Thermalright Ultima-90: Small Wonder?
by Wesley Fink on August 20, 2007 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Scaling of Cooling Performance
The Ultima-90 performance was top-of-the-line at both stock idle and stock load compared to other top air coolers tested at AnandTech. Excellent performance at stock speeds is one thing, but we were interested in seeing how this smaller, lighter Thermalright scales in cooling higher overclocks. The Ultima-90, to put it short and sweet, is a fierce competitor at higher speeds.
At 2.93GHz the retail HSF is running at 41C, compared to 27C with the Ultima-90/120. This is a delta of 14C. The delta generally becomes greater with the better heatsinks as the overclock increases. At 3.73GHz idle the retail HSF is 56C compared to the Ultima-90 at 35C - a delta of 21C. The cooling performance of the Ultima-90 is significantly better than the Intel retail cooler at idle. The Thermalright Ultima-90 also closely mirrors the best air performance ever measured with this X6800 CPU.
Looking closely at the curves of the top coolers tested, the Ultima-90 is almost a shadow curve for the Tuniq 120 and the Thermalright Ultra-120. This is true with either the 92mm or 120mm test fan. At the very top the 120mm fan squeezes out a bit higher overclock, but the results are otherwise identical. Considering the Ultima-90 is smaller, lighter, and cheaper than the coolers it matches in performance, the Ultima-90 a very attractive choice.
We also need to compare cooling efficiency of the Ultima-90 under load conditions to the retail HSF and other recently tested CPU coolers. Load testing can be very revealing of a cooler's efficiency. A basically flat line, particularly form 3.73GHz upward, indicates the cooler is still in its best cooling range. A line that is increasing rapidly indicates a cooler nearing the end of its ability to cool efficiently. Lines which parallel the best coolers over a range of values are indicate that the coolers have similar cooling efficiency.
The Ultima-90 is very efficient in cooling in the 2.93 GHz to 3.83 GHz overclock range. It then continues on to a highest overclock of 3.90GHz with the 120mm Scythe S-FLEX fan or 3.870GHz with the 92mm Panaflo. The Ultima-90 matches the top coolers tested in performance. The only air cooler that outperforms the Ultima-90 is the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme, which is larger, heavier, and more expensive. We expected good performance and cooling at high overclocks with the Ultima-90, particularly after discussing the design philosophy with Thermalright. However, we did not really expect performance so close to their flagship eXtreme.
As stated many times, the overclocking abilities of CPUs will vary at the top, depending on the CPU. This particular CPU does higher FSB speeds than any X6800 we have tested, but the 3.90GHz top speed with the Tuniq is pretty average among the X6800 processors we have tested with Tuniq cooling. A few of the other processors tested with the best air coolers reach just over 4 GHz, but the range has been 3.8 to 4.0GHz. Stock cooling generally tops out 200 to 400 MHz lower, depending on the CPU, on the processors tested in our lab.
The Ultima-90 performance was top-of-the-line at both stock idle and stock load compared to other top air coolers tested at AnandTech. Excellent performance at stock speeds is one thing, but we were interested in seeing how this smaller, lighter Thermalright scales in cooling higher overclocks. The Ultima-90, to put it short and sweet, is a fierce competitor at higher speeds.
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| Click to enlarge |
At 2.93GHz the retail HSF is running at 41C, compared to 27C with the Ultima-90/120. This is a delta of 14C. The delta generally becomes greater with the better heatsinks as the overclock increases. At 3.73GHz idle the retail HSF is 56C compared to the Ultima-90 at 35C - a delta of 21C. The cooling performance of the Ultima-90 is significantly better than the Intel retail cooler at idle. The Thermalright Ultima-90 also closely mirrors the best air performance ever measured with this X6800 CPU.
Looking closely at the curves of the top coolers tested, the Ultima-90 is almost a shadow curve for the Tuniq 120 and the Thermalright Ultra-120. This is true with either the 92mm or 120mm test fan. At the very top the 120mm fan squeezes out a bit higher overclock, but the results are otherwise identical. Considering the Ultima-90 is smaller, lighter, and cheaper than the coolers it matches in performance, the Ultima-90 a very attractive choice.
We also need to compare cooling efficiency of the Ultima-90 under load conditions to the retail HSF and other recently tested CPU coolers. Load testing can be very revealing of a cooler's efficiency. A basically flat line, particularly form 3.73GHz upward, indicates the cooler is still in its best cooling range. A line that is increasing rapidly indicates a cooler nearing the end of its ability to cool efficiently. Lines which parallel the best coolers over a range of values are indicate that the coolers have similar cooling efficiency.
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| Click to enlarge |
The Ultima-90 is very efficient in cooling in the 2.93 GHz to 3.83 GHz overclock range. It then continues on to a highest overclock of 3.90GHz with the 120mm Scythe S-FLEX fan or 3.870GHz with the 92mm Panaflo. The Ultima-90 matches the top coolers tested in performance. The only air cooler that outperforms the Ultima-90 is the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme, which is larger, heavier, and more expensive. We expected good performance and cooling at high overclocks with the Ultima-90, particularly after discussing the design philosophy with Thermalright. However, we did not really expect performance so close to their flagship eXtreme.
As stated many times, the overclocking abilities of CPUs will vary at the top, depending on the CPU. This particular CPU does higher FSB speeds than any X6800 we have tested, but the 3.90GHz top speed with the Tuniq is pretty average among the X6800 processors we have tested with Tuniq cooling. A few of the other processors tested with the best air coolers reach just over 4 GHz, but the range has been 3.8 to 4.0GHz. Stock cooling generally tops out 200 to 400 MHz lower, depending on the CPU, on the processors tested in our lab.
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Rick1 - Sunday, August 26, 2007 - link
In a couple of post above the questions are asked Why run one of these coolersMy answer is simple
Quiet and cool running system
The only fan I hear is the One installed in the hard drive compartment of this P182B case
( cooling 4 drives. 2x raptors and 2x Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 500-GB )
With 2 fans S-Flex blowing in and the stock two exhaust fans
This Q6600 runs at 32Cto35C and has never gone over 48C under a full load
I was never able to get the stock H/S below 50C on warm days
jnk - Thursday, October 18, 2007 - link
question for the reviewer:when you reviewed the ultima-90, when mounted were you able to twist it? I recently bought one and i can twist it even while its locked and the screws are tight. I emailed thermalright about it and they that its normal.
Patvs - Saturday, August 25, 2007 - link
This is the best CPU cooler review on the net! I have one question though.In the Noise Level test, some coolers are tested with low and high RPM settings.
For example the Tuniq Tower 120 @1000 RPM and @2100 RPM. However the Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX is only tested @2000 RPM.
Is the HIGH RPM setting always used for the Temperature Tests (IDLE and LOAD)?? Or do you use the LOW RPM setting as default for the temperature tests? *confused* If HIGH: it shows the Tuniq is really quiet at LOW RPM, but you show its cooler potential in temperature in HIGH RPM? How does it cool at LOW RPM? (or if LOW: how much does the temperature decrease if the cooler is at HIGH RPM) Also I would love to see a test with TWO fans hooked up to some of these coolers in the future.
Patvs - Saturday, August 25, 2007 - link
Edit: You state you use stock speed RPM settings for the temperature tests.So why use 2000 RPM for the Big Typhoon VX? Isn't its stock speed 1300 RPM. (it is for the Big Typhoon non-VX version without the fan controller)
muddocktor - Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - link
As always, a good heatsink review by you, Wesley. But I have a question about the Thermalright samples that you all get for review. Do you receive these directly from Thermalright or are they procured from an authorized reseller such as Sidewinder Computers or Newegg from actual shipping production? The reason I ask is that while I find the engineering and design of Thermalright's heatsinks to be top-notch, I have personally found that their base finish to be spotty. I own or have owned 2 XP90's, an XP90-C, SI 120, Ultra 120, and an Ultra 120 eXtreme (all bought at retail except the SI 120, which was bought used) and of those the only ones that had a half decent base finish that was usable as-is were the XP90-C and SI 120. The others either had a fairly poor base finish with visible machining marks left in them and in the case of the U-120, an absolutely horrible base finish with a ridge left on one side of the base. The XP-90's also had very concave bases too. All saw improved to much improved performance after giving the base a lap job. If you are getting your review samples directly from Thermalright instead of from a vendor that handles their heatsinks, I am sure that the samples you receive are thoroughly checked for finish before sending them out to you and aren't truly representative of what is actually going out for sale through normal channels. It would be interesting to see if you could get some samples from someone online that didn't know they were going to Anandtech (to minimize the chance of cherry picking the heatsinks) and do a consistency review showing differences (or lack of) in performance of production line Thermalright heatsinks.Also, I have heard the thing Thermalright has put out about the concaveness of their bases being engineered into their design and don't buy that a bit. I think that is just something the salesmen have thought up to cover inconsistencies in the base finish from their manufacturer and my experience (so far) has proved out for me at least that a lapped, flat base works better on both LGA775 and socket 939 systems. Other than the base finish though, I find that Thermalright makes the best overall line of premium aircooling equipment on the market.
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - link
We first tested the Ultima-90 with a pre-production cooler. Results were then verified with a Retail cooler from a stocking retailer. Where there have been questions about items being "hand-picked" we often verify results with a retail sample.In the case of the Ultima-90 the performance of the Thermalright-supplied Ultima-90 and the one off the Retail shelf were exactly the same.
muddocktor - Sunday, September 2, 2007 - link
Thank you for the answer answer on your samples you test, Wesley. I guess I just have bad luck in the base finishes I get on the Thermalright heatsinks I buy then. But since I know how to lap the base anyways it's no big problem for me. Thermalright does make some truly excellent products for cooling highly overclocked cpus.Wesley Fink - Monday, September 3, 2007 - link
Thermalright is not alone in advocating convex bases. Swiftech has moved from promoting flat, mirror-finish bases to convex bases with a finish not as good. They call them their bow base and claim 2 to 4C better performance with the "bow".Engineers have found that the convex base (fat center) mates tighter in the area of the CPU under the cap. Also Intel manufactures caps that are not flat by design - conncave, convex, and wave designs are all used in certain processors. Research shows the convex cooler base mates best with any of these 3 Intel cap types.
The point is this is not a marketing story, as you will see as we go into water-cooling in more detail. Lapping a convex base Thermalright can DROP performance by 2 to 4C.
customcoms - Friday, August 24, 2007 - link
Any chance you guys will be reviewing an Ultra-90? The reason I ask is because silicon valley computers often has these heatsinks in stock and on sale for $15...that seems like a great bargain to me especially when the bigger brothers, the Ultra-120 and 120 eXtreme, retail for upwards of $50. I would really like to know if spending the extra money for an Ultima-90 or Ultra-120 is even worth the performance increase...dm0r - Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - link
Great review Wesley, as aways.