Thinking about getting a TRUE

[ExodusC]

Hey guys. So, today I broke my Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro; or at least two of the pushpins. (Are these replaceable? Can I take the ones from my stock HSF off and put them on it?)

Anyways, I've seriously been thinking about upgrading my heatsink. The Freezer 7 Pro is decent, but it just can't cool my Q6600 B3 adequately, as I have it running at 3.2GHz. It is idling around 65C with the Intel stock HSF, and with all 4 cores at full it will load to 100C+, so this is no good. I've known for a long while the TRUE is the top heatsink, but before I spend $50 on one, I have some questions.


Are there currently any HSFs beating the TRUE right now (that are not ridiculously expensive)?
Are there TRUEs that actually have a flat base?
Are any TRUEs really effective without lapping?
Is lapping the base very difficult for someone with no experience?
Anyone recommend a pre-lapped one?
Anyone recommend buying a lapping kit? (Just comes with a very flat surface and various grit sandpapers, I think they're about $5-10)
What about fans? Why is the Scythe S-Flex so popular if it only has 40CFM? (I see fans with around 110CFM)


Seems like a lot of questions, but I want to think about it before I buy. I really think if I get a TRUE it will last me a long while. I have an old 120mm Cooler Master case fan from the back of a Cooler Master Centurion 5 case, I'm not sure if that would be an adequate fan for the TRUE, as I have no idea on the CFM of it. I also have some Arctic Cooling MX-2 (the reason I took my Freezer 7 Pro off the in first place) ready to put on a TRUE if I get one.

I'm really looking forward to hearing some responses from you guys.

[[XC] 4X4N]

(1) There are other heatsinks that are comparable with the TRUE, but it is still probably the top one.

(2) I don't think any of them have a flat base, I have 2 and both bases were horrible.

(3) I lapped both of mine and gained about 3-5° at load.

(4) Lapping is a pia, but not that hard. It's real awkward to hold while lapping.

(5) Just get some 400-800 grit sandpaper at any auto store.

As for fans, I've found the TRUE performs a lot better with higher pressure fans. The dense fins don't work as well with low speed fans. I use Panaflo MB1A's with mine. Kind of old school, but they work great.

I think for the money, the Xigmatek S1283 is the way to go. I also have 2 of those, both on Q6600's, and they are within a few degrees of my TRUE's.

[[cTx] Nooc]

You'll want to lap your true just to get rid of the outer layer and make is flat. Don't bother buying a kit; just take a trip to Ace Hardware and get some $2 sheets. Hopefully you have a glass surface.

Lapping is time consuming. If you have a good pair of hands, I don't see the problem. Here are some pics of my lapped TRUE:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=147463

I ran it with YT SL when I had the system. Great temps, you wouldn't see THAT much of an improvement with a faster fan, unless you really think those last 3 degrees will make your games more enjoyable.

[ExodusC]

I see a thread saying Xigmatek is to release the Achilles S1284, which seems to be the successor to the S1283. Should I wait on this or go with a TRUE? I'm not buying immediately or anything, but I'd like to make a decision so I can see how much cash I'm going to have to put aside.

So, for the fans, should I go with the highest possible CFM fan? I see cheaper fans than the Scythe S-Flex fans, and they have 110CFM air flow. Oh, and noise is no factor with me, my case is already ridiculously loud.

[lowtcell]

1 - Push pin from a stock HS should fit just fine.

2 - Check the S1284 thread, seems that the pipes are not contacting the entire chip.

3 - Whatever you decide to go with, save yourself a lot of hassle and order a $7 Thermalright bolt-through kit.

[ExodusC]

1 - Push pin from a stock HS should fit just fine.
Any idea on how to remove these? I don't want to end up breaking them.

2 - Check the S1284 thread, seems that the pipes are not contacting the entire chip.
So the S1283 is a better choice? How comparable are the S1283 and the TRUE?

3 - Whatever you decide to go with, save yourself a lot of hassle and order a $7 Thermalright bolt-through kit.
According to Thermalright's website it's only compatible with the Ultima-90 and the HR-01. I assume it is actually compatible with most HSFs, correct?

[[cTx] Nooc]

No, you'd have to bend it to fit on the TRUE. It won't fit b/c of heatpipes.

[Loser777]

Anyone know the Answer to the CFM question? Some really cheap fans have higher CFM than the SFLEX, or is that irrelevant with the TRUE?

[[cTx] Nooc]

Anyone know the Answer to the CFM question? Some really cheap fans have higher CFM than the SFLEX, or is that irrelevant with the TRUE?

High CFM fans are largely a waste of time with TRUE.

[Loser777]

Ah, thanks for clearing that up. What about case fans though? Would high CFM fans work better there?

[ExodusC]

Eh, I'm kinda torn now... Should I buy the S1283 and have a good cooler, or get a TRUE, lap it, and have a great cooler?

Is the extra cost and effort involved with the TRUE worth it? If anyone has links to good benchmarks on HSFs (I see various results in the ones I've seen) I'd be much appreciative!

[lowtcell]

Any idea on how to remove these? I don't want to end up breaking them.



There is a little tab holding the 2 parts of the clip together. Carefully pull back on the tab with a small screwdriver and pull the black piece out. Once that's done, it should be pretty easy to get the other piece out.

[ExodusC]

There is a little tab holding the 2 parts of the clip together. Carefully pull back on the tab with a small screwdriver and pull the black piece out. Once that's done, it should be pretty easy to get the other piece out.
Now that I have the pushpins out, I'm pretty sure if I got some screws with large heads and some nuts that fit them, I could screw mount it onto my motherboard?

Does this seem like a good idea? I think it would work...

[lowtcell]

Definitely don't do this. You need to have spacers between the mount and the motherboard. Without spacers you will damage the mobo, and spacers that are too tall will not give you proper contact with the CPU. It's just a bad idea.

[[XC] NetburstXE]

Eh, I'm kinda torn now... Should I buy the S1283 and have a good cooler, or get a TRUE, lap it, and have a great cooler?

Is the extra cost and effort involved with the TRUE worth it? If anyone has links to good benchmarks on HSFs (I see various results in the ones I've seen) I'd be much appreciative!

I'd definitely get the TRUE. Your Q6600 B3 needs all the cooling it can get.

[ExodusC]

Definitely don't do this. You need to have spacers between the mount and the motherboard. Without spacers you will damage the mobo, and spacers that are too tall will not give you proper contact with the CPU. It's just a bad idea.
Thanks, that's why I asked, didn't want to mess anything up.

NetburstXE;3012844']I'd definitely get the TRUE. Your Q6600 B3 needs all the cooling it can get.
Yes that's what I'm thinking, this thing is HOT. It's freezing in here, and I'm idling at 52C (usually around 60-65C during the day) at 3.2GHz on the stock HSF with 1.45 vCore. I really hope the TRUE can cut this down significantly, as I'd like to try for 3.4GHz. I think the chip might be able to take it if I can dissipate some of this heat.

[Retro]

Also check out the Noctua NH-U12P. After I bought one to replace my TRUE, it sure was nice to have a quality-built heatsink with a flat, smooth base and a good, solid mounting system.
From a former TRUE user:cool:

[LuckyNV]

Thanks, that's why I asked, didn't want to mess anything up.


Yes that's what I'm thinking, this thing is HOT. It's freezing in here, and I'm idling at 52C (usually around 60-65C during the day) at 3.2GHz on the stock HSF with 1.45 vCore. I really hope the TRUE can cut this down significantly, as I'd like to try for 3.4GHz. I think the chip might be able to take it if I can dissipate some of this heat.

The TRUE will eat the stock cooler alive, I have a B3, temps are quite good, speed is in my sig.
45C idle, hottest core.
around 58C for SMP, 65C for Prime95. Room temp 24C.
All depends on your case cooling though.

[Goreg]

What about the IFX-14? Thats the one I hope to get, isnt it meant to be slightly better than the TRUE?
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=5&artpage=3204&articID=673
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=485&type=expert&pid=5

[ExodusC]

What about the IFX-14? Thats the one I hope to get, isnt it meant to be slightly better than the TRUE?
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=5&artpage=3204&articID=673
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=485&type=expert&pid=5
I noticed they only used the Ultra 120 in those benchmarks, not the Ultra 120 Extreme. I assume the Extreme would outperform the IFX-14, or be on par with it. Anyone know?

Oh, and fans, assuming I do get an TRUE, should I just go with a less expensive, very high CFM fan since noise is no issue for me?

[Vapor]

I have both the TRUE and the IFX-14...with modded mounts (for increased pressure), they're basically equal. TRUE has more to gain from lapping too (well, my IFX-14's nickel plating has already worn away after a few mounts, took ~35min at 320grit to get through all of my TRUE's :p: ).

I like both, but for just cooling as well as you can, go with the TRUE. I like the IFX-14 because it looks badass and also cools well :)

As for fannage, higher CFM fans don't necessarily cost more because rated airflow says nothing about the quality of the fan or the noise it makes at a given amount of airflow. Heck, rated airflow usually says little about how much air it actually moves :p:

Admittedly, I have no fan to recommend to you unless you know what fans you already have. You may say noise is okay, but there are fans out there that can annoy a deaf person....so have to know what kind of noise you consider 'okay' :p:

[ExodusC]

I have both the TRUE and the IFX-14...with modded mounts (for increased pressure), they're basically equal. TRUE has more to gain from lapping too (well, my IFX-14's nickel plating has already worn away after a few mounts, took ~35min at 320grit to get through all of my TRUE's :p: ).
Does the TRUE ovetake the IFX-14 after it has been lapped?

I like both, but for just cooling as well as you can, go with the TRUE. I like the IFX-14 because it looks badass and also cools well :)
I dunno, I thought the TRUE looks pretty badass myself. :D

As for fannage, higher CFM fans don't necessarily cost more because rated airflow says nothing about the quality of the fan or the noise it makes at a given amount of airflow. Heck, rated airflow usually says little about how much air it actually moves :p:
I assumed the higher CFM, the more air would be moved.

Admittedly, I have no fan to recommend to you unless you know what fans you already have. You may say noise is okay, but there are fans out there that can annoy a deaf person....so have to know what kind of noise you consider 'okay' :p:
I might just use my old Cooler Master fan and see how it works with the TRUE, I've heard Cooler Master fans tend to be rather high quality (whether that is true or not, I don't know).

[Vapor]

Does the TRUE ovetake the IFX-14 after it has been lapped?When they were both unlapped, my TRUE was slightly better than my IFX-14 on my QX6700. I've only lapped my TRUE and it did improve.
I assumed the higher CFM, the more air would be moved.CFM is a measure of airflow...I'm just saying the manufacturers ratings mean basically nothing. The 110CFM figure you keep quoting particularly suspect--I only know two fans that are rated at 110CFM and neither are anywhere near that in actuality.I might just use my old Cooler Master fan and see how it works with the TRUE, I've heard Cooler Master fans tend to be rather high quality (whether that is true or not, I don't know).If you could get a model number on the fans that you consider acceptable, that'd be great...that way you'll know RPM. RPM is a good measure of noise and CFM (and manufacturer ratings are actually accurate, go figure), and with that in hand, you can make a good decision on your fan purchase (for instance, maybe the fans you've considered 'acceptable' are really just ~1600-2000RPM and someone recommends a 3000RPM fan--it's going to be way over your noise tolerance).

And again, CFM has only a little do with how good a fan is considered because most people do care about noise (how much and how annoying it is), as well as build type/quality.

[ExodusC]

If you could get a model number on the fans that you consider acceptable, that'd be great...that way you'll know RPM. RPM is a good measure of noise and CFM (and manufacturer ratings are actually accurate, go figure), and with that in hand, you can make a good decision on your fan purchase (for instance, maybe the fans you've considered 'acceptable' are really just ~1600-2000RPM and someone recommends a 3000RPM fan--it's going to be way over your noise tolerance).

And again, CFM has only a little do with how good a fan is considered because most people do care about noise (how much and how annoying it is), as well as build type/quality.
Heh, looking at it now, this Cooler Master fan is only rated at 1000RPM, although it really didn't make any noise.

I dunno, I think I'll just get a high RPM fan. My case is already ridiculously loud (the other case I have is almost silent by comparison. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to hear a high RPM internal fan over the one on the back of the case, due to the fact it has a fan grill which generates a LOT of noise.

Does anyone know of any decent fans then?

EDIT: Guess what? I just figured out that the fan in my Alienware case (no I didn't buy an Alienware, I just picked up the case for cheap on Woot.com) is a Delta AFB1212SH 120mm fan. This one appears to be a slightly different model (but I still has the same model name) as it has 3 wires on the three pin fan connector instead of what appears to be the normal two, so I assume it has controllable fan speed, but I've never messed with it. These are rated at 3400RPM, apparently, and it pushes a LOT of air. No wonder it was so loud!

[GeorgeStorm]

Hi,
Im getting the IFX-14 for my next build (tempory until watercooling) because i have seen that it performas on par with the extreme, and in the UK it is cheaper,
Here is the review, comparing it with the extreme:
http://www.madshrimps.be/printart.php?articID=680

Just me......

[tobe22]

/rant on

How much is your time worth? It does take some time to lap it, and even though its *easy*, you still need to do yourself =) so 1-2 hrs of your time, is it worth paying someone else $19 to do it? It's like mowing the lawn, sure you'll save 10-20 bucks, but you're still spending 1-2 hrs of your day when you could be killing squishy mages!

/rant off

You might want to consider a pre-lapped TRUE:
http://www.crazypc.com/products/ultra-120_extreme-50983.html

I bought one from them, and works great.

[Isaac MM]

Excuse my noobness, but what is lapping?

[alexlyc]

sanding the base of a heatsink or the surface of a cpu to a smoother surface, mirror like surface usually.