Thermalright Ultra120 Extreme CPU Cooler

Ultra120 Extreme, the King of Silent Air (so far)

Strengths: Supreme silent air cooling performance. Quality construction. Easy and secure mounting system.

Weakness: Heavy. Expensive. Doesn't come with a fan. Size may be an issue for smaller computers.

Initially, I was worried about the hefty weight of this cooler, and that's why I opted for the Scythe Ninja Rev. B. However, the Ninja's poor mounting system proved to be a major drawback for heat transference, especially when the CPU is overclocked. I finally bit on this cooler because I really wanted to overclock my E6600 (which turns out to be a poor overclocker that chews up voltage...
Read Full Review

Initially, I was worried about the hefty weight of this cooler, and that's why I opted for the Scythe Ninja Rev. B. However, the Ninja's poor mounting system proved to be a major drawback for heat transference, especially when the CPU is overclocked. I finally bit on this cooler because I really wanted to overclock my E6600 (which turns out to be a poor overclocker that chews up voltage quickly--bad luck for me). The Ninja struggled to keep my chip stable at 2.9GHz and temperatures were in the high 60s. On the other hand, the Ultra 120 Extreme (equipped with a 1500rpm fan) keeps my E6600 under 40 Celsius degrees under load at stock speed and under 50 Celsius degrees overclocked at 3.0GHz. These outstanding results are remarkable because my E6600 is housed in a silent PC, where high airflow has been sacrificed for near complete silence. I highly recommend the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, especially for those who wish to strike a compromising balance between cooling performance and silent operation without the desire to upgrade to water cooling. Also, its weight did not turn out to be an issue.


PS. Some people have mentioned the lack of a flat surface for the heatsink, but this design (flaw) was intentional by Thermalright. Though I may not agree with the manufacturer's designers, I still pay compliments to them for creating a cooler that emanates efficiency--even with a non-flat surface.

By hairypot - Nov 11, 2007

The BEST, if not for the QC issue

Strengths: One of the best, if not the best (air cooled) heatsink on the market.

Weakness: One of the most expensive (air cooled) heatsink on the market and no fan. Big & heavy. Most importantly, poor QC; you need to waste even more time get the surface nice and even.

I have bought 2 of these for my computer builds. These are undoutably the best performing air cooled heatsink on the market. The unit is big and heavy, not to mention pricy (and doesnt even come with a fan like Tuniq Tower 120). But they are sacrifices you'd need to make for the best. However, in no way would these make up for the poor QC on the units I have received (the main reason for...
Read Full Review

I have bought 2 of these for my computer builds. These are undoutably the best performing air cooled heatsink on the market. The unit is big and heavy, not to mention pricy (and doesnt even come with a fan like Tuniq Tower 120). But they are sacrifices you'd need to make for the best.
However, in no way would these make up for the poor QC on the units I have received (the main reason for -2stars).
I do not ask for mirror finish (though would love it) but I expect the mounting surface to be even at a glance (which is least accurate). The one unit's surface had wave-like machine marks and the other, while mostly even, 1 corner section was machined lower than the rest (meaning you'd need to lap the majority of the metal surface off to get them even).
When you are paying so much for the heatsink (which costs as much as the low end core duo w/fan), I expect and demand quality from my purchase.

By hwoarangsx - Aug 26, 2007

Nice

Strengths: Very fast cooling, cools moy overclocked dual core intel conroe beautifully, from 2.66 to 3.4 ghz per core.

Weakness: the mounting bracket allows the unit to turm when you push it

It does not fit well in my apevia full tower, and i dislike the monting bracket, but for cooling linked with a 120mm fan it rocks. the cores never go over 41 degrees C, even when maxed out a little over an hour straight

By robert12319 - Feb 19, 2008

Thermalright Ultra120 Extreme CPU Cooler

Strengths: This is the best as far as air cooling is concerned.

Weakness: The instruction diagrams are unclear.

I bought this for my Q6600. It works so well that you could use it w/o a fan or thermal compound--with well ventilated case, of course. It's that good. This is the best as far as air cooling is concerned. The only problem I had with it was during installation. The diagram illustrating the fan mounting clips was unclear.

By synk - Jan 31, 2008

Extreme cooling

Strengths: Superior cooling, top of the line heatsink. Used on socket LGA775, back plate lined up perfectly.

Weakness: Need to remove motherboard to install back plate. Had to slightly turn head sink to clear north bridge heat sink on ABIT IP35 Pro motherboard. Even after screws are tight heat sink can be turned with little effort. LGA775 bracket could have fit heat sink

Even though it has some cons because of it's size, weight and LGA775 bracket, I'd still highly recommend this heat sink, for superior cooling w/120mm fan. Running Q6600 oc to 3.4Ghz at 1.3v I idle at 27C. Running four instances of Prime95 stressing the cpu to the max, it toped out at 58C, and cools back down in a hurry when stopped. Gaming I might get to 42C. Well within the limits of the 62C max...
Read Full Review

Even though it has some cons because of it's size, weight and LGA775 bracket, I'd still highly recommend this heat sink, for superior cooling w/120mm fan. Running Q6600 oc to 3.4Ghz at 1.3v I idle at 27C. Running four instances of Prime95 stressing the cpu to the max, it toped out at 58C, and cools back down in a hurry when stopped. Gaming I might get to 42C. Well within the limits of the 62C max for that chip. HS fit with an inch to spare in my Lian-li pro60 II case, but don't install and then try and slide the motherboard tray back in, lol, it's to big for that.

By 10w3v3 - Jan 30, 2008