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 [review]Thermalright Towers, Ultra 120, IFX-14, Ultima 90 and others

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TSDaRkSyThE
post Jan 18 2008, 09:58 PM, updated 17y ago

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Alright, what we have here is some major heatsinks from Thermalright that are currently available in the market.
Well, lets start off with a little bit of history on the company shall we?

Thermalright is an elite design house that manufactures cooling products for computer components for the best quality and performance your money can buy. In 2002, AMD released its first generation Thunderbird CPU and since then we have been there every step of the way to counter high voltage and high heat with innovative design and highly acclaimed cooling solutions not only for AMD but for Intel as well. One of early well known solutions was the SK-6. With many positive and rave reviews under its belt Thermalright bolted to the top as the heat sink manufacturer mostly preferred by Overclockers and enthusiasts around the World. To this day, innovation never left our vocabulary as we keep coming up with leading edge designs staying ahead of the competition
Technical Support.


The main reason why i'm doing this review is to show the performance difference between these few titans.
As you know, the Thermalright IFX-14 is currently the flagship of the company and the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme should fall second in line. Well, from what I understand, many people here want to see the performance of the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme and the Thermalright IFX-14. Without further delay, lets get on with the review.


This post has been edited by DaRkSyThE: Feb 1 2008, 02:16 PM
TSDaRkSyThE
post Jan 18 2008, 10:09 PM

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Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme:

Main 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 Spec:-
# Dimension : L63.44 x W132 x H160.5 mm (heatsink only)
# Weight :790g (Heatsink Only)
# Recommended Fan :All 120mm Fan


Compatibility:
All Intel P4 LGA775 processors

My First Impressions :

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Woot, All borwn box.

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an overall look at the package

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basking in all its glory

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Sexy pipes and that base, Ohh, just so flat smile.gif

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notice how its slight jagged at the edge?

This post has been edited by DaRkSyThE: Jan 23 2008, 08:33 PM
TSDaRkSyThE
post Jan 18 2008, 10:15 PM

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Thermalright HR-01 Plus:

Features:-

* Fanless design for low-noise operation
* Proprietary through holes on fins for efficient ventilation
* Six heatpipes for well spread heat around aluminum fins
* Large multiple fins soldered to copper base (nickel plated) for effective contact in transferring heat
* Light weight and easy installation
* High compatibilty with multi-platform mounting adapter

Technical Spec:-

* Dimension: L110 x W60 x H159.5(mm) Heat sink only
* Weight: 600g (heat sink only)

Compatibility:-

* Socket 775&Socket AM2

My first Impressions :-


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wooh! big brown box

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Nice packed as usual

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Basking up high

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Look at those heatpipes smile.gif

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lets not forget the fins

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This post has been edited by DaRkSyThE: Feb 1 2008, 02:22 PM
TSDaRkSyThE
post Jan 18 2008, 10:17 PM

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Test Bed:

Processor: Intel C2D X6800 Extreme @ 3.6GHz @ 1.42 vcore
Motherboard: Foxconn MARS
RAM Module: Team Xtreem DDR2 Special OPB Edition (Micron D9GMH)
Graphic Card: Foxconn 8800GT
Power Supply Unit : Silverstone Decathlon 1200W
Hard Disk: Western Digital 36Gb Raptor
Operating System : Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2

Testhing Materials Used :
1. Artic Cooling MX-2
2. Silverstone FM 123 (120mm) at 1750 RPM

Testing Methods Used :
1. Each Heat Sink is tested twice(cool down is 5 minutes between each test), the average results is taken as the result.
2. The same amount and type of Thermal Paste used is kept constant for all Heat Sinks used
3. All Heat Sinks are tested with the same fans (excluding the Ultima 90i tested with a 90mm fan and the Water Cooling setup)
4. A Thermal Probe is placed at the edge of the CPU to retrieve the temperature. The Thermal Probe ensures accuracy in Temperature reading.
5. Load test were done by running ORTHOS Small FFT test priority 8 for 20 minutes. Ambient temp prior every test was be measured.


This post has been edited by DaRkSyThE: Feb 1 2008, 02:15 PM
TSDaRkSyThE
post Feb 1 2008, 02:14 PM

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Results:-

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Thermalright Ultra 120- Extreme

Pros :-
-Great Performance
- Easy installation
- Not that heavy compared to other heatsinks

Cons :-
- Not that cheap
- Kind of hard to install the fan with the clips

Thermalright HR-01 Plus
Pros :-
- Lightweight
- Very easy installation for heatsink and fan
-Performs very well with low cfm fans

Cons :-
-Relatively expensive to its performance


Conclusion :-

Thermalright Ultra 120- Extreme
The heatsink is currently the best I have tested by far but then i have yet to test out the Zigmatek. The heatsink is slim, and lightweight and it is compatible with almost every case out there. It is remarkable that it could even out perform its older brother, the IFX-14, but this was because the IFZ-14 was not strapped with 2 fans like suggested. The mounting bracket that came with the Thermalright Ultra 120-Extreme was also different compared to other heatsinks from Thermalright.

I award the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme 9/10


Thermalright HR-01 Plus
Well, this heatsink is a super lightweight performer, and it is like one of those boxers that out perform the heavyweight champs. the design is somewhat simple and elegant, and its performance is of standard however given the price, it spoils the whole package. If you are the worried type of person that these heatsinks will bend your motherboard, well this is the heatsink for you. strap it with two fans are you're good to go. Also, i forgot to mention that the design was meant for low cfm fans, this this makes it excellent for quiet setups

I award the Thermalright HR-01 Plus 8.5/10


a BIG thank you to Inter-Asia for supplying me these marvelous heatsinks smile.gif


This post has been edited by DaRkSyThE: Feb 6 2008, 05:23 PM
AoiNatsume
post Feb 2 2008, 02:20 AM

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Initially when i got my Ultra120ex out of the box, i though my unit is weird, dont u guys notice that its like somewhat... "senget" a little? apparently this one is the same as well laugh.gif

nevertheless, ive used both Ultra120 and Xigmatek S1283, definately ultra 120 is slightly better, not by a huge margin but its definately better despite the bad mounting mechanism. Also, another thing to note is that, ultra 120 responds to low noise/cfm fans better than the xigmatek, well.. i guess you get what you pay for.
tomatos
post Feb 2 2008, 09:38 AM

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Most probably the senget is due to the bend fins. Well i hate my Ultra 120 Ex for being extremely hard to mount. But overall performance is amazing.
overclockalbert
post Feb 2 2008, 01:56 PM

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i just love my true120, just my chipset cooler cant allowed me to just squeeze in the true120 vertically. or else i'll be a happy man.
so still waiting for my hr05 sli/ifx and hr05ifx.
a very good cooler and @TS, nice review

rgds

a4-paper
post Feb 2 2008, 05:41 PM

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thermalright ultra 120 extreme n xigmatek HDT s1283,
which one is more better??
TSDaRkSyThE
post Feb 2 2008, 05:42 PM

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hey, i dont know why is it so hard to install the TRUE
i had in working withing minutes haha
diff mounting ah?
@meno
post Feb 2 2008, 06:11 PM

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QUOTE(DaRkSyThE @ Feb 2 2008, 05:42 PM)
hey, i dont know why is it so hard to install the TRUE
i had in working withing minutes haha
diff mounting ah?
*
Haha, it took me quite sometime mounting the IFX-14 though, not sure bout the TRUE 120.
But the main difficulty in mounting the IFX-14 that i faced was the HR-10, not the IFX itself, mounting the IFX was an ease... tongue.gif

Bro, i was looking at ur temps for the TRUE 120, the HR-01, Ultima 90 and the IFX. Realised that the IFX was idling at higher temps. May i know wat was ur fan setup on the IFX, was it on sigle fan or double/three?
I'm getting pretty high temps on my X2 for idle as well...During nice days, i get around 37c idle and 41c-42c on load...While on a hot day, it will be around 41c idle and 44-45 on load. The idle temps do not quite impress me, but the when it come to the load temps, i have not seen any coolers doing better than most high end TRs out there. (Just sharing my experience as a new IFX-14 user, am considering switching to TRUE 120... laugh.gif )

@a4-paper
here you go:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=e...l%3Den%26sa%3DX
According to the review, the TRUE is around 0.25c better than the Xigmatek...

But build quality wise, i would say the TRUE should be a better piece of art... laugh.gif
Too bad they did not integrate the so called Inferno design on the True, making it like a single IFX...Tat would make it look cooler...
E-J@1
post Feb 2 2008, 09:03 PM

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QUOTE(DaRkSyThE @ Jan 18 2008, 10:15 PM)
...
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wooo hooooo rclxm9.gif HR-01 Plus do got their own fan clip rclxms.gif

This post has been edited by E-J@1: Feb 2 2008, 09:04 PM
AceCombat
post Feb 2 2008, 10:51 PM


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actually until today i read a lot of review regarding these 2 beast killing each other.
some of the review shown that TRUE better than IFX while some of them showing IFX better than TRUE.
but in compare between the size of the hs itself and the heatpipe itself,i would say that TRUE perform better since it has smaller size and smaller size of heat pipe.
clawhammer
post Feb 2 2008, 11:02 PM

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I never owned TRUE but only IFX-14. Looking at the design, I think TRUE should be somewhat around there or better compared to IFX-14. The two towers of IFX-14 might not be efficient enough for the heat at the base to spread up?
AceCombat
post Feb 2 2008, 11:20 PM


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but i se ppl using tri-fan and it's almost god-like notworthy.gif
i owned and used both before,honestly,when i using,both lapped and IFX14 better,but it's massive and my casign cant fit the exhaust pipe tongue.gif
clawhammer
post Feb 2 2008, 11:30 PM

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Ok, I guess you would have a better view since you owned both biggrin.gif I have been removing the HSF/CPU so often that nowadays, I can do it a lot quicker despite the huge size.

Btw, why selling your WC set?
@meno
post Feb 3 2008, 01:35 AM

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QUOTE(AceCombat @ Feb 2 2008, 11:20 PM)
but i se ppl using tri-fan and it's almost god-like notworthy.gif
i owned and used both before,honestly,when i using,both lapped and IFX14 better,but it's massive and my casign cant fit the exhaust pipe tongue.gif
*
Ur ex-IFX is with me now... tongue.gif
Undeniably, when you mount three fans on it, it's god like.
I have yet to try t tri-fan setup yet.

IFX vs TRUE
In terms of sheer performance, i think the IFX might have a slight advantage as it is potentially better when you go the extreme way.
Anyway, it was designed to be extreme.
The TRUE however wins when it comes to Efficiency. Smaller in size, performs on par/better, but i suppose it will not be able to beat the IFX on a tri-fan setup. Notice that the TRUE has more heatpipes than the IFX. TRUE has six, while IFX has 4, so there might be where the turning point is. The extra heatpipes on the TRUE might allow faster heat dissipation compared to the IFX eventhough the IFX has bigger heatpipes.
But i do hope that more IFX&TRUE users will step front and share their experiences on these 2 highest end products of TR.
AceCombat
post Feb 3 2008, 11:04 AM


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QUOTE(clawhammer @ Feb 2 2008, 11:30 PM)
Ok, I guess you would have a better view since you owned both biggrin.gif I have been removing the HSF/CPU so often that nowadays, I can do it a lot quicker despite the huge size.

Btw, why selling your WC set?
*
I love TR honestly,they are great.
anyway,selling my watercooling stuff and most of my pc stuff,really retire liao and get the money and grab an engine for my car brows.gif

QUOTE(@meno @ Feb 3 2008, 01:35 AM)
Ur ex-IFX is with me now... tongue.gif
Undeniably, when you mount three fans on it, it's god like.
I have yet to try t tri-fan setup yet.

IFX vs TRUE
In terms of sheer performance, i think the IFX might have a slight advantage as it is potentially better when you go the extreme way.
Anyway, it was designed to be extreme.
The TRUE however wins when it comes to Efficiency. Smaller in size, performs on par/better, but i suppose it will not be able to beat the IFX on a tri-fan setup. Notice that the TRUE has more heatpipes than the IFX. TRUE has six, while IFX has 4, so there might be where the turning point is. The extra heatpipes on the TRUE might allow faster heat dissipation compared to the IFX eventhough the IFX has bigger heatpipes.
But i do hope that more IFX&TRUE users will step front and share their experiences on these 2 highest end products of TR.
*
Adrian,got the IFX-14 from Micheal?I lapped the base until grid 2000 and now still shining or not?
well,u mat try tri-fan setup,but u have to becareful tehf an mounting and it's super duper heavy,
last time i used a high profile 200cfm fan and put at the middle,more than enough already,and i think better than tri-silent game.
as for heat pipe point,TRUE has 2 more heat pipe and IFX,TR uses 8mm big fat heat pipe to transfer the heat.

both of them got pro and con,depend what u wan only. tongue.gif

i'm grabbing a TRUE again,IFX is too massive.
TSDaRkSyThE
post Feb 3 2008, 12:34 PM

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QUOTE(@meno @ Feb 2 2008, 06:11 PM)
Haha, it took me quite sometime mounting the IFX-14 though, not sure bout the TRUE 120.
But the main difficulty in mounting the IFX-14 that i faced was the HR-10, not the IFX itself, mounting the IFX was an ease... tongue.gif

Bro, i was looking at ur temps for the TRUE 120, the HR-01, Ultima 90 and the IFX. Realised that the IFX was idling at higher temps. May i know wat was ur fan setup on the IFX, was it on sigle fan or double/three?
I'm getting pretty high temps on my X2 for idle as well...During nice days, i get around 37c idle and 41c-42c on load...While on a hot day, it will be around 41c idle and 44-45 on load. The idle temps do not quite impress me, but the when it come to the load temps, i have not seen any coolers doing better than most high end TRs out there. (Just sharing my experience as a new IFX-14 user, am considering switching to TRUE 120... laugh.gif )

@a4-paper
here you go:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=e...l%3Den%26sa%3DX
According to the review, the TRUE is around 0.25c better than the Xigmatek...

But build quality wise, i would say the TRUE should be a better piece of art... laugh.gif
Too bad they did not integrate the so called Inferno design on the True, making it like a single IFX...Tat would make it look cooler...
*
it is a single fan configuration, and these results are dead accurate cause i checked 3 times.
heck, i remounted both heatsinks 3 times ><
but i did realize something bout my ifx. its showing some copper "blob" in the middle of the base now for some reason. its like the nickel was scratched.
maybe im going to lap it.

right now, im testing the coolit freezone. superb cooler biggrin.gif
@meno
post Feb 3 2008, 05:15 PM

It's "A Meh Noh" not Meno!!!
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QUOTE(AceCombat @ Feb 3 2008, 11:04 AM)
I love TR honestly,they are great.
anyway,selling my watercooling stuff and most of my pc stuff,really retire liao and get the money and grab an engine for my car brows.gif
Adrian,got the IFX-14 from Micheal?I lapped the base until grid 2000 and now still shining or not?
well,u mat try tri-fan setup,but u have to becareful tehf an mounting and it's super duper heavy,
last time i used a high profile 200cfm fan and put at the middle,more than enough already,and i think better than tri-silent game.
as for heat pipe point,TRUE has 2 more heat pipe and IFX,TR uses 8mm big fat heat pipe to transfer the heat.

both of them got pro and con,depend what u wan only. tongue.gif

i'm grabbing a TRUE again,IFX is too massive.
*
Ya, i got it from Michael.
Did not realise it was ur unit until i saw the receipt from Karom, checked the date and confirmed it's urs... laugh.gif
The IFX sure had travelled far, from Butterworth to the Island, then to Malacca then back to the Island... tongue.gif

I'm thinking of mounting the San-ace 120x38mm i borrowed from PM in the center...Now only using my EFB on 1 tower, thinking of switching it to the center to see if there's any improvements in temps...

Now no longer shining like it used to be, but i dun think it'll effect the performance tat much.

You getting TRUE again, u shdn't have sold the unit which i told u bout...

QUOTE(DaRkSyThE @ Feb 3 2008, 12:34 PM)
it is a single fan configuration, and these results are dead accurate cause i checked 3 times.
heck, i remounted both heatsinks 3 times ><
but i did realize something bout my ifx. its showing some copper "blob" in the middle of the base now for some reason. its like the nickel was scratched.
maybe im going to lap it.

right now, im testing the coolit freezone. superb cooler biggrin.gif
*
Coolit freezone, coool...

Hmm, AFAIK, most IFX bases ain't that flat anyway, so lapping it might see some improvements...

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