Thermalright Ultra 120: Elegant, Fanless and Efficient Cooling
by Wesley Fink on March 5, 2007 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Noise
For many enthusiasts upgrading cooling the goal is maximum stable overclock, and they will live with the inconvenience of a louder system. For other users silence is the most important factor, and these users will forgo maximum overclocking if that increases system noise levels. As demonstrated on page 4, the Ultra 120 can easily cool a Core 2 Duo at stock speeds without a fan. The fanless configuration is also effective at cooling a C2D that has been mildly overclocked at stock voltage. Certainly this "no-fan" or passive-cooling configuration is the lowest noise level that can be achieved with the Ultra 120.
We also Measured noise levels with the Thermalright Ultra 120 with the Scythe S-Flex SFF21F fan. To test idle and load noise levels, a Zalman fan controller was used to dial in the lowest and highest fan speeds. The difference in noise levels between low and high speed settings on the Scythe fan were very small
There are virtually no power supplies that do not have a fan. While Zalman and a few others do make an expensive fanless power supply, we have not seen a fanless unit larger than 500W, or one that would be used for seriously overclocking a system. With that in mind the noise level of the system with all fans turned off except the Power Supply was measured. The power supply used for the cooling test bed was the OCZ PowerStream 520, which is one of the quieter of the high performance power supplies. The noise level of the Power Supply was 38.3dB from 24" (61cm) and 47dB from 6" (152mm). The measured noise level of the test room is 36.4dB, which would be considered a relatively quiet room with a noise floor slightly below the OCZ PowerStream 520 PSU.
Measured noise levels in this chart should be considered worst case. Measurements were taken with an open side of a mid tower case 6" from the open HSF and 24" from the open HSF. Real world would be a completely closed case with a further reduction in noise.
While the Tuniq matches the Ultra 120 for low noise at low speeds - also below the noise floor of the system - the S-Flex is significantly quieter than the stock Tuniq fan at high speeds. At 24" the S-Flex measures 39.8dB compared to 48dB for the Tuniq. At 6" the S-Flex is at the system floor of 47 DB at high speed compared to the Tuniq at 54 dB. Of course one way to lower the noise of the Tuniq fan on high is to replace the Tuniq 120mm fan with the Scythe S-Flex. High speed noise levels of the Tuniq should then be comparable to the Ultra 120 with the S-Flex fan.
The noise results with the Thermalright Ultra 120 with a Scythe S-Flex fan are impressive. At both high and low speeds, measured from 6" or 24" the Ultra 120 was below the system noise floor in almost all measurements. This is even more surprising when you consider the air flow with the SFF21F is a very high 63.7CFM.
Any 120mm fan should be mountable on the Ultra 120 as long as the fan uses open holes for mounting; the fan can be any thickness. We know the Scythe S-Flex and Noctua fans will mount properly on this heatsink, and you can chose from a wide variety of fans in both product lines. These range from ultra-quiet 8dB-A fans all the way to the 28dB-A fan used in these tests. Considering how quiet the S-Flex measured in our tests, users can opt for higher CFM with assurance that the fan will still remain quiet.
While the Ultra 120 and the Tuniq Tower 120 performed virtually the same in cooling and overclocking, the Ultra 120 with the S-Flex fan proved quieter than the Tuniq when the fans were running at highest speed. Considering the Ultra 120 is also effective as a fanless cooler at stock speeds, the Ultra 120 comes out as the low-noise leader among the coolers we have tested at AnandTech. You can likely lower noise levels of the Tuniq to those of the Ultra 120 by replacing the Tuniq fan with a Scythe S-Flex fan like the one used in our cooling tests with the Ultra 120, although that would increase the total price of the Tuniq.
For many enthusiasts upgrading cooling the goal is maximum stable overclock, and they will live with the inconvenience of a louder system. For other users silence is the most important factor, and these users will forgo maximum overclocking if that increases system noise levels. As demonstrated on page 4, the Ultra 120 can easily cool a Core 2 Duo at stock speeds without a fan. The fanless configuration is also effective at cooling a C2D that has been mildly overclocked at stock voltage. Certainly this "no-fan" or passive-cooling configuration is the lowest noise level that can be achieved with the Ultra 120.
We also Measured noise levels with the Thermalright Ultra 120 with the Scythe S-Flex SFF21F fan. To test idle and load noise levels, a Zalman fan controller was used to dial in the lowest and highest fan speeds. The difference in noise levels between low and high speed settings on the Scythe fan were very small
There are virtually no power supplies that do not have a fan. While Zalman and a few others do make an expensive fanless power supply, we have not seen a fanless unit larger than 500W, or one that would be used for seriously overclocking a system. With that in mind the noise level of the system with all fans turned off except the Power Supply was measured. The power supply used for the cooling test bed was the OCZ PowerStream 520, which is one of the quieter of the high performance power supplies. The noise level of the Power Supply was 38.3dB from 24" (61cm) and 47dB from 6" (152mm). The measured noise level of the test room is 36.4dB, which would be considered a relatively quiet room with a noise floor slightly below the OCZ PowerStream 520 PSU.
Measured noise levels in this chart should be considered worst case. Measurements were taken with an open side of a mid tower case 6" from the open HSF and 24" from the open HSF. Real world would be a completely closed case with a further reduction in noise.
While the Tuniq matches the Ultra 120 for low noise at low speeds - also below the noise floor of the system - the S-Flex is significantly quieter than the stock Tuniq fan at high speeds. At 24" the S-Flex measures 39.8dB compared to 48dB for the Tuniq. At 6" the S-Flex is at the system floor of 47 DB at high speed compared to the Tuniq at 54 dB. Of course one way to lower the noise of the Tuniq fan on high is to replace the Tuniq 120mm fan with the Scythe S-Flex. High speed noise levels of the Tuniq should then be comparable to the Ultra 120 with the S-Flex fan.
The noise results with the Thermalright Ultra 120 with a Scythe S-Flex fan are impressive. At both high and low speeds, measured from 6" or 24" the Ultra 120 was below the system noise floor in almost all measurements. This is even more surprising when you consider the air flow with the SFF21F is a very high 63.7CFM.
Any 120mm fan should be mountable on the Ultra 120 as long as the fan uses open holes for mounting; the fan can be any thickness. We know the Scythe S-Flex and Noctua fans will mount properly on this heatsink, and you can chose from a wide variety of fans in both product lines. These range from ultra-quiet 8dB-A fans all the way to the 28dB-A fan used in these tests. Considering how quiet the S-Flex measured in our tests, users can opt for higher CFM with assurance that the fan will still remain quiet.
While the Ultra 120 and the Tuniq Tower 120 performed virtually the same in cooling and overclocking, the Ultra 120 with the S-Flex fan proved quieter than the Tuniq when the fans were running at highest speed. Considering the Ultra 120 is also effective as a fanless cooler at stock speeds, the Ultra 120 comes out as the low-noise leader among the coolers we have tested at AnandTech. You can likely lower noise levels of the Tuniq to those of the Ultra 120 by replacing the Tuniq fan with a Scythe S-Flex fan like the one used in our cooling tests with the Ultra 120, although that would increase the total price of the Tuniq.
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Wesley Fink - Monday, March 5, 2007 - link
I have changed the comment to "remove" air.A quick glimpse at www.newegg.com shows a number of power supplies with down-facing fans. Examples are the the OCZ GameXStream 700 at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82..., the Seasonic at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82..., the Coolermaster 550W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82..., the Thermaltake 550w at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82..., the Raidmax at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82..., and the Enermax at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82....
Even at the low end you can find down-facing fans such as the Xion 500W, $29.95 after rebate at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82..., the house brand Rosewell 400w at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82..., and the Sparkle 350W at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82....
Fans which remove air from the CPU area are VERY common and not difficult to find.
johnsonx - Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - link
I think you misunderstood the gist of my comment, but your correction to the article is indeed correct. I was making the point that the bottom fan of a power supply does not BLOW air onto the CPU area, rather it intakes air FROM that area. I'm well aware there are numerous such power supplies available (personally I prefer the ones that have both a bottom and a rear fan, but there are valid points both ways on that debate).Sometimes I try to be too creative in my phrasing, thus obfuscating my central point beyond recognition.
nilepez - Monday, March 5, 2007 - link
Since you're reviewing HS, perhaps you need to test them all with the same fan (assuming they take the same fan size). Obviously some come with fans, and you'd want to test with the stock fan, but to make things equal, I think you need to pick a fan (Skythe, Noctua, Panaflo et al.) and test them all with that fan as well. Only then will we know what the best HS is.My guess is that Thermalright would still be up there, as they're generally one of the best HS makers (if not the best) out there.
Rocket321 - Monday, March 5, 2007 - link
I would love to see a review of the Ultra 90 you mentioned on page 2. I'm hoping to find something a little lighter than these highend coolers without moving into the budget sector.ADDAvenger - Monday, March 5, 2007 - link
I'd be interested in a review of that as wellorion23 - Monday, March 5, 2007 - link
Thank you guys for another great review! Great Job!It's nice that these coolers are being tested with new setups (C2D) unlike many other sites that choose to test with "old hardware".
I've always been a fan of the Thermalright Ultra 120 which BTW has kept my 4ghz overclock (E6600) idling @ 28-35 and 50c under load. I tried a Tuniq Tower but the results were @ least 5c higher with the Tuniq!
Go Thermalright!
jonman03 - Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - link
I have to agree, we get alot of requests for these on our custom systems. Great cooler, looks great in windowed cases. What else could you ask for?http://www.plugcomputers.com">Custom Gaming Computers - Plug Computers
1111111 - Monday, March 5, 2007 - link
A few minutes with a hacksaw works fine to remove a section of the fan posts. That's what I ended up doing with my Thermalright Ultra-120/Yate Loon D12SL-12.
Wesley Fink - Monday, March 5, 2007 - link
Your suggestion works, and the hack saw works best if you have a vise to hold the fan while you saw. A jigsaw melts the plastic as it moves too fast and creates too much heat for the plastic as it cuts - so it does not work as well.HOWEVER, this is a review of a heatsink that does not come with a fan and the special fan post requirements need to be pointed out. Not everyone wants to do shop work on a fan before it will mount on a heatsink.
hiepbiz - Monday, March 5, 2007 - link
I wonder why you tested only the single fan setup. The design of the Ultra 120 definitely suggests a perfect push and pull combo. Also, you didn't mention about the mounting surface of the Ultra 120. It's known that Ultra 120 has a pretty much uneven surface (observable with unaided eyes). I had to lap mine to not only expose the copper surface but also to make the surface flat.The reason I brought this up because there are people that don't care about noise and would prefer a very high-performance air-cooling. If the dual setup and a more even mounting surface would help, I would think it would put the Ultra 120 head and shoulder above the Tuniq Tower for these people (that would include me).
I happened to own both Tuniq and Ultra 120, and I would say I prefer the flexibility the Ultra 120 offers.
Other than some of the minor points that I've pointed out, I would say that this review (and other recent HSF reviews) is an excellent one. Keep up the good work. BTW, I wonder when you're gonna do a piece on the Coolit Freezone.