Whirlpool

I was planning on buying one to OC my E8400, so I browsed through a couple of reviews and found mostly good stuff about it. Then I found this...

UPDATE: According to one of our readers, the base of this heatsink isn’t as good as it appears. If you take the time to lap and polish the base, you’ll find that there is a slight bump in the middle which most likely points towards the heatpipes being soldered on AFTER the base has been machined. The soldering process could warp the base slightly and case this bump. Removing it apparently gives you an extra 2-3 degree difference in the temperatures.

I don't know how reputable the site/company is that did the review but they're called ­XSReviews and did the review middle of last year. Just wondering if this was ever a problem? Or if it was, is it anymore?

Thanks.

I have this cooler, i didnt bother lapping it and have not been very impressed with teh cooling results on my e6850 at 3.8gighz but what can you do. It's pretty much the best air cooler when coupled with a 120mm fan so if you are worried get a different one. Noctua cooler is ok.

Loz. writes...

so if you are worried get a different one.

But its performance will most likely be worse than the TRU120E. Get watercooling if you're looking for extreme overclocks.

TRU120E is great, you are splitting hairs if you're not buying because of you have to lap it, it is one of the best air coolers about.

Loz. writes...

I have this cooler, i didnt bother lapping it and have not been very impressed with teh cooling results on my e6850 at 3.8gighz but what can you do.

I'd spend the (short) time in lapping it. When I took off my Thermalright ultra 120 (non extreme tho) I noticed it was fairly bumpy, basically not smooth/flat at all. I bought 4 lots of sandpaper, spent some time one morning lapping it and have a fair bit better temps than it was before being lapped. If the 'non extreme' is similar/same as the extreme model, it may be very worth your time of lapping it.

the base was made like that on purpose, you do realize the CPU's IHS isn't exactly flat either. So the Extreme's base is a bit concave to couple the IHS's shape, but for perfect results lap both the Baee and the IHS. BTW the aim of the base is to as flat as possible not as reflective as possible many people get that muxed up

Only manufacturer that consistently makes high quality bases are Zalman.

Like the review said, you'll get an extra 2-3C out of it, hardly worth the effort.

I have both Coolers Zalman 9700 & now Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme.

JasX writes...

Only manufacturer that consistently makes high quality bases are Zalman.

The Zalman has a shinier base but there is no guarantee that it is Flat.
I lapped the Zalman 9700 when i was using & it made a difference 5°c - 10°c.

The True made a difference 3° - 5°c it all depends on the Flatness of the HS to start with.

I suggest for best results lapp both HS Cooler & Cpu surfaces.

Also make sure to use some good Thermal Paste such as Tuniq TX-2,MX-2, Noctua NT-H1, OCZ Freeze or Ceramique.

Like the review said, you'll get an extra 2-3C out of it, hardly worth the effort.

I disagree if wanting Good Temperatures then any effort to improve is worth it! It all adds up..eg
Good Cooler.
Good Fan.
Reputable Thermal Paste.
Case Air Flow.[Case Fans]
Minor Mods to Hsf [Packing or Washer] to put a little more pressure on the mounting bracket.
Use of Mosfet Heatsinks for Motherboard.
There is more...It all depends how far one wants to go,
choice of moderate to extreme..if Running stock or OC.

inylbt writes...

Good Cooler.
Good Fan.
Reputable Thermal Paste.
Case Air Flow.[Case Fans]
Minor Mods to Hsf [Packing or Washer] to put a little more pressure on the mounting bracket.
Use of Mosfet Heatsinks for Motherboard.
There is more...It all depends how far one wants to go,
choice of moderate to extreme..if Running stock or OC.

Totally overkill. If you want a killer OC, invest in water cooling. Whilst you're in your garage grinding away a piece of metal, grinding away at your CPU (voiding it's warranty), going to Bunnings to find the appropriate washer, cutting up bits of copper heatsinks from old motherboards/graphics cards to fit on your mosfet, etc, etc. I would have already finished assembling a WC rig that beats your air cooler by at least 10C and a much better OC.

JasX writes...

Totally overkill. If you want a killer OC, invest in water cooling. Whilst you're in your garage grinding away a piece of metal, grinding away at your CPU (voiding it's warranty), going to Bunnings to find the appropriate washer, cutting up bits of copper heatsinks from old motherboards/graphics cards to fit on your mosfet, etc, etc. I would have already finished assembling a WC rig that beats your air cooler by at least 10C and a much better OC.

WC isn't exactly cheap and won't improve your OC by much, i have WC and it cost me ~$250 even though it beats my air cooler (ultima 90 push pull) by 8 degrees LOAD i don't see 8 degrees improving an overclock by much. If you want a "killer OC" get phase change. The Thermalright Ultra 120 extreme is a great cooler i would recommend it

schnapper writes...

TRU120E is great, you are splitting hairs if you're not buying because of you have to lap it, it is one of the best air coolers about.

Like I said, all the reviews were very positive, including what I've read in Whirlpool. I just wanted to be sure before I blew $65+ on something that cooled no better than the stock cooler.

Also, not going for extreme overclock. First time, probably won't push it too far. Just didn't want to rely on stock cooler.

JasX writes...

Totally overkill. If you want a killer OC, invest in water cooling. Whilst you're in your garage grinding away a piece of metal, grinding away at your CPU (voiding it's warranty), going to Bunnings to find the appropriate washer, cutting up bits of copper heatsinks from old motherboards/graphics cards to fit on your mosfet, etc, etc. I would have already finished assembling a WC rig that beats your air cooler by at least 10C and a much better OC.

Ok show me pic's of WC rig Temperatures we can compare.
Cpu-z, SpeedFan, Core Temp, RealTemp, Idle & Load Temperatures.
Give some Cost of the WC used.

What i am suggesting is minor cost's to add to a Good Air Cooler & some Effort as apposed to a Water cooled Rig.
IMO i think there is better value in the Air Cooling.

Totally overkill

The Choice is up to the Individual to choose how far one goes regarding Temperatures..no need to use all my suggestions...but even if using all my suggestions i don't believe it is OverKill.

The TRU120x is still arguably the BEST air cool HS available today.
It does seem however, to NEED a good lapping!
A couple of people here at WP suggest that the curvature is deliberate.
I would be obliged if you could post some websites, or documentation, that discuss and/or confirm this?

That said...

Get one
Lap it
Enjoy great air cooling
(don't think it is quite as neccessary to lap the actual CPU, as it is generally not so convex/concave)
I've got my E6850 running a rock-solid 3.6 at 28 idle, 36 at load.
Here's some photo of before/after lapping.

i191.photobucket.com/alb.../Slo_album/1.jpg
i191.photobucket.com/alb.../Slo_album/5.jpg
i191.photobucket.com/alb.../Slo_album/8.jpg

MarshallS writes...

reviews were very positive, including what I've read in Whirlpool. I just wanted to be sure before I blew $65+ on something that cooled no better than the stock cooler.

Big difference between a thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme Cooler & Stock Heat Sink.

No need to do anything much if not wanting to go to eXtremes in OC...but at least put a good Quality Fan such as one of the Scythe or Noctua Fans on the TRUE. :)

I have a TU 120 E setup on my 6850 @ 3.6ghz also... currently residing inside gigabyte A3d case.

mine sits on 19 idle and 29 load... pretty good aye :) BUT

the other day I was looking for a noisy case fan.. so I switched off all the case fans.. immediately the idle temp jumped to 34 and load was well over 50.

The point i guess I'm trying to make is... Its not just about your cooler...

inylbt writes...

What i am suggesting is minor cost's to add to a Good Air Cooler & some Effort as apposed to a Water cooled Rig.
IMO i think there is better value in the Air Cooling.

I don't know about you, but it takes hours to properly lap a CPU by hand. You gotta start with 800 grit, 400 if it's particularly curvy then work your way up to 2000+ and then start with polishing to give it that mirror finish. Then you do it again for CPU. How many degrees do you honestly think that's going to knock off at the end of the day? 10C at best. I can get that improvement easily with WC.

JasX writes...

You gotta start with 800 grit, 400 if it's particularly curvy then work your way up to 2000+ and then start with polishing to give it that mirror finish. T

Start with 250 grit & then work up to 1200 grit..hard to get Higher grit from bunnings & there is no need for a Mirror finish.

The Flatness is more Important then the Mirror finish & yes it takes effort but it pays off at the end of the day.

How many degrees do you honestly think that's going to knock off at the end of the day? 10C at best.

Yes about that 12°c & then keep adding to that with some other improvements as previously suggested. :)

I can get that improvement easily with WC.

Still waiting on your Pic's...Honestly would like to compare out of interest.

JasX writes...

Then you do it again for CPU. How many degrees do you honestly think that's going to knock off at the end of the day? 10C at best. I can get that improvement easily with WC.

It took me around an hour for my lapping. I got about 11 degrees better at load better. You can get that improvement with watercooling yes but the sandpaper was like $8 to buy. Watercooling to achieve similar/better results is around $300 minimum from the "good kits" I have looked and need ongoing maintenance (6-12 months I think between checks/topping up if needed/flushing etc). Once a good temp is gotten with air cooling, nothing else needs to be changed/looked at until either an upgrade is wanted or CPU is replaced.

So all up, it's about $80-$90 for great air cooling temperatures (as in lower when at load) and water cooling is $300 for similar temperatures with the ongoing maintenance needed. I seriously looked into watercooling not that long ago and was turned off it by the pricing and maintenance vs temp drops against what I have now.

JasX writes...

How many degrees do you honestly think that's going to knock off at the end of the day? 10C at best.

That's nothing to sneeze at!

get that improvement easily with WC

Even better if you lap that as well...

Slo writes...

That's nothing to sneeze at!

Even better if you lap that as well...

I don't think it is recommended to Lap if WC only to what i have read..but please correct me if i am misinformed.

Slo writes...

Even better if you lap that as well...

no, Cpu block manufacturers lap it in the factory to perfection :) so if you attempt it you will actually get a negative effect as they have high end equipment compared to you and your sandpaper. You can even "bow" your water block which is making it concave to couple the IHS as i mentiuoned before which actually improves performance by a couple of degrees.

the washer mod can also make a noticable difference to the true120

kronix writes...

the washer mod can also make a noticable difference to the true120

Please explain what that is please?

www.driverheaven.net/ove...degrees-off.html

This HS is just as good as basic water cooling.

It works the treat... only it is REAL big. Make sure you have a case for it.

C0RE 2 DU0 writes...

Please explain what that is please?

The washer mod is not necessary all the time. Some of the 120s came loose and could turn on the CPU. The washer or coin mod just put pressure down on the CPU.

I set mine up in August last year and no problems. I did not have to do the washer mod as it was down tight. I had heard that later productions of the 120 fixed the problem and you did not need the washer.

Wazza writes...

it's about $80-$90 for great air cooling temperatures (as in lower when at load) and water cooling is $300 for similar temperatures with the ongoing maintenance needed. I seriously looked into watercooling not that long ago and was turned off it by the pricing and maintenance vs temp drops against what I have now.

+1 Have also looked before Purchasing Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme. :)

I don't see the benefits going to WC?

If i wanted to step up i would consider going straight to Phase-Change...the only problem that i see is its to bulky, noisy & costly...Give time i think that will change can see might be an option later down the track. :)

Hi all, rather starting a new thread, I decided to hijack this by asking a simple question :)

For those of you who have/using the thermalright 120 ultra extreme, are you using the included syringe or thermal paste packaged with this heatsink? Or are you using something else and so should I?

I don't need "ultra" good performance, but I am overclocking my Q9450 to around 3.5GHz hopefully and I have a noctua 1200rpm fan 12cm fan as well.

I'm asking because I've been using my old stick of Arctic Silver but I can't seem to find it... so should I just use the thermal paste included?

Try and hold out for a coolermaster hyper z600, they will cost bout $60 and will be the best cooler you can buy as you can hook two fanse up to it

www.coolermaster.com/pro...tail&id=4517

I already HAVE the 120 ultra extreme sorry.

Apparently the Thermalright stuff that comes with their good coolers is very decent (if it really is the "Thermalright Chill Factor" paste anyway).

Got a Thermalright HR-03 GT and was surprised to see a full tube of included paste. I used my existing TX-2 paste anyway but saves me $10 on a new tube :D.

dufflover writes...

Apparently the Thermalright stuff that comes with their good coolers is very decent (if it really is the "Thermalright Chill Factor" paste anyway).

Yes i agree its good stuff.

Got a Thermalright HR-03 GT and was surprised to see a full tube of included paste.

Yes i tried to see if there was any difference between the Thermalright Chill Factor & another well recommended thermal paste OCZ Freeze & no difference really.

HooD writes...

mine sits on 19 idle and 29 load... pretty good aye :) BUT

the other day I was looking for a noisy case fan.. so I switched off all the case fans.. immediately the idle temp jumped to 34 and load was well over 50.

The point i guess I'm trying to make is... Its not just about your cooler...

I totally agree. I have a 120 Extreme (lapped by me), and I have no fans attached to it, and in my case all I have is 1 120mm intake and 1 120mm exhaust, and also the PSU. If I take the side panel off my case then the temperature goes up by about 6-10degrees on my CPU as compared to leaving it on.

Hey guys, does ur heatsink "rotate" on ur cpu after being installed??? Intel 775 btw.

I've got it installed on a gA EP35-ds3p and i've noticed that the heatsink CAN rotate... and I've tightened the thing already! and no i didn't use the wrong screws!

I can twist mine a very minor amount, how is it quite insignificant as it is firmly in place and its not like its going to fall off, and it makes a very tight contact with the CPU

wahoo writes...

Hey guys, does ur heatsink "rotate" on ur cpu after being installed??? Intel 775 btw.

Google mod for the cooler will explain how to mod to stop the looseness by installing a washer [spacer] between cooler & mounting bracket.

ReSiStAnCe 512 writes...

is it quite insignificant as it is firmly in place and its not like its going to fall off

I imagine "falling off" is not the problem here, rather the grease being moved as it twists.

Possibly not a good thing after it has settled in from new and filled the tiny low spots etc.

Difference after movement, f%@# knows! :)