[Battle_Rattle]

Review: Thermalright Ultima-90 ES vs Tuniq Tower 120

Thermalright has been releasing some interesting new products recently. I'd like to show you an engineering sample of what could be described as the “little brother” to the yet to be released Ultra 120 Extreme, the Ultima-90.

The Ultima-90 with 92mm Fan (Fan will probably not be included in production models)


Every review needs a known entity to compare a subject to and I chose the Sunbeam Tuniq Tower 120. The Tuniq has been one of the gold standards of high end air cooling for the past year.

The two coolers. The Ultima-90 is mainly intended for 92mm fans, but the sample I received included 120mm fan clips. I'll focus on 120mm fan performance.


Profile of the Ultima-90 and Tuniq


The Base of each, pre-lapped


Heatpipe configuration


Heatsink Dimensions

Thermalright Ultima-90(i)
48 fins 6 heat pipes
Heatsink size (LxWxH) 115 x 55 x 138
Heatpipe width = 6mm
Weight without fan = 453g

Sunbeam Tuniq Tower
51 fins 3 heatpipes
Size (LxWxH) 131x108x153
Heatpipe Width = 6mm
Weight with Fan = 965g

Testing Configuration

- Open Test Bench with Asus P5B-D
- Both Heatsinks lapped
- Lapped e6400
- Temperature measured by CoreTemp beta 0.94
- Load temperatures established by Orthos smallftt set at priority 9 for 5 minutes
- Idle temps established by idle time of 15 minutes with minimal XP background applications
- Ambient 20c-21c
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Grease with 48 hour “burn-in.” Note: The best application of TIM was used for each Heatsink.
- Bolt-thru mounting for each HS. The Ultima-90 should also offer push pins in the kit.

The test bed


Testing:

I'll dispense with stock settings as they shouldn't apply to this level of performance and move to some decent overclocking of an e6400 (L630A992) at 3.5Ghz and 3.7Ghz. Vcore is the issue, so let's see the results.

Test 1) E6400 3.5Ghz (7x500) - 1.36 VCore - As5 - 20c-21c Ambient
Idle and Load Temperatures
Tuniq (Stock Fan) – 27c idle – 51c load
Ultima-90 (Scythe S-Flex) - 27c idle – 47c load

Tuniq Load at 3.5Ghz screenshot - http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r...-36v_1900_.jpg

Ultima-90 Load at 3.5Ghz screenshot -
http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r...1c_1-36v_1.jpg

For test 2 I decided to use the stock Tuniq Fan at full rpm for each heatsink, reviews that ignore this methodology always concern me.

Test 2) E6400 3.7Ghz (8x463) - 1.4875 VCore - Arctic Silver 5 TIM - 120mm Fan (used Tuniq Fan on both for 1 to 1 comparison) - 20c-21c Ambient
Idle and load Temperatures
Tuniq - Idle 33c - Load 62c
Ultima-90 - Idle 32c – Load 57c

Tuniq at 3.7Ghz – 1.48 vcore - Load


Ultima-90 at 3.7Ghz – 1.48 vcore - Load


Looking at the Ultima-90 I bet “push-pull” has entered your minds, so let see a result from two Scythe S-Flex-F fans in a push pull configuration.

Test 3) – Same as test 2 except Ultima-90 is in push pull using Scythe S-Flex-F fans at full rpm.
Ultima-90 - Idle 32c – Load 54c

Screen Shot of Test 3
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...1c_1-48v_S.jpg

Test 4) - Same as Test 2 except a single high rpm/high cfm 92mm fan (Panaflo 70cfm) was used
Ultima-90 - Idle 32 - Load 53c

Screenshot of Test 4
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...1c_1-48v_9.jpg

Noise:

Noise is a matter of taste and mine leans towards the quite side. The Scythe S-Flex was very silent into the 1300rpm ranges. The Tuniq fan was quite loud in the upper ranges as is any fan. One thing worth mentioning was that the S-Flex was noticeably less efficient while in the Tuniq.


Final Remarks

The Ultima-90 has delivered some note worthy results in the two weeks spent testing. The Ultima-90, in conjunction with an e6400 is outperforming a heatsink that dwarfs it in size - why? The answer could be in the heat pipe number combined with the large amount of fins. There are 6 heatpipe coolers such as the Scythe Ninja and 45+ fin coolers like the Tuniq. The performance differential between the Ultima-90 and Tuniq appears to come from combining the two. A 48 fin cooler with 6x6mm heatpipes seems very efficient at heat dissipation. Therein is the difference, never in my searching have a found a heatsink that so densely packs the two together. Distance between the base and the bottom fins may also come into play. Heat does not have to travel long on the Ultima-90 before it reaches the lowest fins. Lastly, the Ultima-90 heatpipes converge right at the beginning and travel the breadth of the base.

For the future, I look forward to more examples of employing 7-9mm heatpipe solutions as has been done on the Enzotech Ultra-X and Thermalright IFX-14.

At this point, I have to say the Ultima-90, once delivered, should be an outstanding high performance cooler at what will probably be a reasonable price.

I'd like to thank Thermalright for sending me this engineering sample and SVC.com for sending the Tuniq out quickly and in good condition.

Many thanks also must go out to ChaosMinionX at Xtremesystems forums for helping me in the methodology of this review. I promise I will get a run of coollabs liquid pro in soon!

If there are any requests or questions please ask them. I'm hitting a bit of a wall with my e6400 at 3.8Ghz, but I could do some suicide runs with 1.5-1.6 vcore...

Cheers ~ Battle_Rattle

Addendum:

Several people expressed interest in performance differences between heatpipes oriented vertically (as they are in the original testing) and horizontally, as they would be in most computer cases. I tested this, here are the results in degrees of change.

Tuniq
Vertical Idle to Horizontal Idle = Delta rise of 1c
Vertical Load to Horizontal Load = No Change

Ultima-90
Vertical Idle to Horizontal Idle = Delta rise of 1c
Vertical Load to Horizontal Load = Delta rise of 1c

[Clockwork_Apple]

May I be the first to say well done. Looks to be a good review, and addresses some of the issues associated with comparing two heatsinks.

Although, did you try multiple reseats?

I'd also like to point out that there is always the possibility of getting a 'dud' heatsink, with one or more poorly performing heatpipes. This could explain the Tuniq's worse performance, considering that Ultima-90 was probably hand-picked by Thermalright.

I was glad to see you tested the Ultima-90 with a 92mm fan, as IMO using a 120mm would give worse performance as a significant amount of airflow would pass straight over the top of the heatsink, and the dead-spot of the 120mm would be greater, and in a higher position, than with the 92mm.

[Battle_Rattle]

Originally Posted by Clockwork_Apple

May I be the first to say well done. Looks to be a good review, and addresses some of the issues associated with comparing two heatsinks.

Although, did you try multiple reseats?

I'd also like to point out that there is always the possibility of getting a 'dud' heatsink, with one or more poorly performing heatpipes. This could explain the Tuniq's worse performance, considering that Ultima-90 was probably hand-picked by Thermalright.

I was glad to see you tested the Ultima-90 with a 92mm fan, as IMO using a 120mm would give worse performance as a significant amount of airflow would pass straight over the top of the heatsink, and the dead-spot of the 120mm would be greater, and in a higher position, than with the 92mm.

Multiple reseats for both sinks were a priority for this review. I had never had my hands on both heatsinks so I was oblivious to how they would perform out of the gate. This meant doing about 8 seatings of As5, finding the best temperature, and then reseating until I found that temperature again or attaining a better temperature. Took quite awhile, but thats what i meant by "Best application of TIM was used..."

Yeh I confirmed in a post made by myself and searched to find that these Tuniq temperatures were within range, given similar configs with extrapolated variables. The structure of the Tuniq seemed perfect.

Valid point about the performance of an ES, but the (i) designation seems to indicate an advanced model and it would be obvious if an ES was significantly different than production. I would be the first to point it out.

I was surprised that the single high rpm 92mm fan performed the best, I wish I had bought two for a push-pull config.

[Clockwork_Apple]

Originally Posted by Battle_Rattle

I was surprised that the single high rpm 92mm fan performed the best, I wish I had bought two for a push-pull config.

Like I said, I would of thought a 92mm would of offered the best performance.

The moment I saw you say you were testing the ES with a 120mm fan, I instantly thought the greater dead spot of the 120mm and the waste of airflow over the top of the heatsink would mean a similar CFM 92mm would perform better.

I cant wait to see how the Ultra 120+ performs. Thermalright seem to have hit a winner with this style of heatsink, and if this 92mm version can out-perform a Tuniq then the 120mm version should be impressive.

[nd4spdbh2]

Originally Posted by Clockwork_Apple

Like I said, I would of thought a 92mm would of offered the best performance.

The moment I saw you say you were testing the ES with a 120mm fan, I instantly thought the greater dead spot of the 120mm and the waste of airflow over the top of the heatsink would mean a similar CFM 92mm would perform better.

I cant wait to see how the Ultra 120+ performs. Thermalright seem to have hit a winner with this style of heatsink, and if this 92mm version can out-perform a Tuniq then the 120mm version should be impressive.

this is crazy... thats some awsome results... i cant wait for the Ultimia 90, ultra 120x and ifx 14... thermalright is the best!

[meionm]

you got to lover thermalright, waiting for either ifx-14 or ultra120 e

[VinnyTAMU]

Any idea when the Thermalright Ultima-120 Extreme or Ultima-90 Extreme will hit the shelves?

[imposter]

Nice stuff!, its small too! wao.

[speed bump]

Not an air cooling person but I might have to think about one of these if I can find one on sale.

[Clockwork_Apple]

Bump.

More people need to see the Thermalright pr0n

[kovboi]

great review! impressive performance for a smaller tower.
if i understand you correctly, you posted the best temperatures obtained after several mountings? if so, would you be able to post the average temps over the same number of mountings?

[funnyperson1]

I would have like to see the Tuniq tested with the SFlex as well for consistency. The Ultima seems like a very nice performer for the size.

[Battle_Rattle]

Originally Posted by kovboi

great review! impressive performance for a smaller tower.
if i understand you correctly, you posted the best temperatures obtained after several mountings? if so, would you be able to post the average temps over the same number of mountings?

Hi,

While I was experimenting with application methods it was easy to remember what was the best idle temp (in windows,) but i didn't note the entire range. The idle range was about 27c-36c idle for both coolers. Shows you just how important applying TIM is.


About testing both with the S-Flex... I recall in my outline wanting to do just one, one to one fan comparison. I thought it would be best to use the S-Flex but it quickly showed not as effective in the Tuniq so i ran with the Tuniq fan. Not a bad fan really, it's highly adjustable on a fan controller (600-1900rpm on mine) and gave of an acceptable "whiiirrrr" at high rpm. Really it was a decision to shorten the review while also having a definitive one to one fan comparison, I invite people to extrapolate the S-Flex in Tuniq accordingly.

[One Bull]

Very good review, I like the way you try to be as objectivly as possible, it's quite hard and you see alot of reviews which aren't totally objective.

Keep it up

[CosmicGrooves]

Awesome review. Great pics too!

[funnyperson1]

So the TT120 would have done worse with the S-Flex? Thats an impressive showing from Thermalright.

[Battle_Rattle]

Originally Posted by funnyperson1

So the TT120 would have done worse with the S-Flex? Thats an impressive showing from Thermalright.

Yeh, the S-flex performed something like 2c worse than the Tuniq at the same RPM's... The 9 blades do seem to make a difference. The Tuniq fan really is pretty good, aside from the obnoxious dual tails on it. Even at high RPM's the Tuniq fan had no "whining" tone to it.

[shellshock]

Nice review. Glad to see thermalright is still gonna pwn the market :P

[someguy91]

Does anyone know when it's going to show up on the market?

[Battle_Rattle]

From Thermalright...

will release IFX14 first, and then Ultra-120 eXtreme, and then Ultima-90.... Hopefully, IFX-14 will hit retail in the next two weeks.


Lets hope - BR