Thermalright Ultra-120 or something new?

Gipo · 6 Oct 2014 at 21:08

Hallo!

Have just purchased some new gear - a G3258 and a Z97 board to go with it. Currently on stock cooling, but have an old cooler as above.

It only has the gubbins for my old AM2+/AM3 socket, and I was possibly just going to get an adapter for it to fit socket 1150 - cost of around 15 squids.

Could I get anything that performs better for 15 quid including delivery?

Maaaaany thanks!

setter · 6 Oct 2014 at 21:16

Still a very good cooler, if you can source a bracket for it its worth keeping. Auction site would be worth trying out.

doyll · 7 Oct 2014 at 13:03

Is it the 4-pipe Ultra 120 or the 6-pipe Ultra 120 Extreme? Both are quite good for their size .. and age means nothing.

Get a Bolt-thru Mounting kit
Model: VX BTK II

And you have as good or better cooler then new.

Here is what AnandTech said 07-03-2007 and not much has changed sense. They are both still great little coolers!

We asked at the beginning of this review if more is better. In the case of the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme the answer is a solid "Yes it is". The Tuniq Tower 120 and original Thermalright Ultra 120 remain very competitive heatpipe towers. In that same ball park are the Cooler Master Hyper 6+ and the Scythe Infinity with push-pull fans. You will not be disappointed in any of these coolers. However, the best air cooler we have tested is the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme. It cools better at all speeds and overclocks, and overclocks the processor further than any air CPU cooler we have tested. We look forward to seeing it on retail shelves, and performance enthusiasts should definitely try to find an Ultra 120 Extreme to cool their processor when it hits the retail channel.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2187/4

Gipo · 7 Oct 2014 at 21:36

Tis indeed the 6 pipe extreme

Good to know it's still a good cooler!

Have found the VX BTK II online at a competitor, but that's the only place - where else to get in the UK? Have tried the auction site but no luck

setter · 7 Oct 2014 at 21:39

Could try the members market on here.

Still run one of the extremes in an i7 bloomfield setup here, best value for money cooler ive ever had.

Mark A · 7 Oct 2014 at 22:15

I was in the same predicament and decided to go for the new bracket and use my TRUE Black cooler. A lot of the new coolers that are around £15 mark are bare copper and aluminium, not chrome/nickel plated like the TRUE. Plus the cooling still seems to be pretty good for their size, i'm not keen on the massive heatsinks you can get.

Not tried it yet as I'm still waiting on a few parts to build my new pc, but fitted the bracket ready.

setter · 7 Oct 2014 at 22:21

I had a lapped black one in another setup a few years ago, (x58). Like an idiot i replaced it with a prolimatech supermega. Temps were very similair. I then replaced it with the k2 dual tower im using now. Much bigger/heavier, yes it cools a good deal better. But at least with something like the ultra theres far less chance of blocking ram/pci slots etc.

Mark A · 14 Oct 2014 at 19:45

I'm having to mod this bracket to get my Black True120 to fit. Got to remove 2 of the bolts and file a bit of the bracket away to allow room for one of the heat pipes.

Was pretty sure i read that the bracket worked with the True, so i'm not sure why it wont fit :confused:

. Just a heads up for anyone considering using this bracket with the true, you might need to take a file to it.

doyll · 14 Oct 2014 at 22:14

Just to be sure, did you check the top bracket turned 90 degrees? I can't remember but some are bigger inside one way than the other.

Mark A · 15 Oct 2014 at 00:18

Yeah I tried both ways but it appears to be square. I have just fit it and managed to get away with just removing the 2 bolts as they would have been touching the heatpipes. Hopefully its installed right, it feels nice and tight after tightening down the bolts.

I am too scared to turn it on as this is my first build in 6 years and if it doesn't work i wont be able to go to bed till its sorted

.

inogen · 15 Oct 2014 at 00:25

I'm using a True 120 Black with the 1155/56/50 mounting kit. I'm using it on a Haswell 1150 socket. Did use it on a 1156 socket.

No filing required... :confused:

troops · 15 Oct 2014 at 00:39

Same here use the bracket with no filing.
Also used the VenomousX which i believe is the same bracket.

Mark A · 15 Oct 2014 at 01:15

Hmm, strange. As I said i didn't have to file the bracket in the end, but the bolts were hitting one of the heat pipes, which was sticking out further than the rest. So might just be some QC issues with my cooler maybe.. I could have got around it by tilting the cooler to one side, but i'd prefer to have it level.

I've zoomed in and lightened one of the pics I took and you can just about see it. The bolts were touching the heatpipe, so I've just snipped them off.

inogen · 15 Oct 2014 at 01:44

That's not on right

The steel parts of the bracket should be 90 degrees from that. ie, where there are no heat pipes.

The bracket should be aligned with the length of the mobo, the cross part goes across the width.

I'm not even sure how you've managed to fit it like you have, if you have, like I think you have... :confused:

Gipo · 15 Oct 2014 at 09:18

Quick Q, I used to use 'standard height' ram sticks - my new ones are a little taller let's say. How much clearance is there from the TRUE/attached fan to the ram 'area'

Mark A · 15 Oct 2014 at 13:39

inogen said:
That's not on right

The steel parts of the bracket should be 90 degrees from that. ie, where there are no heat pipes.

The bracket should be aligned with the length of the mobo, the cross part goes across the width.

I'm not even sure how you've managed to fit it like you have, if you have, like I think you have...

I dont know what you mean? Steel part? The whole bracket is steel. The mounting holes are the same distance apart, which means they create a square bracket, so it could go either way and wouldn't matter. There are 4 bolts to allow for either orientation of the heatsink.

Found a pic I took before I built pc, That's how I attached the bracket, so the heatsink is horizontal so the air is blowing straight into the rear fan.

Kinda worried about turning it on in case something is wrong, but the heatsink tightened down onto the chip.

Mark A · 15 Oct 2014 at 13:43

Gipo said:
Quick Q, I used to use 'standard height' ram sticks - my new ones are a little taller let's say. How much clearance is there from the TRUE/attached fan to the ram 'area'

On my asus mobo the ram wouldn't have fit in the slot nearest the cooler. With the ram in slot 2 and 4 there is about 6mm clearance between the ram and the fan.

Means you couldnt use 4 sticks, unless you had the fan mounted behind the heatsink to pull air through it. Or maybe mounted the fan a big higher up. I do like how it'll be drawing cool air over the ram heatsinks though.

inogen · 15 Oct 2014 at 14:25

Mark A said:
I dont know what you mean? Steel part? The whole bracket is steel. The mounting holes are the same distance apart, which means they create a square bracket, so it could go either way and wouldn't matter. There are 4 bolts to allow for either orientation of the heatsink.

yeah, sorry, didn't explain myself very well. Are you sure that's the right bracket? And / or you've got it on the right way round? ie, what should be on the back of the mobo is on the front?

Mine looks like this... (excuse the dust!)

Mark A · 15 Oct 2014 at 14:50

The one I have is the VX BTK II, seemed to be recommended a lot on various forums to use this heatsink with the 1150 socket. But looking at your pic i do seem to have those exact parts in my box of bits

. I bought this cooler second hand from the MM, so wasn't sure it would have the parts for 1150.

Just been into bios and its sitting around 24c, so must be fitted correctly.

EDIT: How is the cooler doing with your i7? Overclocked at all?

inogen · 15 Oct 2014 at 16:01

Mark A said:
The one I have is the VX BTK II, seemed to be recommended a lot on various forums to use this heatsink with the 1150 socket. But looking at your pic i do seem to have those exact parts in my box of bits . I bought this cooler second hand from the MM, so wasn't sure it would have the parts for 1150.

Just been into bios and its sitting around 24c, so must be fitted correctly.

EDIT: How is the cooler doing with your i7? Overclocked at all?

Yeah, works fine. I played at overclocking it when it was new, just out of interest to check out the chip, but to be honest, for me, it's mostly about keeping things cool and quiet, but capable of grunt when needed. I only have the i7 cos I do some work with VMs.

24c sounds fine and dandy to me. 'Tis a good cooler.