[Vapor] IFX-14 vs. Ultra-120 eXtreme (and others!)

[enz660]

just barely....

still, good work though, im sure you feel like its 80 bucks well spent

vapor

[Vapor]

just barely....

still, good work though, im sure you feel like its 80 bucks well spent

vapor

Lol....not $80 in and of itself.

But the data, yeah.....close to $80, so I guess I got a free (and great looking) HSF out of it.

Also beats the Infinity (my previous best HSF), so it's a good #2 HSF that I need. I do like to run my E6700 hotter than that, so it'll probably be equal to the Ultra-120eX with dual 1200RPM fans with settings I end up running (3.6GHz 1.52V I imagine).

I will do low-load testing tomorrow (2.66GHz, 1.3V). Just did Ultra-120eX with dual San Aces for kicks, dT of 18.7C

Single San Ace @ 5V (tiny bit more airflow than the S-Flex E) pulled a dT of 21.8C I don't think this test is going to say a whole lot....but w/e.....

[evoic]

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=20832

Thank you for the link!


Wow...$25 shipped for 1 fan.

....*Goes into silent consideration mode.

[Navig]

Well, just worked thru all the 1, 2, or 3 YL 14cm fan combos. I will start my own thread tomorrow. As far as I could see, Vapor's testing was all done with 120mm fans, which I'll get to. I've got to say, I'm personally very impressed with the sound:performance of this heatsink with 140mm fans. I've never had so quiet performance. In fact I cannot hear the fans at all (altho I am not by any means a silent pc person), yet I am running small FFTs on an e6600 at 9*400 1.4275v with 85f ambient. I would never have thought that was possible.

Is it worth the extra $30? Not sure. But I've got to say, even my previous Ultra120X with a panaflo at 5v is very loud in comparison.


US$7 fan! YL D14SM-12, 62cfm, 29dB.

[Okda]

i am interested n seeing how the IFX will perform using 2x120x25mm fans on each side and a 120x38 fan in the middle @7v

[IKIKUINTHENUTZ]

Today I recived my IFX



As you can see unlike Vapor's, mine had foam between the fins

[Okda]

nice, seems that vapor's was a pre-retail or something

waiting for ur results

[Ar3s]

vapor could you show pictures of the mod with mastic tape ?

[Origin_Unknown]

very interesting results with the dual-core.

Unless your's being bent in the box somehow broke it and other people get better results then ill be getting a ultra120 extreme as i want to go quad core

[Vapor]

Another design flaw I've settled on:

Heatpipe placement in the radiators. Look at the Ultra-120(eX) and the Infinity and where their heatpipes are in relation to the airflow....they're along the outside of the radiator! All radiators in push will force airflow to outside (with the types of fans we use and they're designed for), how much they do it is influenced by fin design and there's a balance to be found (the first issue I have with the IFX-14's design).

Looking at the IFX-14, the two main heatpipes (the ones in the middle), STAY in the middle, even through the radiator. They getmuch too little airflow there, IMO. Heck, some fan hubs are wider than where the heatpipes are, not good! (yes, you get airflow at the top and bottom of it, but that's not much cooling in the scheme of things)

Oh, and BTW, the nickel plating is REALLLY thin on the IFX-14. After only three mounts, it's already wearing down along the edges and I can see copper.

[Vapor]

Alright, all HSF comparo results are in.



Looks like the IFX-14 has a sweet spot where the medium load testing was as it has fallen behind a little again

Now time to tweak the IFX and the Ultra-120eX and see where they end up after some work is done

EDIT: also, the mastic mod

[fireice2]

however the temp differences between the 120x and ifx are not that great, i guess it wouldn't be practical to switch to the ifx if you already have the 120x.

[Ender17]

vapor, before I send the IFX back and buy a 120X, what do you think of the cooler in a P182?
the orientation of the case fans has got me thinking it may give the IFX a slight boost since there will be a fan on the "side" of the IFX where you can't normally mount one and the airflow from it will be going directly over the heatpipes - none of them are in the middle although they are all lined up in front of each other
also, if my goal is E6600 @ 3.6GHz w/ Scythe E fan, do you think it's worth the trouble of swapping?

thanks

[Vapor]

I honestly don't know how it would perform in a case....

[ineedaname]

If you're only lookin 2 get 3.6ghz its not that difficult...

[nike]

lookin forward to the final results, thx for all the testing vapor, ill decide on it wheter i buy an ultra 120ex or the ifx-14 (:

[Eightballrj]

Wow, I am sorely disappointed! I was talking this cooler up to my roommate as the next BIG THING. Vapor, thanks for the results as usual bro!! Great information as always.

[Okda]

--^

sadly true

i think i am going to get the ultra120x

[evoic]

Wow, I am sorely disappointed! I was talking this cooler up to my roommate as the next BIG THING. Vapor, thanks for the results as usual bro!! Great information as always.

Ultima-90 is the next (little) big thing.

Smaller size for the people that can't fit a 120mm HS/F in their cases, but it (supposedly) will cool as good as the Ultra-120, if not better.

....and if the pricing of $44.99 holds true, it's a great addition to Thermalright's line-up for the "space-challenged".

[Origin_Unknown]

lookin forward to the final results, thx for all the testing vapor, ill decide on it wheter i buy an ultra 120ex or the ifx-14 (:

ive used this to decide that im going to be buying an ultra-120-extreme....

Wow, I am sorely disappointed! I was talking this cooler up to my roommate as the next BIG THING. Vapor, thanks for the results as usual bro!! Great information as always.

same here, i was saying at work last week just how good it will be and im DEFINATLY buying one... doh

--^

sadly true

i think i am going to get the ultra120x

+1

[GFORCE100]

Well there's reason to believe the IFX-14 is underperforming, at least here.

I have it on a QX6700 at 3.33GHz at 1.35Vcore under load and the core temps are 80,81,77,77 and overall CPU temp is 62C. The heatsink however is mild at most, not even warm or hot. Even if I attempt some finger gymnatics and touch a heatpipe, it's also mild at best leading one to believe the heatsink isn't being overworked with lots of heat capacity.

Maybe the heat isn't being transferred too well or is being transferred superbly causing it to dissipate.

I have 2x 1200rpm Revoltec 120mm fans on mine.

The base looked very good when I got it, not shiny but well sanded and even (checked from various angles with a flat piece of paper).

[Ace-a-Rue]

I honestly don't know how it would perform in a case....

hey Vapor, super comparison!

have you been offered a Tuniq to test in this comparison?...i can send you mine to test so you can include it in your results...i just would like it back once finished...i can send you round trip postage so it won't cost you anything but time...LMK

as to the heat issue with this IFX-14 HS; IMO, i think this heatsink has an engineering design flaw.

i saw you mention about the inner 2 pipes were more to the middle of the HS versus being located to the outer edges in relation to fan flow and fan hub size...my observation about the overall HS is this: you have a problem of dissipating the heat from the 1st heatpipe high rise to not influence the heat dissipation off the 2nd heatpipe high rise...higher case temperature caused by the heat exchange off the 1st heatpipe high rise NOW passing through and maybe around the 2nd heatpipe high rise is the downfall of this pipe....personally, a poor design especially when you consider this beast in a closed case.

i would think TR would have better served themselves by just producing the secondary heat pipe to be added on to the Ultra Xtreme...NOW...that seems like a better thing to help the Ultra along with more heat dissipation.

anyway, if you are interested in test comparison with the Tuniq, i would be happy to send it to you roundtrip

[GFORCE100]

hey Vapor, super comparison!

have you been offered a Tuniq to test in this comparison?...i can send you mine to test so you can include it in your results...i just would like it back once finished...i can send you round trip postage so it won't cost you anything but time...LMK

as to the heat issue with this IFX-14 HS; IMO, i think this heatsink has an engineering design flaw.

i saw you mention about the inner 2 pipes were more to the middle of the HS versus being located to the outer edges in relation to fan flow and fan hub size...my observation about the overall HS is this: you have a problem of dissipating the heat from the 1st heatpipe high rise to not influence the heat dissipation off the 2nd heatpipe high rise...higher case temperature caused by the heat exchange off the 1st heatpipe high rise NOW passing through and maybe around the 2nd heatpipe high rise is the downfall of this pipe....personally, a poor design especially when you consider this beast in a closed case.

i would think TR would have better served themselves by just producing the secondary heat pipe to be added on to the Ultra Xtreme...NOW...that seems like a better thing to help the Ultra along with more heat dissipation.

anyway, if you are interested in test comparison with the Tuniq, i would be happy to send it to you roundtrip

Right, perhaps there is a design flaw but it still makes one wonder why TR didn't conclude such itself and why is it only now with the cooler released, that this flaw or flaws are being discovered? You would have thought TR doesn't just make a design and calls it time for golf but actually does lots of testing to validate their designs.

We still haven't heard from anyone whose lapped their IFX-14.

As for me, all I know is that the IFX-14 heatsink doesn't seem to get warm or hot even when put on a quad, which seems strange. Mine's not lapped either and I don't think it's a contact error, seems to be sitting very flat.

As it stands, I'm having a hard time believing TR would release a subpar product and give it a brave name such as "Fire extinguisher" suggesting it's the best there is. Just seems ilogical.

[Ace-a-Rue]

man, TR is in business to make money just like the mobo companies and we all know they have come out with some duzzies, bad boards.

[GFORCE100]

man, TR is in business to make money just like the mobo companies and we all know they have come out with some duzzies, bad boards.

Right, but also consider that they look upon themselves as the best in air coolers out there so self handily admit they're a premium brand. They have a statement to live up to, given they based the IFX-14 off of their 120U I find it hard to imagine them thinking oh okay guys, this time we'll make a crap cooler just for fun since we don't care how it performs, only our CFO does and hell he's out playing golf anyway, bad for him and good for us. The market's too competitive for this kind of approach.