamed Amanda, which is a massive heatpipe cooler aided by a TEC. Titan managed to overcome many of the problems of a TEC cooler, yet not all of them. We also still question the capabilities of the cooler as it is using a much smaller TEC than old coolers, so we will test it and see how it really performs on the hottest processor currently available, the Pentium 4 D9XX series, considerably overclocked.

Features

• Newest cooling design by combining TEC (Thermo-Electric Cooler) and heatpipe solution
• Smart cooling to maintain optimal temperatures for the CPU without condensation issues
• International patents, including USA, Germany, China, etc.
• Extremely low thermal resistance provides utmost cooling performance
• Super silent cooling operation
• Safety alarm system in case of the unlikely situation of the cooler malfunction

Specifications

Cooler Dimension	140 x 95 x 170mm
Thermoelectric Chip	40 x40 mm / 12V DC
Power Consumption	0% Loading / 5w 50% Loading / 28w 100% Loading / 50w
Heat Sink Material	4 heatpipes, Aluminium Fins & Copper Base
Heat Sink Dimension	90 x 90 x 160mm (D x W x H)
Fan Dimension	92 x 92 x 32mm
Fan Voltage Rating	12V DC
Fan Speed & Noise Level	1500RPM / <20 dBA
Weight	1035g (with tow Fans)
Thermal Resistance	0.12 -0.15(C/W)
Control Interface System	PCI Card
TEC Temperature Response TIme	< 1 second
Power Input	12V DC / 5A
Controller Dimensions	136 x 121 x 21 mm ( D x W x H )
Weight	50g

 

Packaging and bundle

The Amanda cooler is supplied in a box which instantly betrays the humongous size of the cooler. The package itself is larger than most power supply unit packages we have seen. Part of the cooler is visible from the side, while a handle is present on top. The package is attractive enough and well designed, so it can easily protect the cooler from transportation damage.

The first item which you will notice in the package is the PCI control card, which the cooler uses to control and power the integrated TEC. The card can also monitor the status of the cooler and has an alarm installed, in case something goes wrong. Diagnostic LED lights are present at the backplate of the PCI card. You will also find a cable to connect the cooler to the card, but also to the motherboard fan headers for fan speed monitoring. The fans are powered via the PCI card. There is the rear retention bracket, which is slightly insulated, the necessary screws and threads and a tube of Titan’s thermal grease, ‘Nano grease’. We found the grease particularly good and decided to use this during our testing instead of AS Ceramique. Finally, there are two weight balancing cables for you to tie the cooler to your case chassis in order to reduce its massive weight strain somewhat. We found that they are not necessary if the cooler is well mounted and the case is still, but they are highly recommended if you are going to move your system often.