Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (and other coolers)

[Beerlake]

So I'm looking at this cooler right now for AM2 platform, and of what I have been able to see from reviews, it can only be installed facing one way, depending how the stock rm is lined up. Which in my case would mean that the sink would be facing up toward the psu. If this is right, and it does look that way, could anyone recommend another nice cooler for that I could actually install so that faces the case fan in the back. I'm looking for something silent to replace the AMD stock cooler.

Another thing about these monster heatsinks like that Ultra 120 Extereme, I'm a little freaked out about their size. Is anyone using one in Antec Solo/P160? How's the fit? Solo isn't exactly the most roomy case, so I'm a little worried.

Which brings me to my last question. I'm not looking to overclock at all (x2 5600+ doesn't even overclock very well) so I would of course be fine with something smaller as well, no real need to get a monster cooler. Something that is more effective than stock cooler, silent and can be faced either way.


Thanks in advance.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Ultima-90 by ThermalRight -- baby twin to the U-120-Extreme.

You can check the manufacturer's web-site, but I'm guessing that you can install it either way.

My experience with the U-120-Ext has been with Intel LGA-775 sockets, but I've tried both configurations to test effectiveness, and they're equally do-able.

 

[Beerlake]

Looks like the brackets are pretty much the same for Ultima 90. I checked the installation instructions for U90, and it says that with AM2 the heatsink can not be rotated.

Right now I'm looking at the Noctua NH-U9F which is small, supposedly silent and rotates.

 

[nowayout99]

I have the original U120 in a Solo. The 120E should fit if it's the same height, which I think it is.

Thermalright has an adapter which lets you rotate the 120A to face the exhaust with an AM2 setup, but I don't think it'll fit the Extreme model. Since I don't OC either, I didn't think the few degrees were worth the extra cost. So I picked up the U120A from bestbyteinc for $51 shipped. Might still be worth considering the 120A+adapter if you're not planning to OC.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

If you look back to earlier posts, find my thread on "Motherboard Ducting."

It shows ducting designs for either type of orientation, and should suggest how you can still get air through the broadside and out the case rear.

You can also duct around the narrow side of the TR-120-(or EX), porting the exhaust to a 120mm rear exhaust fan, with very little appreciable degradation in thermal resistance -- and therefore, little or no change in cooling effectiveness.

Foam-art-board is cheap, can be folded and glued into rigid structures, is extremely light -- even kite-worthy, and can be custom-cut to fit over and around the fins of any tower-type cooler, or any "flat" cooler like the XP-120 or SI-128.

So for that, I myself would not hesitate to consider those model coolers for any limited AMD bracket-design, and for the money, wouldn't mind buying their bracket-adapter if it were called for in my (hypothetical) AMD rig. Currently, the Ultra / Ultima -type coolers have the optimal thermal resistances, and trump the earlier XP and SI designs.

But keep an eye on the reviews for newly appearing heatpipe coolers. There may still be some room for improvement in dropping the thermal resistance below 0.095 C/W. And there are probably ways, such as those I mention here, to improve even on the proven review results -- if just a tad more.

 

[Beerlake]

That's pretty neat stuff on that Motherboard Ducting thread, but way too much for me. I like simple solution with as little work as possible.

As for bracket adapter, I don't see one. Unless you mean the AM2 Bolt-Thru-Kit for U-120, which appears to be the same thing that comes bundled with the U-120-EX?

 

[nowayout99]

It's called the 'S-type Heatsink Clip' on the Thermalright website, under Accessories.

Link

"...allowing heatsink to rotate 90 degrees on the CPU socket. (For HR-01, Ultra-90, Ultra-120, SI-97A, and SI-128)"

 

[Beerlake]

Ah, so it is. Interesting looking thing. It doesn't help me though, looks like it's not available at my location. Or anywhere close to me. Would be a bit overkill to order something small like that overseas, postage would probably be three times the price of the actual clip.

However, I might still go with the Extreme even if can't rotate it. It's still a damn fine cooler and I should be able to get some of the air out with the rear fan. Then again I might just wait a bit and keep my eyes peeled on new reviews.

Thanks for the replies.