Mounting Ultra-120 Extreme

[TheDrD]

When mounting this cooler It slid around ALOT because my hand kept knocking into the Heatsink while I was trying to tighten the screws.

Anyone else have this? I have turned the computer on yet think it will be fine?

 

[VinDSL]

Not thread crapping...

The U-120 eXtreme HSF has a LOT of problems. This is just one of them!

From what I've read, the mount system on this HSF is horrible. I guess they move laterally, no matter how much you tighten the screws...

This movement supposedly causes problems depending on the orientation, i.e. north-south or east-west.

There has been speculation that this is NOT caused directly by the mounting system, but rather the warped base. A LOT of them are convex (have a high spot in the center).

Sorry! Don't know what to tell you except RMA...

 

[Navid]

It moves in any orientation (NS or WE). I am using a nut (as in nuts and bolts!) modified using Dremel to fix the lateral movement problem.
I will post a thread after I have pictures. Hopefully tonight.

 

[TheDrD]

I'm not talking about moving around after mounting I mean DURING mounting what with trying to expand that little mounting bracket while under the heatsink, I kept hitting the heatsink and it kept moving around....

 

[Navid]

You should insert the mounting bracket in and extend it before applying the thermal paste. Now, you can work with the sink and the bracket will not come off if you have extended it.

 

[TheDrD]

Good Idea. Anyone else have alot of trouble with those Spring Loaded Screws?

 

[imported_burningrave101]

I've installed mine three times now and while it's not the greatest of assemblies it works fine once the screws are all tightened down. Just line up the bracket the best you can on center and start tightening down each screw a little until all four are tight. The heatsink isn't going anywhere after that and the base is making good contact with the CPU. The heatsink does twist some since all the pressure is in the center and the heatsink itself is not secured to the bracket but as long as it's making full contact in the center that's all that matters in terms of heat transfer. I noticed that mine doesn't twist as easy when I mount it horizontal instead of vertical.

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: burningrave101
I've installed mine three times now and while it's not the greatest of assemblies it works fine once the screws are all tightened down. Just line up the bracket the best you can on center and start tightening down each screw a little until all four are tight. The heatsink isn't going anywhere after that and the base is making good contact with the CPU. The heatsink does twist some since all the pressure is in the center and the heatsink itself is not secured to the bracket but as long as it's making full contact in the center that's all that matters in terms of heat transfer. I noticed that mine doesn't twist as easy when I mount it horizontal instead of vertical.

The problem with sliding a lot is that the thermal paste may spread more than it may need to.
Another possible problem is repeatability. You remove the sink; clean it; apply thermal paste and install. If you get drastic changes in the temperatures, you won't know if it is because the sink is now making contact at a different spot.

On a cooler that is held steady in place like the stock cooler, the only thing that changes between multiple installations is how well you cleaned it and how much paste you applied.

If the sink moves a lot like this one, you have an additional parameter added; the position of the sink on the CPU.

 

[graysky]

No problems here. It took a few tries for me to get the hang of it, but since I was lapping it and the IHS on the CPU a while back, it came off and on a lot. I magnetized screwdriver is a must. Once you lower into position, on my board anyway, the "X" piece behind the board doesn't move when the board is mounted in the case. It's really easy actually to carefully place the first screw in and tighten is about 1/3 of the way, do the one across from it, etc. You just have to move slowly and take care not to bump it or else it does slide. Once tightened down, attaching the fan is pretty straight forward as well and it does move at this point, but it's not a problem. If anything, it helps to get any air bubbles out of the TIM.

 

[TheDrD]

My Temperature is 30C Idle on a e6600

Is that good, bad, average what?

 

[graysky]

You should have two temps for idle w/ a dual core machine. I would recommend that you download RMClock and report the idle temps from within that application. Also, what is room temp? Also, idle doesn't really tell much, what are your load temps (like 2x orthos running for at least 30 minutes)? Also, what are you system specs and what multiplier, fsb, and vcore are you using?

 

[God Mode]

TR should put 4 instead of 1 nub for the mount/hs base so there is less movement.

 

[TheDrD]

Originally posted by: graysky
You should have two temps for idle w/ a dual core machine. I would recommend that you download RMClock and report the idle temps from within that application. Also, what is room temp? Also, idle doesn't really tell much, what are your load temps (like 2x orthos running for at least 30 minutes)? Also, what are you system specs and what multiplier, fsb, and vcore are you using?

CPU-1
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/2536/cpu1wl3.jpg

CPU-2
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/1411/cpu2fs5.jpg

The FSB, VCore, and the Core clock all seem to be throttling..

Room temp 76-80F
System Specs:
E6600 (Ultra-120 Extreme)
Asus P5K Deluxe
2GB Crucial DDR 1066
7600GT XFX XXX
Seagate 7200.10 320GB
CM Stacker 810
Enermax Infinity 720w
1 DVD Drive

As for Load temps I'll post that later

 

[WoodButcher]

Originally posted by: TheDrD

Originally posted by: graysky
You should have two temps for idle w/ a dual core machine. I would recommend that you download RMClock and report the idle temps from within that application. Also, what is room temp? Also, idle doesn't really tell much, what are your load temps (like 2x orthos running for at least 30 minutes)? Also, what are you system specs and what multiplier, fsb, and vcore are you using?

CPU-1
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/2536/cpu1wl3.jpg
CPU-2
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/1411/cpu2fs5.jpg
The FSB, VCore, and the Core clock all seem to be throttling..
Room temp 76-80F
As for Load temps I'll post that later

That's speedstep, normal....

@ graysky- thanks for the link, I like that software

 

[TheDrD]

Well should I disable Speedstep? Advantages? Disadvantages?

 

[WoodButcher]

Originally posted by: TheDrD
Well should I disable Speedstep? Advantages? Disadvantages?

I like to keep it if I can, It depends on your overclock, most overclockers disable everything to get max OC. I like most of the intel tools like speedstep because it offers a power savings, [x 4 in my house!] and better temps which will add to longevity. Go to the intel site, groups of good info.

 

[graysky]

@woodbutcher: glad you like it.
@thedrd: idle temps in general are pretty much meaningless, load temps are much more critical. Also, Keep speedstep since it saves you heat and power when idle. You can manage it more effectively with an app called speedswitch xp (google that title). I have my threshold lowered to 5 %. In other words, when the CPU usage goes hits or exceeds 5 %, it steps up to 9x.

 

[TheDrD]

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/25/capture1yc9.jpg

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/4066/capture2xp5.jpg

What do ya think?

 

[WoodButcher]

I think that's just dandy, Now for the OC,,,,,,,,,
Is that 128 your PSU? I have one that reads 119 and the fan died, shut down. I replaced the fan and it works fine but still reads high. If you can cool that down.

Any one else with numbers like that?

 

[TheDrD]

Well I researched it and that number is usually bogos

 

[graysky]

@th3drd: ah, you're running vista. All bets are off then. I have no experience with it but have heard that software like speedfan and rmclock may not work the same under vista.

 

[TheDrD]

Well Speed fan runs fine, I think RMClock is reading the wrong temp though (It may be actually reading 1 of the cores) because Asus PC Probe II and Speedfan seem to read the same temps.

Say Speedfan is right, how are those temps?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I'm currently running my E6600 on a Striker Extreme mobo with the original Ultra 120 in a barebones open-chassis test-case -- a case from an old 1998 Gateway. I'm modding another case for the system, vowing not to install anything in it until all the design enhancements and cooling innovations are complete to my satisfaction.

With this open-air box and the regular Ultra 120, and at room ambients between 70 and 75F, my mobo idle temp falls in the range between 28C and 30C. At load, I've never seen the mobo temp go higher than 32C.

The CPU actually idles a few degrees lower than the mobo. I've seen it show temperatures in the 24 to 28C range. The load temperatures, running Orthos, range between 43C and 47C depending on room ambient.

 

[orion23]

I don't know about the Xtreme 120, but the Ultra 120 is very simple to install, in fact, it is the easiest HSF that I have worked with.

Zalman was a pain to me because of the pressure needed for those 2 little screws.

Tuniq Tower 120 blows with those darn THUMB screws.

 

[graysky]

The extreme is physically identical to the non-x version. It only differs in the # of heat pipes as I understand it.