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Thermalright Ultra-120 Low Noise Heatsink Review
Thermalright Ultra-120 Low Noise Heatsink Review
  98%   
Abstract: UPDATED! The Ultra-120 is a large heatsink, but one which can be operated very quietly while disbursing the high heat loads from modern-day dual core processors.

 Manufacturer  Category  Published  Author 
Thermalright   Cooling / Heatsinks   Jul 02, 2007   Max Page  

Home > Reviews > Page: Final AMD/Intel Heatsink Temperature Comparisons

FrostyTech Mk.II Synthetic Thermal Heatsink Test Results
AMD Athlon64 / FX / X2 & Sempron class heatsinks
Results based on readings from a 38x38mm copper interface die with 125W heat load on the K8 version of the Mk.II Test Platform. Temperature results listed for each heatsink were calculated by determining the rise over ambient temperatures at time of test. Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here.
Socket 939/940/754 & AM2 compatible CPU heatsinks
manufacturer: model no.: *fan speed: 125w thermal test (°c) noise level (dba)

Thermalright Ultra-120 12.4 53.7
Zalman CNPS9700 LED high 16.5 56.5
AVC Z7U7414001 (stock AM2) high 17.0 63.0
Noctua NH-U12 17.5 45.4
Gigabyte GH-PCU23-VE high 17.5 65.6
Thermalright Ultra-90 high 18.2 56.2
Gigabyte G-Power Pro high 18.6 71.9
Enzotech Ultra-X high 18.7 59.1
Noctua NH-U9 18.8 58.4
Evercool Buffalo HPEA-10025 19.5 50.2
Cooljag Falcon 92-AL high 19.8 52.1
Akasa AK-876 high 20.0 48.2
Xigmatek HDT-S963 high 20.1 50.2
Akasa AK-920 high 20.2 52.9
Scythe Mine Rev.B 20.4 36.8
Cooljag Falcon 92-Cu high 20.4 52.8
Apack Zerotherm BTF90 20.5 52.1
Coolermaster Hyper6 high 20.5 54.7
Asus Arctic Square high 20.9 38.3
Apack Zerotherm BTF80 21.3 51.9
Thermaltake Venus 12 high 21.7 68.1
Cooljag SFO-Q high 22.2 60.6
ASUS Starice high 22.8 67.4
Zalman CNPS9500 AM2 high 23.0 53.2
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro 23.2 50.9
Coolermaster Aquagate Mini high 23.2 59.2
Thermaltake Polo 735 high 23.4 68.0
Cooljag SFO-H high 23.6 60.6
Alpha PAL-8150 23.7 58.9
Zalman CNPS9500 LED high 23.8 50.3
Verax Helado 24.3 36.3
AVC Z7U3301001 (stock 939) high 24.6 59.9
Zalman CNPS8000 high 24.8 57.4
Gigabyte 3D Cooler-Ultra high 24.8 63.0
Scythe Kama Cross 25.1 40.0
OCZ Tempest 26.0 51.6
Scythe Shogun high 26.0 45.9
Rosewill RCX-Z2-EX high 26.3 45.9
EKL V8 high 26.3 57.5
Rosewill RCX-Z3 high 26.5 58.6
Thermalfly F1-IACSHA high 26.6 60.4
Zalman FS-C77 26.7 56.5
Gigabyte 3D Rocket-Pro high 26.9 56.7
Zalman CNPS7700-Cu high 27.0 50.7
Gigabyte 3D Cooler-Pro high 27.0 62.5
nPowerTek NPH-Big K8 27.8 54.0
Akasa AK-922 (EVObue) high 27.9 60.3
Zalman CNPS7700-Cu LED high 28.1 49.8
Akasa AK-873 high 28.2 59.2
Scythe Katana II 28.3 37.9
Spire SP601B3 28.3 48.9
Ajigo MF064-074 high 28.8 60.3
Gigabyte 3D-Rocket 28.9 50.7
Vantec Mach1 high 29.2 56.9
Thermalright SLK-948U 29.4 58.8
CoolJag SFO-D(18SC) 29.6 64.0
Antazone AS-C1000 30.2 57.6
Arctic Cooling Alpine 64 30.5 43.9
Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu high 30.3 45.2
Dynatron SK-V24 30.3 56.4
Verax Quattro 1 high 30.7 55.4
Xigmatek AIO-S80DP high 30.7 55.0
Zalman CNPS7000-Cu high 31.0 45.2
Coolermaster Hyper48 31.7 43.6
Rosewill RCX-Z1 high 31.9 54.1
Scythe Kama SCKK1000 31.9 47.5
Scythe Samurai SCSM1000 high 32.1 51.6
Zalman CNPS7000B-CU high 32.3 44.9
Thermaltake Silentboost K8 32.3 49.7
Jetart JAX801 33.2 53.5
Dynatron A22 34.5 44.5
nPowertek NPH K8-1 34.6 52.2
Ajigo MF043-044 (stock 754) 35.0 45.4
Arctic Cooling Silencer 64 Ultra TC 37.5 55.5
Gigabyte NeonCooler 8-BL 37.7 42.0
Spire Fourier IV SP607B3-C 38.4 60.2
Titan TTC-K8ATB/825/SC 38.7 63.1
Akasa AK-860SF 39.4 45.2
Evercool K802-715 42.1 51.5
Spire SP741B3 43.2

45.6

Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 LP 45.3 42.6
Evercool Magic Cooler 46.6 55.5
ASUS Starice low 92.4+ 34.4
125w thermal test (°c) noise level (dba)
*heatsinks are ranked according to the 125w thermal test results column (rise over ambient temp.). low temperatures with low noise levels are considered best. for reference heatsinks with variable-speed fans, only the high speed (12v) fan test result is included in the comparison sheet; more detailed results reside in each specific heatsink review.

With a 125W heat load applied by the FrostyTech synthetic thermal test platform, the Thermalright Ultra-120 heatsink yields a rise above ambient temperature of just 12.4°C, with 53.7 dBA noise generated. The results shown here are valid only if a 120mm Martech D712025125Z2N fan is used.

The thermal performance of the Thermalright Ultra-120 heatsink is slightly better than the stock AM2 AVC Z7U7414001 heatsink (a difference of 4.6°C) and dramatically better than the stock 939 AVC Z7U3301001 heatsink (a difference of 17.2°C).

FrostyTech Mk.II Synthetic Thermal Heatsink Test Results
Intel Pentium D / Extreme Edition & Quad Core class heatsinks tested at 150W
Intel Core 2 Duo / Pentium 4 / Celeron class heatsinks tested at 85W

Results based on readings from a 30x30mm copper interface die with 150W and 85W heat loads applied on the LGA775 version of the Mk.II Test Platform. Temperature results listed for each heatsink were calculated by determining the rise over ambient temperatures at time of test. Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here.
Socket 775 compatible CPU heatsinks
manufacturer: model no.: fan speed: 150w
thermal test* (°c)
85w
thermal test (°c)
noise level (dba)

Thermalright Ultra 120 17.8 10.6 53.7
Zalman CNPS9700 LED high 19.0 10.4

56.5

Thermalright Ultra-90 high 19.6 13.0 56.2
Enzotech Ultra-X high 20.0 8.5 59.1
Apack Zerotherm BTF90 21.8 12.7 52.1
Xigmatek HDT-S963 high 21.9 13.7 50.2
Akasa AK-965 high 22.2 13.8 48.1
Apack Zerotherm BTF80 22.8 13.9 51.9
Cooljag Falcon 92-AL high 23.2 14.2 52.1
Rosewill RCX-Z3 high 23.3 14.0 58.6
Scythe Mine Rev. B 23.6 15.0 36.8
Cooljag Falcon 92-Cu high 23.6 14.8 52.8
Akasa AK-920 high 24.3 14.1 52.9
Asus Arctic Square high 24.9 14.9 44.9
Akasa AK-922 (EVObue) high 25.5 15.4 60.3
Thermalfly F1-IACSHA high 29.0 18.3 60.4
Thermalfly I75DUB high 29.5

16.8

68.5
Zalman CNPS9500 AT 29.6 17.3 53.3
Alpha Novatech PRE9060M92P high 29.9 18.5 51.5
Scythe Kama Cross 30.0 18.8 40.0
Akasa AK-961 30.0 18.7

60.7

Rosewill RCX-Z2-EX high 30.1 18.7 45.9
nPowertek NPH-775-1 30.1 18.8 50.1
Sunon Waturbo 30.6 18.3 57.5
Apack CF800 high 31.4 20.7 48.4
Thermaltake Jungle512 high 31.6 20.4 60.8
Coolage Frozen Orb F0-Z924AL high 32.0 19.9 48.9
Xigmatek AIO-S80DP high 32.4 21.4 55.0
Scythe Katana II 32.5 18.6 37.9
Rosewill RCX-Z2

32.6

19.3 59.9
Zalman CNPS7700-Cu high 32.9 19.7 50.7
Apack CF900 high 32.9 20.3 48.3
Evercool PT02-9232CP 33.3 19.9 63.3
Zalman CNPS7700-Cu LED high 33.5 20.6 49.8
Intel Stock Pentium D high 33.8 20.7 47.5
nPowerTek SF775-2 high 34.7 21.1 64.6
Akasa AK-960E 36.1 21.4 56.3
Thermalfly I75DUH 37.8 22.8 48.7
Cooljag OAK-H high 38.5 22.9 55.7
Cooljag OAK-H2 high 38.6 24.1 55.6
LS Cable SHS-T700 38.7 22.8 48.5
Intel Stock Core 2 Duo 49.2 29.0 36.7
Spire Fourier IV SP607B3-C 63.6 18.7 60.2
Cooljag OAK-H low 95.3 54.5 29.5
150w
thermal test (°c)
85w
thermal test (°c)
noise level (dba)
*heatsinks are ranked according to the 150w thermal test results column (rise over ambient temp.). low temperatures with low noise levels are considered best. for reference heatsinks with variable-speed fans, only the high speed (12v) fan test result is included in the comparison sheet; more detailed results reside in each specific heatsink review.

the heat output from intel processors varies widely between single and multi-core processors, so frostytech tests heatsinks with two thermal values that represent the upper limits of both existing cpu families; 150w and 85w. with a 150w heat load applied by the intel lga775 version of frostytech's synthetic thermal test platform, the Thermalright Ultra-120 heatsink yielded a spectacularly low rise above ambient temperature of just 17.8°C (53.7dBA)!

Next, the Thermalright Ultra-120 heatsink was tested with an 85W heat load; akin to a Core 2 Duo processor. This resulted in a very low 10.6°C over ambient at default fan speed. Once again, the Ultra-120 heatsink posts the lowest results to date on the Intel LGA775 thermal test platform!

Ultimately this makes the Thermalright Ultra-120 heatsink the best performing AMD socket 939/AM2 & Intel socket 775 model tested to date.

However, if there is one point to remember, it is that there is no such thing as "best" when it comes to heatsink's, there is always a better solution on the horizon. Always. The Thermalright Ultra-120 retails without a fan for about $48USD ($55CDN) through such online retailers as Newegg.com.

For comparison's sake, next to the Thermalright Ultra-120 heatsink the Noctua NH-U12 heatsink is its' best competitor. The NH-U12 has a rise above ambient temperature of 17.5°C, with only 45.4 dBA noise generated. With alternative fans it is possible that we could have reduced the noise output of the Thermalright Ultra-120 heatsink further still, but obviously this would have impacted its thermal performance in tandem.

The open framework of the Thermalright Ultra-120 heatsink allows users to endlessly try different combinations of 120 mm fans with the cooler, and in this respect the Ultra-120 provides a solid thermal foundation. The Ultra-120 provides performance cooling with reasonable noise levels, and so long as your computer system can accommodate the large 160mm tall frame, you should find the Thermalright Ultra-120 heatsink an excellent choice for Intel or AMD processors.

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 Previous Page ° Heat Sink Review Index  

Table of Contents:

 1:  Thermalright Ultra-120 Low Noise Heatsink Review
 2:  Socket AM2/939 Heatsink Mounting Considerations
 3:  360° View - Thermalright Ultra-120 Heatsink
 4:  Acoustic Comparisons and Base Surface Quality
 5: — Final AMD/Intel Heatsink Temperature Comparisons

List all Thermalright heat sinks that Frostytech tested?

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