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Thermalright Ultima-90


Date
: 01/10/08 – 01:52:25 AM

Author
:

Category
: Cooling

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer:
Thermalright

Price:
$49.99 US @ Xoxide.com

Thermalright is a company that is well known for its high performance aftermarket heatsinks. Thermalright continues to remain at the top of the performance heatsink market with the earlier release of the Ultra-120 Extreme. Traditionally Thermalright offers variations of their heatsinks in models that have either a 120mm or 90mm size heatsink body. Today I am looking at the Ultra-120 Extreme's little brother, the Ultima-90.

Page 2 : Package and Accessories

Thermalright has always let their product do the talking as opposed to the packaging and the Ultima-90 is no exception. As with all Thermalright products the Ultima-90 comes in a thick brown box with just the Thermalright logo on the top.

The only indication of what is inside is the products name on the side of the box, in this case the Ultima-90. Also listed is the web address for Thermalright.

Once you open up the top of the box you are greeted with the installation instructions and a Thermalright sticker laid on top of the heatsink encased in foam. On the right is the box of accessories.

As you can see the heatsink is enclosed in a plastic bag and nestled in between a styrofoam layer.

Opening up the accessory box we have all of the included hardware. Included are mounting brackets and back plates for both AM2 and LGA775 processors, a good supply of thermal grease, and fan clips for either 92mm or 120mm fans.

Not included, but available for purchase, is a bolt through kit should you still be using a socket 939 processor. The packaging is pretty much status quo for Thermalright, so let's move on and look at the Ultima-90.

Page 3 : Heatsink and Specifications

Removing the Ultima-90 from the box we have our first clear look.

The Ultima-90's tower design is very similar to other Thermalright coolers like the Ultra-120, albeit at a smaller size. The Ultima-90 sports 6 heatpipes leading to a fin area the size of a 92mm fan. On the base you can see the small indention that is used in the mounting mechanism.

A look from the side shows just how closely crammed in those 6 heatpipes are.

From the top we have each end of the 6 heatpipes poking out the top of the fins. You can also see the groove on the front and back where the 92mm fan will rest. The four small holes on the corners are for the fan clips, allowing you to mount the fan on either side.

These gaps would normally concern me; however this is common with Thermalright heatsinks and doesn't affect performance.

The bottom is also typical of Thermalright coolers with machine marks. I've seen arguments either way but it generally only makes a one to two degree difference in temperature if it has machine marks or lapped smooth.

Here is a quick rundown of the features and specs taken directly from the Ultima-90's product page:

Features
* Six-heatpipe design for extra fast heat transfer
* Stepping fins to hold 92mm/120mm fans
* Light and easy installation
* High performance, low noise level at competitive price
Technical Spec
* INTEL: All Intel Socket LGA775 processors
* AMD: Athlon64 / FX / X2 / Opteron Socket AM2 processors

Page 4 : Installation

Since I am installing on a 939 system I am using the optional 939 bolt through kit, however installation is essentially the same on AM2 and LG775 systems.

First you remove the motherboard and replace the stock bracket with the retention bracket from Thermalright.

Next you apply your thermal material and set the Ultima-90 on the processor. You are unable to rotate the cooler 90 degrees so you are left with this orientation.

After inserting the retention bracket you screw in the spring loaded screws and tighten them down. Aside from having to remove the motherboard, it's a very easy process.

The heatsink has plenty of space and should not interfere with any motherboard components or with the memory modules.

Installing the antivibration strips was troublesome since they are so small. These strips only come into play if you are using a 92mm fan.

Thermalright gives you the option to use a 120mm fan on the Ultima-90, though it does look a bit odd with how far above the cooler the fan sticks up. However this will ensure the entire heatsink body has air moving through it. One change in clip design with the Ultima-90 is that it clips onto the top holes of the fan, thus eliminating compatibility with the thicker 38mm fans.

And finally we have a shot with everything situated inside the case. I don't see any space issues with any case if you use a 92mm fan, though with a 120mm fan it does get a bit tall and could possibly interfere with side doors much like any tower style cooler that uses a 120mm fan. Really the only issue, and its more an issue with the Cosmos than the Ultima90, is the VGA duct cannot be used because the Ultima90 sticks over too far.

So with the cooler in place, it's time to test it out.

Page 5 : Testing

Below are the system specifications that will be used for testing. Also listed are the comparison coolers. All coolers are tested using Shin Etsu thermal grease and load temperatures are achieved by running Folding@Home at 100% for a minimum of 2 hours. Temperature results were read using Motherboard Monitor 5.

CPU: Athlon64 3700+
MB: DFI LP NF4 Ultra-D
RAM: G.Skill 2×1GB PC-4000
GPU: XFX 7800GT
PSU: Ultra X3 1000W
HD: Western Digital 40GB IDE, Seagate 80GB IDE
DVD-Rom: Lite-On 18x DVD Burner – SATA
Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos 1000
Comparison Coolers: Stock Opteron HSF, Thermalright SI-128 w/ Panaflo M1BX 120mm and Zalman CNPS8700 LED.
Ambient Temperature: 24-25C

Fan Specs:
CoolerMaster 120×120x25 (16.4 dBa, 42.9 cfm, 1200 RPM)
Panaflo 120mm M1BX 120×120x38 (35.5 dBa, 86.5 cfm, 2100 RPM)

One last note before we get to the testing. The Panaflo M1BX fan is a 38mm fan which the Ultima-90 does not accomodate using the included clips. I worked up a temporary placement of the fan to get a straight performance comparison to the SI-128.

The first test is with the processor at stock settings.

I think we can definitely see the difference the two extra heatpipes make over the SI-128. I was very impressed with the performance of the Ultima-90 with the quiet CoolerMaster fan, as it beats all of the other coolers and remains silent. I was somewhat surprised that there was no difference in temps between when between the high cfm (and loud) Panaflo M1BX and the lower CFM CoolerMaster fan.

Some impressive results already at stock settings, but overclocking is where an enthusiast heatsink such as the Ultima-90 earns its stripes.

Once again the Ultima-90 leads the way among all of the coolers. Here we can see the difference of the increased air of the Panaflo has on the Ultima-90. Even using a quieter fan the Ultima-90 handily outperforms the equally quiet Zalman cooler.

Page 6 : Conclusion

Thermalright has basically taken the Ultra-120 Extreme and given it to us in a smaller scale with the Ultima-90. By using a 90mm body, space should not be an issue in most cases aside from perhaps SFF PC's. I really liked the way they left the option for you to use a 120mm fan to allow a wider range of options for you to choose from. While a fan not being included could be considered good or bad, it's an option I prefer because you can basically scale the performance and noise to your liking. The Ultima-90 actually surpassed my expectations and it's quite obvious the 6 heatpipes make a huge difference in transferring the heat from the processor, as can be seen in the difference in temps with the SI-128 using the same fan.

To be honest there aren't many complaints about the Ultima-90, it's just a great cooler in a smaller package than the Ultra-120. The only possible drawbacks, and I use this lightly, is that you have to remove the motherboard to install it and you have to purchase a separate fan. These are very minor drawbacks and well worth it for the performance you get with the Ultima-90.

Positives

• Performance

• Supports both Intel and AMD sockets
• Choose your own fan

Negatives

• Fan not included

• Motherboard removal for installation

Overclockers Online would like to thank Xoxide for supplying the Thermalright Ultima 90 for review.