Mini Review :Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (56K friendly)

http://forums.erodov.com/imagehostin...798d1664b7.jpg
The modern air cooling scene is today dominated by tower design heatsinks, and with massive Tuniq tower 120 and Thermalright Ultra 120 I personally thought how can this get any better with both these coolers giving excellent results.

Then comes the new avatar of Ultra 120, its big brother Ultra 120 Extreme. And the only difference between these two coolers is extra 2 heatpipes on the Extreme version making it a 6 heatpipe cooler.

After testing Tuniq tower 120 a while ago, i thought this is amazing performance, and did not think there will be another air cooler better than this one in the near future. It was already massive and did great job at cooling the processors.

So when i read the previews of this heatsink, I was little surprised and even though I decided to buy it, I was still apprehensive. So lets have a look at it shall we.



[Features and Specifications]

Features
# Quiet and powerful cooling due to multiple heat pipes and large aluminum fin area
# Proprietary bent winglet design to minimize airflow resistance
# Heat pipes soldered to base (nickel plated)and fins for optimum heat transfer
# Include both bolt-thru-board retention brackets for Intel and AMD

Technical Specifications

Dimension:L63.44 x W132 x H160.5 mm (heatsink only)

Weight:790g (heatsink only)

Recommended Fan

All 120mm Fan

Compatibility

INTEL: All Intel LGA775 processors
AMD: All AMD Socket AM2 Processors

Lets take a look at this cooler.


[The Package and the heatsink itself]

On the first look its typical Thermalright brown box with just Extreme written on it. Nothing special.
http://forums.erodov.com/imagehostin...79811080c9.jpg


The cooler is neatly packed in a foam mold. All the mounting kits and thermal paste are stored on the side in separate white cardpaper box. This packaging is simple but very effective. The Heatsink survived the half globe shipment without even a single scratch on it.
http://forums.erodov.com/imagehostin...79811d62a0.jpg http://forums.erodov.com/imagehostin...79812cf7df.jpg


Here is the cooler itself.
http://forums.erodov.com/imagehostin...798cc9de4c.jpg http://forums.erodov.com/imagehostin...798ce936d1.jpg http://forums.erodov.com/imagehostin...798d1664b7.jpg http://forums.erodov.com/imagehostin...79962ca622.jpg

Here are the mounting kits. The cooler is AM2 and LGA775 compatible. S939 support is dropped by Thermalright
http://forums.erodov.com/imagehostin...7bf7f56a96.jpg

[Installation]

Installing this cooler requires you to remove the motherboard. For AM2 mounting you use the motherboard backplate + mounting bracket provided.
For LGA775 the motherboard backplate and X type mounting kit is provided.
Mounting instructions are available on Thermalright website and they are very detailed and accurate.
I strongly suggest anyone buying this heatsink to go through them.
They are located here : Thermalright

Mounting was relatively easy. I suggest you do not peal off the sticker that covers adhesive tape on the base of LGA 775 backplate. This causes the backplate to stick to the back of the board so tightly that it becomes very difficult to remove it in the future when needed.

Here is the Ultra 120 Extreme mounted on my P5N32 E SLI motherboard.
Be careful while placing the motherboard inside the case again as this is one very heavy heatsink. And sudden movement and drop will surely cause damage to the motherboard heatsink itself.
http://forums.erodov.com/imagehostin...79963ddedc.jpg http://forums.erodov.com/imagehostin...799651df53.jpg http://forums.erodov.com/imagehostin...79a344fc08.jpg

[Cooling performance.]

I tested the cooler under various conditions.
Lets have a look at them one by one.
For all the tests i set my Air conditioning to 28°C and increased vcore by 1 step than required vcore just to throw something more at the cooler and at the same time maintaining uniform conditions.
CPU used is Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 3.37Ghz , 1.46v.
Fan used was Thermaltake Blue LED 120mm at medium speed.(I know this fan sucks but my new fan is still in mail ;) )
CPU was lapped but Ultra 120 extreme was left in factory conditions. Rest of my setup is in my sig.

1. Orthos small fft

Idle Temperature : 36°C
Load Temperature : 46°C
Delta = Load - Idle Temperature = 10°C

Screenshot of Idle Temperatures
http://forums.erodov.com/imagehostin...79a36ba2db.jpg

Screenshot of Full Load Temperatures
http://forums.erodov.com/imagehostin...79a3a8579e.jpg

2. World Community Grid Boinc client
Idle Temperature : 36°C
Load Temperature : 44°C
Delta = Load - Idle Temperature = 8°C

3. 3Dmark 2006

CPU test were run in loop
Idle Temperature : 36°C
Load Temperature : 44°C
Delta = Load - Idle Temperature = 8°C

4. Counter strike source

Made a local server with plenty of bots
Idle Temperature : 36°C
Load Temperature : 45°C
Delta = Load - Idle Temperature = 9°C


Follow up: I worte this 3 days ago and since then I have experimented with this HSF a bit. And even with AC completely off and room temperatures at 31-32°C ( external temp is in high 30s here) it never allowed processor to even touch 55°C. That was amazing to see as my Tuniq was not this good even in winter season.

[Conclusion]

With stock heatsink, the load temperatures while crunching WCG data were touching as high as 62-64°C and Orthos going all the way upto 65°C. And all that at just 3.24Ghz.
With this HSF CPU never even touched 50°C. This tells all you need to know about this heatsink.
I ran every single test 3 times and results were replicated very accurately. And as you can see the performance given by this cooler is nothing short of shocking as well as exceptionally good.
I was expecting good results, but to get soo much better result was totally unexpected.
I have had some very good cooler in the past, and this heatsink blew every single one into mediocre category. This is how good this heatsink really is.
There is no doubt that this is one of the best heatsink money can buy today.

The Good

• Unmatched performance
• Not too expensive compared to other tower coolers.
• Relatively easy to install.
• Overall Design is very flexible with multiple fan and orientation possibilities.

The Bad

• Very heavy and not easy to transport the case installed with this cooler.
• No S939 support.

Cost of the Heatsink : $65
Cost Inclusive of shipping : $95
Bought from : Sidewinder Computers - A huge selection of High Quality PC Modding and Cooling parts
Product Link : Ultimate CPU Cooling Solutions! USA

My rating
Performance : 10/10
Value: 9/10
Ease of installation : 8/10
Overall: 9/10

Reposted with proper image links :)

Very good review. Seems like more than a "mini review".

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Speederlander

Very good review. Seems like more than a "mini review".

---

I agree, awesome effort :)

good job on the review :D

good review
me and NJKid just got these from Petras

Thermalright Ultra-120 ULTRA-120-EX 1 59.99
Extreme Heatpipe CPU
Cooler (Socket
775/939/AM2)
(Shipped)
Subtotal 59.99
Shipping 8.65
Total 68.64

Someone compare it to a Enzotech Ultra120 ALREADY please :D

big big....

erm, did u got this shipped from "sidewindercomputers" to india?:eek: that cost $30?! daym bro, u're serious.

If you think $30 is a lot for international shipping, you don't know courier prices in and/to Europe...

Heh, yeah considering we didnt have many option here locally. I was left with no other option but to import.
The only CM products like Gemin II were available here.
And this import turned out to be cheaper than what Gemin II costs here.
So that gives you idea why I imported it from sidewinders.
And yeah i am damn serious about my cooling and oc :P
In wrong country for my hobby but oh well I love my country :)

See my blog in sig, has more pics of this cooler inside stacker 830 evo :)

i also want to recommend sidewinder computers


fast as heck shipping, great prices, and customer support is top notch.

Excellent review with some good general HSF installation tips as well ;)

I am gonna pick up this HSF for sure!

I´m terribly dissapointed in Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme :(

The base is completely unfinished and it is just as bad as the reference coolers of ATI X1900 series were.

I´m currently using the original fan of Tuniq Tower 120.

With Tuniq Tower 120 the temperature did not exeed 65c even in Prime95.
With Ultra 120 eXtreme the temperature hits 68c during SuperPi 32M...

This is a retail heatsink.

Hmm try lapping the TR

Got mine in now; outstanding cooler; dropped my load temps by 10 - 12 degrees, easy, and w/ hardly any fan (900 - 1200 rpm).

Highly recommended:clap: I came from an NT9700:confused:

Even in the TJ09, this thing is tall; real close to the window!

And for the person above, my load temps at 1,000 - 1,200 rpm (w/ a Yate Loon), at 400x8=3.2, at 1.35V, are in the upper 40's max.; the NT9700 pushed 60 (rarely spiking 61 or 62) when running orthos for more than an hour.

Good little review.

i mounted mine and it's looser than hell.

i mean bad loose, i can twist it like there isnt even any pressure applied to it.
i assume this is because i lapped the cpu, but i didnt lap the cpu THAT much.
it's loose like i took away half the cpu IHS.

odd thing is the temps.

the cpu temp isnt hitting 50c load
BUT
the CORE temps are hitting 65c
wierd why the core temps are shooting up so high....

with the XP-90 the core temps and the cpu temps were not like this. i mean the core is always higher then the standard cpu temp reading, but not this bad.

man i need to go back to my water setup. never had to worry bout this kind of stuff.

Quote:

---

S939 support is dropped by Thermalright

---

IMHO this is a very bad decision from Tt

Thanks for the nice review

Guess they dropped S939 support on it perhaps because they think its overkill? That maybe S939 people would just get the normal Ultra-120? In any case I still think they should have included it.

I also got the Ultra-120 Extreme recently as well. Works really nice in keeping my Xeon x3220 cool. Average temps dropped about 8-9C across all 4 cores. Prior to this I was using the TR SI-128.

why it is an overkill when the AM2+ temps and TDP is equal to the 939 or even less

given the fact that the unit is similar to many of their other heatsinks i would imagine that you could use a 939 mounting bracket on this.

anyone else have issues with their heatsink being VERY loose ?

it can be twisted, i dont see why thats an issue. Its the new mounting which does not restrict the heatpipes thats the cause of it being able to twist without too much force. and ass to that lubricant thermal paste which we use.
It moves freely on mine to with hands.
That didnt cause any bad temps on mine.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lestat

given the fact that the unit is similar to many of their other heatsinks i would imagine that you could use a 939 mounting bracket on this.

anyone else have issues with their heatsink being VERY loose ?

---

old mounting bracket cannot be used due to extra heatpipes.It does not pass through the middle. Some ghetto mod may make it possible through.

How loose is "loose"? I am at least a little concerned after seeing this mentioned more than once. Tightening it down doesn't solve the issue? Won't the thing drift under its own torque over time, especially with a fan on one side?

See the base wont shift due to fan torque. Its not in the same plane as movement of base.
The mounting bracket has plastic washer like thing at its bottom. So thats what is pushing down on the heatsink. Maybe they should have had a rubber washer instead of plastic / pvc type.
It can be twisted by 1 finger. But it does not move on its own as such. And it certainly is not moving because of less pressure. Pressure is there. Its just that contact between the washer and heatsink base has very little friction allowing it to move in circle with little ease. Its nothing to be worried about to be honest. It feels like contact will be bad. But it is not. I checked the print of thermal paste and it had uniform spread. And it also moves easily due to greasy effect of thermal paste as i said before.