Manufacturer Product Page: Ultimate CPU Cooling Solutions! USA
Part Number: TRUE BLACK 120
Availability: NOW
Price: Click Here to Compare Prices
Warranty: 1 year



It really is a great time to be a computer enthusiast and we truly are blessed with a bountiful harvest of options these days. Heck, when you take a good look at the shear number of potential CPU cooling solutions available to us right now, the numbers are down right mind boggling. For numerous years it was difficult to find a good air cooler and you really had to look far and wide for one which was the right match for you and what you wanted to do with your computer (e.g. max OC, low noise, LAN Parties, etc.); whereas today, consumers have a veritable cornucopia of options to chose from. Now the largest problem has become wading through all the options to find “the right one”.

This is great for consumers but it less than ideal for manufacturers as they struggle to get brand recognition and brand loyalty in a very cut throat and finicky market. However, there are some air coolers (for example) which transcend this white noise of options and stand head and shoulders above the crowd. These options are so well known that just their names are enough information for the average enthusiast to convey to others and also nicely sum up what they are using their system for.

You really know you have made it in the industry when enthusiasts don’t even have to use the full title of your product, rather a simple acronym is good enough. These are the crème de la crème of the industry. Some people call them “Superior” others “King of the Air Cooles”; amongst these relatively few coolers stands one that truly does have instant name recognition. All your average computer enthusiast has to say is “TRUE” and everyone instantly knows what they are talking about. They know the Thermalright Ultimate Extreme 120 is what the person means and that person has a serious piece of kit.

The forerunner of the TRUE was the Ultra 120 and, amazingly enough, was only released in 2006. While it was a very good cooler in its own right it wasn’t until it underwent a metamorphosis similar to that of lowly caterpillar turning into a Monarch butterfly that it really got a name for itself. When the TRUE emerged from the dead husk of the Ultra 120 a legend was born. Reviewers and customers alike darn near instantly recognized it as the premier cooler of its day. While its grasp upon the title of king of the Coolers is getting tenuous (at best), it still is a great cooler.

As with all things, CPU cooling solutions have a “circle of life” and today we will be looking at the continuation of the TRUE line: the “TRUE Black”. The TRUE Black is not a major refinement upon the TRUE line, as it is the same design as the regular TRUE, but it is more of a Special Edition than a true successor. This all-black model is all about looks and taking the striking design of the TRUE and making it bark at the moon. Of course, it should also be a perfect specimen of the TRUE model and we will address this and any other details which make the TRUE Black worthy of the name TRUE.

The TRUE Black is widely available from various e-tailers and retailers throughout the country so finding one should not be a problem….but justifying the cost of $80 (plus the cost of a good fan…or two) could potentially be a sticking point for many consumers. However, by the end of this review we should be able to help you answer this issue and of course answer the biggest question of them all: is the TRUE still a viable option or has its time come and gone? I for one am looking forward to finding out!