6-Way Intel Core i7 CPU Cooler Roundup

Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme 1366 RT

Next, we have for the first time in our labs the ever so popular Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme, but this one is the newest incarnation for Core i7. Thermalright calls it the Ultra-120 eXtreme 1366RT. I have heard many good things about the Ultra-120 coolers for a long time, so Im looking forward to see how it stacks up to the other coolers I have in the lab. Let’s take a quick look at the features and specifications of the Ultra-120 eXtreme.

Features

• Uses high quality aluminum fins for best balance of heat absorption and conduction.
• Utilizes six high quality 6mm heatpipes, strategically positioned to pick up the heat from the CPU.
• Proprietary bent winglet design to minimize airflow resistance.
• Heat pipes soldered to base (nickel plated) and fins for optimum heat transfer.
• Stack of 52 pieces of aluminum fins, the most over any other heatsinks in the market. Can be covered entirely by a 120mm fan to absorb all in-coming air flow.
• Vast compatibility list for multiple multi-core CPUs and platforms.
• Includes one Ultra low noise Fluid Dynamic Bearing fan (1600RPM).
• Includes the NEW 120x25mm Fan holder.

Specification

• Heatsink Dimension: L133 x W156 x H38 mm
• Weight: 790g (Heatsink only)
• Heat pipes: Six heat pipes
• Fan Dimension: L120*W120*H25mm
• Bearing type: FDB (Fluid Dynamic Bearing)
• Rated Speed: 1600RPM
• Noise Level: 28.0 dBA Air Flow: 63.7CFM
• Compatibility: Intel Core i7 965XE/940/920 Processors

The cooler itself is quiet heavy, but feels very solidly built. Weighing in at 790g for just the heatsink, the Ultra-120 is one of the heaviest coolers in our line up today. When holding the fan and cooler together is was quite heavy, so I weighed the fan and fan mount together to see how much they weighed. They weighed in at 8.2oz or 232.5g. That brings the total weight of the Ultra-120 eXtreme 1366 RT to a hair over 1kg. That, my friends, is one heavy cooler!

Thermalright also says that you can install a second fan holder and fan assembly on to the Ultra-120 eXtreme 1366 RT to achieve the push-pull effect, as we can see in the image above from Thermalright’s website. This would make the cooler top the scales at 1.26kg. We will be testing the cooler in the single fan configuration as that is how we received it, and that is how it would normally be purchased.