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

[jalyst]

Hey people, sorry to be a lil off topic but I just gotta know.....

Has anyone fitted this heat-sink to a Gigabyte P35-DQ6 (rev 1)?
This motherboard uses an overly elaborate NB and Mosfet heat-sink.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/110...ere/index.html

I'm concerned that I may not be able to use it with the IFX-14! :-(
There's a new revision with a more streamline heat-sink but I already bought my P35-DQ6 6wks ago*

Cheers,
jed

*haven't unpacked it yet, but I just know I'm going to have probs if I try to bring it back

[Ace-a-Rue]

for the last time...

those are 8mm heatpipes, they are BIGGER than the ultra 120's six.

SO ...sounds like a trade off to me, four 8mm heatpipes versus six 6mm heat pipes

[lad]

If my very quick research is correct,

6 x 6mm heatpipes have a total circumference (fin contact area) of 112.8
4 x 8mm heatpipes have a total circumference (fin contact area) of 100.4

BUT

6 x 6 have an internal area (flow area) of 169.8
4 x 8 have an internal area (flow area) of 201.2

Circumference = pi * diameter
Area = pi * (radius squared)

[enz660]

If my very quick research is correct,

6 x 6mm heatpipes have a total circumference (fin contact area) of 112.8
4 x 8mm heatpipes have a total circumference (fin contact area) of 100.4

BUT

6 x 6 have an internal area (flow area) of 169.8
4 x 8 have an internal area (flow area) of 201.2

Circumference = pi * diameter
Area = pi * (radius squared)

which is why I am so contused as to why this heatsink performs so poorly considering its little brother is less expensive, and has less surface area.

[Okda]

imho the reason is the placement of the heatpipes , unlike the Ultra where they are infront of the air coming from the fan

[Ace-a-Rue]

i agree with you, SaFrOuT...engineering two towers of heatpipes, IMO, was/is the downfall of IFX-14....outside of the case, not as big of a problem...but...inside the case, where does the heat go coming off from the first heatpipe tower...i think some of that heat gets dispersed inside the case and the rest passes over/through the 2nd tower.

the only way this heatsink would perform well is if the two towers were side-by-side...but we all know space would be the problem...the heatsink would be to big for anyone's case or to even fit on any mobo.

[L'enFer]

great test. personally, i'm very happy that Infinity is still good enough .
Vapor, do you have BigTyphoonVX? or it's not much better than BigTyphoon?

[Okda]

VX only got a higher rpm fan with higher rated cfm and dba

[L'enFer]

SaFrOuT, i heard it has better surface... thanks.

[Okda]

ic, never heard about that before

all i know is that it has better kit

[Vapor]

Big Typhoon VX is the EXACT same thing as the Big Typhoon....except it comes with a 2000RPM fan (vs. 1200RPM) and has a push-pin mounting.

The one I tested was 100% VX and the mounting really made the results as bad as they are (and the base, my Big Typhoon's base, although bad, is better than my VX's base). Even though the results are IMO bad, they're still indicative of any Big Typhoon.

After lots and lots of thinking here's my beef with the IFX-14:
1) heatpipes:

1a) 8mm heatpipes carry a higher load, but only four of them has a 10% decrease in contact....contact area is CRUCIAL since heatpipes transfer heat at TWO points (base and fins), hence a lack of contact is 'doubled' (mathematically, I'm not sure what it is actually, maybe squared).

1b) the placement is off. The middle heatpipes carry the majority of the load and just don't get enough airflow

2) fins:

2a) the flame shape combined with the density of the fins is a really, really poor design. This is not a minor design flaw. It's major.

2b) density and/or lack of passthrough. Since the flame shape allows for no lateral flow, at least they should lower the density or have vertical passthrough

3) 140mm -- it's a marketing ploy and shouldn't have been designed for. Not saying it's an actual deterrent, but time spent on A means less time with B.


Things NOT wrong with:

1) two-tower design. It works with the Scythe Mine, it works with the Tuniq Tower, etc. The 2nd tower is not 100% efficient....but it's an easy 'free' gain of an extra 60% (IIRC from the H2O section calculations)

2) mounting. No one ever accused the mounting on the IFX-14 of being weak, let's keep it that way.

3) Base quality. The nickel plating is NOTHING....after a few mounts it's already wearing away on mine.


EDIT: let's keep things in perspective here though: it's not like its results are in the peanut-gallery. It's a very strong HSF that doesn't keep up with an EXCELLENT HSF (Ultra-120 eX), but at a higher pricetag.

[Gautam]

What the hell is the "peanut gallery" anyways? (My second grade teacher used that all the time and I never got what it meant)

[Vapor]

What the hell is the "peanut gallery" anyways? (My second grade teacher used that all the time and I never got what it meant)

Off to the side, unimportant. In this case (not how it's meant to be used), in the peanut-gallery = "bad."

[Strafe]

I think the term "peanut gallery' refers to the audience of children from the Howdy Doody show in the 50's. So it came into common use 'hey, no more comments from the peanut gallery'.

[Vapor]

I'd like to add an addendum of further thought regarding the IFX-14

I think the reason why the IFX-14 did relatively best on the OC'd E6700, despite being the *middle* load was because of the increased power density.

Not sure how to describe this from a heatflow point of view, but it seems that's the biggest difference. It wasn't a super high load, but the power density was highest.

On ultra-high clocked dual cores, IFX-14 may yet win....but not by much.

I will not be investigating this, I have 24/7 use of both my Ultra-120 eX and IFX-14, but it's just a thought

[jalyst]

I'd like to add an addendum of further thought regarding the IFX-14

I think the reason why the IFX-14 did relatively best on the OC'd E6700, despite being the *middle* load was because of the increased power density.

Not sure how to describe this from a heatflow point of view, but it seems that's the biggest difference. It wasn't a super high load, but the power density was highest.

On ultra-high clocked dual cores, IFX-14 may yet win....but not by much.

I will not be investigating this, I have 24/7 use of both my Ultra-120 eX and IFX-14, but it's just a thought

Vapor for a HTPC/PVR that may occasionally be used for gaming and "may" be OC'd from time to time (e6420). Does the ifx-14 have the edge in your opinion?

[Vapor]

No. Not even 2nd.

HR-01+ for a HTPC. HTPCs should be dead silent, IMO.

If you want noise, Ultra-120 eX.

[Ace-a-Rue]

some heatsinks shine with a dual core but put them with a quad core, its pitiful

[Vapor]

IFX-14 was def not pitiful....but it wasn't the beast that it looks like either.

[Ace-a-Rue]

i agree!

[jalyst]

No. Not even 2nd.

HR-01+ for a HTPC. HTPCs should be dead silent, IMO.

If you want noise, Ultra-120 eX.

So you feel, from a pure 'cooling performance' perspective (noise it not an issue for me)...
That the 120-eXtreme is better?

It's just that....

I've read through the entire thread (along with navigs) & you both seem to have different opinions.
So I'm no wiser and even more confused?!!? :-)

[Ar3s]

IFX-14 can mount more fans for me which cause it to beat my ultra eX. HR-01+ beats both of them but for HTPC a passive solution would be best.

[jalyst]

IFX-14 can mount more fans for me which cause it to beat my ultra eX. HR-01+ beats both of them but for HTPC a passive solution would be best.

Thanks Ar3s, think I'm erring more towards 120x, IFX-14 just doesn't seem to be justified.
I'll wait on a response from Vapor though.

Nice avatar, where'd you get it? It's an animation right?

[Vapor]

Just go for the Ultra-120eX.

[Ar3s]

Thanks Ar3s, think I'm erring more towards 120x, IFX-14 just doesn't seem to be justified.
I'll wait on a response from Vapor though.

Nice avatar, where'd you get it? It's an animation right?

ah yeah thats true. i got my ifx-14 cheaper than the ultra 120 eX then sold my ultra 120 eX thats why i like it.

its not an animation thats a real chick..