Conclusion Today we didn't perform a typical processor cooler review wherein the performance of the heat sink in question is compared to a number of different heat sinks in various setups. We wanted a very straight forward test on the new i7 processor and to maintain focus on the Ultra-120 eXtreme heat sink. We managed to accomplish this and at the same time, investigate what might be the ideal configuration of the TRUE for our setup. The Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme 1366 RT is technically a very specific cooler intended for use on a single socket, the LGA 1366 socket. Of course, this isn't entirely true as the heatsink itself is no different from any other Ultra-120 eXtreme variant. All that is required for multiple socket compatibility is the additional mounting brackets which can be purchased from retailers for a very reasonable price. This flexibility is a parallel to what we found in the testing with various fan configurations.
Each fan configuration seemed to provide a little piece of information to a larger puzzle. A larger puzzle that showed us where some additional cooling performance can be had, such as how pushing air through the heat sink seemed to perform better than pulling air through. Not only did the CPU run cooler but the area around the socket was cooler resulting in cooler PWM temperatures of our test motherboard. We also felt that our subjective hearing found the included 120mm fan to be very noise friendly while providing ample cooling performance when compared to a higher RPM solution. The mounting ability of the heat sink being able to run in either north/south or east/west orientations provides another level of flexibility. The combinations of fan setup and mounting orientation are rather vast and give a universal appeal to the Ultra-120 eXtreme for current and upcoming i7 motherboards sporting the LGA 1366 mount.  We of course also ran into some issues with the Ultra-120 eXtreme. A cooler of this size is not going to be able to mount in every configuration, in every setup. Even with our relatively well spaced EVGA X58 SLI motherboard, we did have a couple configurations pose some limits with certain conditions. We also wanted to touch on the fact that the base is not a smooth surface, and the one item we haven't mentioned up until now but a topic that is discussed at length in enthusiast forums. The mounting pressure of the included mounting hardware isn't what we would consider to be substantial. The heat sink does twist a little easier than we would like with the mounting bolts fully secured. Both of these items might be the focal point of another article, here at Hardware Canucks.com, looking at extended performance testing of the Ultra-120 eXtreme including increased mounting pressure and lapping.
Overall though, the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme is a traditionally strong performer in the CPU cooling market. It always has been and looks to continue to be for some time handling the Intel i7 quad core processors rather well. This 1366 RT version seems to only improve on the already excellent package by providing a very capable, yet extremely quiet fan. The knock on the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme variants has been the price when factoring the purchase of a fan, this new version with fan included should help alleviate that drawback. The build quality, performance, visual appeal, and flexibility for anyone's needs really does make the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme 1366 RT a 'must consider' choice when upgrading your cooling on the new Intel i7 platform. Stock is good, but Thermalright is much better. Pros:- Thermalright quality, visual appeal, performance
- Rather flexible cooling options with additional or higher RPM fans
- Despite size, rather nimble on the CPU socket dance floor
- The included fan is certainly not a dud, quiet operation and well groomed performance
Cons:- Flexible in its mounting, but still maintains a large wingspan
- At the upper end of the price range, the included fan helps but $$$ is still up there
- Will make you want to run out and grab matching Thermalright chipset/PWM/GPU heat sinks
Hardware Canucks would like to thank the folks over at Thermalright for making this review possible and allowing us to investigate it's performance for our readers benefit.
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