Just installed my new Ultra 120 extreme

[Joe Camel]

while your playing around, try reversing the fan so it pulls through rather than pushes

obviously you will need to mount it on the other side so it blows toward your exhaust fan





i havent owned a TRUE but i KNOW back in the day, the XP-120's had absolutely abysmal base flatness so i wouldnt be surprised if the TRUE's are similar




shot of an XP-90 1/3 through the lapping process

 

[Leonardo]

Hey, Brando, I hope you did not think I was belittling you for your TRUE purchase. Not at all. They just usually take a some hard work to get them working properly, but once in shape, they do indeed perform very, very well.

For down pressure, you can also insert some type of shim, like a washer, between the top of the heatsink's base and the X-bracket for down pressure. The pressure will help, but if the temperatures are still disappointing, you'll need to lap the heatsink base to get it flat. It's a pain, but it may be worth it if you consider your CPU core temperature too high.

 

[freeagent]

i actually found that a division symbol, and a hefty purple nurple before it gets teh clamps to work pretty well. i havent lapped mine at all. but i did give the x bracket a bit of a bend for some extra clampage. its a pretty good cooler, sometimes it takes a tube of goop to experiment with.. a superb application is a must

i feel comfy running 1.58v if i have to

also... there is something weird about this cooler..

sometimes, if you get things jjuuust right, like.. if the x somehow is snugged up against a pipe or something, it doesnt move, at all.. its like one of those poo's you dont have to wipe from, magical.. its hapend twice on my p5k, and i lucked out one with this board.. but i lost it when i ditched ceramique for as5.. but when it happens, you can rock the cooler back and forth, maybe 1-2mm, tops.

 

[nightelph]

Does anyone know if the new Black TRUEs have a good surface? Did Thermalright learn their lesson?

 

[Vengance_01]

no. That are exactly the same as the regular True.

 

[petteyg359]

Recommendations for a good lapping kit and instructions? I'm more concerned with instructions, as I can get sandpaper and a flat surface from pretty much any hardware store. Looking at kits on a few different sites, though, they all had slightly different instructions Is there a "better" way to do lapping?

 

[nightelph]

Dang, I guess I'm lapping. I'm picking up an e8400 and want a better cooler than my XP-90c. Alternatives to the TRUE?

 

[Leonardo]

You don't need a kit. All you need is:

- flat, smooth, hard surface, like a plate of glass or counter top (must be absolutely flat
- wet-dry sandpaper of varying grades
- duct tape or similar to secure the sandpaper to the flat surface
- water, just enough to moisten the sandpaper and prevent heating and scoring of the heatsink base

The best places for the right sandpaper will usually be auto parts stores.

 

[Leonardo]

Alternatives to the TRUE?

OCZ Vendetta II (ensure it's the ~II model)
Sunbeamtech CC Freezer
Xigmatech S~ (forgot the full model name - their best one)

I run both the Vendetta 2 and the Sunbeamtech. They are excellent and cost only half as much as the TRUE. Both of them will walk all over an unlapped true.

Other good sinks are the Tuniq Tower 120 (made by Sunbeamtech) and the Zalman 9700 series. The Zalman is annoyingly buzzy at 100% fan RPM.

My experience with overclocked, fully loaded Core 2 Quads ranks the coolers in this order:

TRUE - only if lapped
OCZ V2 & Sunbeamtech CC Freezer
Tuniq 120
Zalman 9700 NT

 

[nightelph]

Thanks.

 

[petteyg359]

You don't need a kit. All you need is:

- flat, smooth, hard surface, like a plate of glass or counter top (must be absolutely flat
- wet-dry sandpaper of varying grades
- duct tape or similar to secure the sandpaper to the flat surface
- water, just enough to moisten the sandpaper and prevent heating and scoring of the heatsink base

The best places for the right sandpaper will usually be auto parts stores.

I'm more concerned with instructions, as I can get sandpaper and a flat surface from pretty much any hardware store.

As in, are there any specific steps that improve flatness, or is just sliding it around on the various sandpapers enough?

 

[deathman20]

My U120E needed didn't need a lap to perform good, I did lap it and it did improve performance a little, though it wasn't an extreme lap either it was just a little quick type job (15min).

Though I do know that my heatsink does slid around on the heatsink a little. Now I know its hard enough to get the screws secured on the board, can't imagine what its like after adding washers. Mine has a solid contact though from its own weight I do notice it sags about 1mm maybe 2mm at the top of the heatsink. Might see if I can fix that but overall for what mine does it is great. My old E6400 I reached 3.78Ghz at a load temp of only 59C (it was winter and it was decently cool in the basement). But overall these heatsinks are the best of the best.

 

[Joe Camel]

As in, are there any specific steps that improve flatness, or is just sliding it around on the various sandpapers enough?

this is a thread that has tips and suggestions from both nikhsub1 and Cathar on lapping LINK

i hope your kidding about "is just sliding it around on the various sandpapers enough" ... if not, you might not want to try lapping, there is time and effort involved especially when lapping a tall and awkward to hold HSF.

 

[gigabit]

You will lose some skin in the process.I know i did

 

[Brando]

A nice coincidence with the TRUE is the hole in the middle of the top of the base which may help with the lapping thing. I imagine it'll be handy to have an anchor point in the exact center for my finger so I'll get somewhat even pressure against the sandpaper when I'm moving it around. By the way theres a sticky in cyber deals with a link to a nice and cheap lapping kit for about $11 I believe. Heres a link.
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=245224

 

[moto211]

A nice coincidence with the TRUE is the hole in the middle of the top of the base which may help with the lapping thing. I imagine it'll be handy to have an anchor point in the exact center for my finger so I'll get somewhat even pressure against the sandpaper when I'm moving it around. By the way theres a sticky in cyber deals with a link to a nice and cheap lapping kit for about $11 I believe. Heres a link.
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=245224

Not to knock the lapping kit...it is a pretty good price. But, when I lapped my Q6600 and TRUE, I just went to my local Harbor Freight and picked up all of the grits that I needed and went to it. I spend maybe $15 and have enough sand paper to lap stuff for a long time without having to buy more.

 

[Brando]

It's nice because i didn't have to waste gas driving anywhere, it comes with all the different types of paper I need, and it comes with glass. $12 total. Not bad. Just ordered.

 

[Albyno]

whats the deal with adding a single washer/ where does it go? between the cpu and heatsink?

 

[Brando]

Between the x-bracket and the heatsink base(top). It pushes the heatsink down harder on the cpu. Don't ever put anything between the heatsink and cpu except thermal interface material.

 

[Albyno]

ah thats where cool thanks