View Full Version : BAD Thermalright Ultra-120 extreme?? confirm.
Hi all I just got the Ultra 120 Extreme for my new comp.
Now I inspected it very closly cause I'm actually goin to lap it but what I found was that 2 of the heat pipes are touching...by touching I mean they are soddered together at 1 spot at the bottom...and it seems like this was already used I think but I bought it new...should I return it for a new one...how much could affect my cooling that little contact...I took pics but I can't get them up atm.
BTW I'm trying to push a q6600 to 3.6ghz on air with maximus formula and gskills 2x2gig pc 8500.
HELP!!
Thanks.
HKPolice
03-27-2008, 11:23 AM
No idea what you mean....
conzymaher
03-27-2008, 11:32 AM
post pics!
If it looks used / damaged return it
Leeghoofd
03-27-2008, 11:47 AM
And why do you think it is bad , what temps does the TRUE setup give you ?
http://www.screenshots.cc/images/5e5ebfjv4uqrbulrfkk3.jpg
(this is not my pic but it shows the area where the 2 pipes are touching)
At the bottom before the heat pipes curve in the base 2 of the heat pipes on one side are SOLDERED together just like a little drop 1mm wide. So they are technically touching each other. I can't upload the pics at moment but I will be heading to the store once I get off work. I just don't wanna go back to the store and look like a :banana::banana::banana::banana: when it won't make a difference...all the pipes have really small spacing between each other except these 2 (looks like a little bridge that created a contact between 2 pipes do to a messy soldering job) they are technically touching and that's bad imo.
Leeghoofd
03-27-2008, 12:13 PM
don't see why it should influence the performance of the cooler
And why do you think it is bad , what temps does the TRUE setup give you ?
all my parts haven't arrived yet...I just picked up the HEATSINK so I can LAP IT...so when all my parts come together I can have it ready...I just don't wanna go trought the whole lapping process if the "touching" will add 1C heat then I'll be bring it back for sure...I just picked it up like 2 hours ago.
Mine is the same... and I surtently wont call my TRUE a bad performer.... did u actually test it before making any suspisions beforehand....
Mine is the same... and I surtently wont call my TRUE a bad performer.... did u actually test it before making any suspisions beforehand....
Like I said earlier I haven't done anything with it...I'm just concerned atm. That's why I'm here I need to get some input on this...cause it looks kind of sketchy...plus I see some leaks where the pipes are connected into the top part of the heatsink. I just don't know if all these things are normal. The plastic case was open I'm not sure if that's how they come...my suspicion that I'm probably getting a return item or maybe it was just used for testing. Now before I go thought with the whole process of lapping I just wanted to know if this will have any affect down the road (heat wise).
Leeghoofd
03-27-2008, 01:06 PM
Only one way to find out and is to mount it and try it before you lap it... if ya idle temps are already out of bounce then something is definitaly wrong...
The Fins are all staright so I don't know...it might be fine...the surface is defenatly not flat this thing rocks like my gramas rocking chair...so I'm gonna go ahead and start lapping it. I don't know if that little solder will make a difference on how heat is being directed trought the heatpipes...it's so small!!!
But it's enough to piss me off... haha :mad:
hollo
03-27-2008, 01:21 PM
i think ur being paranoid
i think ur being paranoid
rofl ya probably...I hope you are right!!
loonym
03-27-2008, 01:53 PM
...plus I see some leaks where the pipes are connected into the top part of the heatsink.Could you describe this or explain it further? If it is indeed 'leaks' it would be more concerning than some insignificant solder overlap.
Could you describe this or explain it further? If it is indeed 'leaks' it would be more concerning than some insignificant solder overlap.
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/5558/thermalrightgi2.jpg
"leaks" and "flakes" are shown on the picture.
Underwater Mike
03-27-2008, 02:54 PM
Dude, it doesn't matter. The heatpipes are all going into the same base. If here's going to be any conduction of heat between the two pipes -- and there SHOULD be -- more of it's going to occur at the base than at the area you've highlighted.
loonym
03-27-2008, 05:28 PM
Ok, you are indeed being paranoid. The very slight clearance where the pipes enter the base and fins are not 'leaks'.
madfaze
03-28-2008, 07:35 AM
it is much better if your post ACTUAL pics of your hsf...
Leeghoofd
03-28-2008, 10:05 AM
Just install it, without lapping first, instead of hesitating, these post will get you nowhere... thread is getting out of proportion... either you bought a cat in a sack or there's absolutely nothing wrong with it... my TRUE never looked like that one in the picture... mine had also some more coloured solder on it...
JUST INSTALL IT !!
Spawne32
03-28-2008, 11:04 AM
Theres nothing wrong with your heatsink.
M4D_H4773R
03-28-2008, 12:24 PM
You should be fine but if you're not satisfied with it then you should exchange it for a new one. what matters most is that if You are comfortible with your purchase.
Well thanks for your inputs guys...I'm really "bummed" about the quality of the Thermalright Ultra-120...I bought the XP-90 back in the day (sitll have it in my +3000 clocked by 500mhz stable) and I was stoked on it...but the Ultra-120 was a "rocking chair"...they shouldn't be selling these things with such uneven surface...and I'v been lapping it for almost 8hours...I'll post pics when I get the cable for the camera I'm using...;)
loonym
03-28-2008, 08:25 PM
8 hours? lol... 45min (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2874376&postcount=116)
HKPolice
03-28-2008, 09:25 PM
Wow what a noob. We should stop allowing noobs to post :mad:
loonym
03-29-2008, 03:48 AM
meh... everyone's noob sometime ;)
Leeghoofd
03-29-2008, 04:01 AM
Well thanks for your inputs guys...I'm really "bummed" about the quality of the Thermalright Ultra-120...I bought the XP-90 back in the day (sitll have it in my +3000 clocked by 500mhz stable) and I was stoked on it...but the Ultra-120 was a "rocking chair"...they shouldn't be selling these things with such uneven surface...and I'v been lapping it for almost 8hours...I'll post pics when I get the cable for the camera I'm using...;)
You are mad man , as for the lapping job I get bored after 30 mins lol... and really was it required or was it all in ya head... it could be your ruined the performance of ya cooler now, really why didn't you try it out of the box... beats me... but if it works applause :clap: if you get borked temps it might be yourself to blame :rolleyes:
Looking forward at seeing some temps now...
I used 180 , 280, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500 and 2000 grits...I work in a machine shop as a NetAdmin...I have access to machines that could measure the surface of my heatsink to .0000 or a millimeter...I did the ketchup test before starting to lap...it was just terrible...the reason I didn't try my sink before lapping it's cause none of my computer parts were present...the store is still waiting for my gskills to arrive...and I wanted my heatsink lapped and ready to go before getting all the stuff...I know I have nothing to compare it to as in (before or after) but I'm fine with that.
For you laughing at my lapping job "time"... if anyone lapped this thing in less then 2 hours....you probably did a half past job...cleaning the grip paper is time consuming where you have to setup your works station over and over again...maybe my hands are small or something cuase this thing was a :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana: to lap.:mad:
I'll post pics when I get home later on today.:rolleyes:
Origin_Unknown
03-29-2008, 11:50 AM
8 hours? lol... 45min (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2874376&postcount=116)
not everyone can do it in 45mins.... mine took a while longer, although i did my TRUE / Hr-03-plus / hr-05-ifx aswell.
Wow what a noob. We should stop allowing noobs to post :mad:
thats a bit harsh
loonym
03-29-2008, 05:19 PM
I work in a machine shop as a NetAdminMan, why didn't you just get one of the shop guys to strap it in a mill? They could have cut that in one pass with a big hog bit and been done in 5min :yepp:
Man, why didn't you just get one of the shop guys to strap it in a mill? They could have cut that in one pass with a big hog bit and been done in 5min :yepp:
haha...I tried to...it was a bit complicated...it's all cnc machines...and they are always busy...they just provided me with all the sandpaper I needed.
I’ve never lapped a heatsink before so it was a new experience for me...so I was positive about the whole thing but I took me a while =]...mainly cause I was extra careful. ;)
davefr
03-30-2008, 01:07 PM
I used 180 , 280, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500 and 2000 grits...I work in a machine shop as a NetAdmin...I have access to machines that could measure the surface of my heatsink to .0000 or a millimeter...I did the ketchup test before starting to lap...it was just terrible...the reason I didn't try my sink before lapping it's cause none of my computer parts were present...the store is still waiting for my gskills to arrive...and I wanted my heatsink lapped and ready to go before getting all the stuff...I know I have nothing to compare it to as in (before or after) but I'm fine with that.
For you laughing at my lapping job "time"... if anyone lapped this thing in less then 2 hours....you probably did a half past job...cleaning the grip paper is time consuming where you have to setup your works station over and over again...maybe my hands are small or something cuase this thing was a :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana: to lap.:mad:
I'll post pics when I get home later on today.:rolleyes:Anything beyond about 800 grit starts to actually degrade the perfomance. You want to maximize metal to metal contact and have microscopic valleys for HS compound. 800 grit is the sweet spot to give you this.
8 hrs lapping??? Next time orient the sandpaper with grit side up:rolleyes:
Alexontherocks
03-30-2008, 02:12 PM
Anything beyond about 800 grit starts to actually degrade the perfomance. You want to maximize metal to metal contact and have microscopic valleys for HS compound. 800 grit is the sweet spot to give you this.:
Do you have evidence for this? I am interested because I think I have noticed the same effect (underperformance after high grit lapping) but I am not sure....have you come across some article on this?
So I finally got all my parts...exept my ram...but anyways...these are my "IDEL" temps I'll get some pics of my lapped ULTRA-120...my cpu runs at 23c idel...I got a push pull setup with Scythe S-FLEX 120MM (SFF21F)
The only thing I'm conserned is about my mobo running a bit hot :eek:
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/61/cputempsf8.jpg
Once I'm ready to move the new rig in the basement I will get better temps it's like a :banana::banana::banana::banana:ing fridge in there.
Levish
04-04-2008, 05:51 AM
Anything beyond about 800 grit starts to actually degrade the perfomance. You want to maximize metal to metal contact and have microscopic valleys for HS compound. 800 grit is the sweet spot to give you this.
8 hrs lapping??? Next time orient the sandpaper with grit side up:rolleyes:
Flatter and smoother bases don't degrade performance, you can take it to nearly optically perfect, does this mean the interface will be worse?
Especially if you lap both the ihs and the heatsink base all you are doing is improving contact.
KiDMaioRKz
04-04-2008, 07:44 PM
whats wrong with it ?
Spawne32
04-04-2008, 07:48 PM
So I finally got all my parts...exept my ram...but anyways...these are my "IDEL" temps I'll get some pics of my lapped ULTRA-120...my cpu runs at 23c idel...I got a push pull setup with Scythe S-FLEX 120MM (SFF21F)
The only thing I'm conserned is about my mobo running a bit hot :eek:
[IMG]http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/61/cputempsf8.jpg[/IMG
Once I'm ready to move the new rig in the basement I will get better temps it's like a :banana::banana::banana::banana:ing fridge in there.
lol 30c system temp is GREAT, hell my gigabyte board ran at 50c when i first got it, with a aftermarket heatsink it dropped it down to 32c, thats totally normal.
Clue69Less
04-04-2008, 08:28 PM
Do you have evidence for this? I am interested because I think I have noticed the same effect (underperformance after high grit lapping) but I am not sure....have you come across some article on this?
It depends in part on what TIM you use. I wouldn't be surprised if an 800 grit hand lap with typical TIMs being a good compromise when you're talking about someone with a few hours of experience working at home. If you are capable of lapping to a finer grit AND simultaneously getting a prep with lower deformation, then a finer TIM will be required for compatibility. Before high quality automated methods and instrumentation were available, it was not uncommon for a metallographer to need hundreds of hours of experience before they could achieve low deformation preps in soft metals like copper by hand. It takes technical ability to learn and follow procedures and an artist's eye to get to the expert level. That's why all this stuff is automated for modern high performance apps.
it_burns_when_i_pee
04-06-2008, 11:09 AM
going beyond 800 grit does not degrade the performance
i dont care if you read one article where someone tried it and it didnt work for them, to use that as a gospel for future use is just stupid.
i lapped a cpu and heatsink to only 1200 grit and sandwiched it together but were re-done when i got hold of some 2000. temps dropped like 1 or 2 degrees again. with less valleys and holes in the surface, you need less TIM. which can be bit of a b1tch in itself sometimes as it can spread un-evenly to one side unless you land it square on.
autumnale
05-03-2008, 12:30 AM
Um, it doesn't matter that the heatpipes are touching. They're all touching the heatsink in the bottom anyways. But it does matter a lot if one of your heatpipes has sprung a leak. You definitely gotta return that because the heatpipes are filled with this liquid that boils at low temperatures and it works by the phase change the liquid goes through as it cools down and heat up and stuff like that. At least I think that's how it works. :) If it's leaking, get a replacement for sures.