![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Sunday , October 18, 2009
- Author:
- Marc Adams
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120 Revision B & C Review
All hardware enthusiast and many gamers are very much aware of just how good Thermalright's Ultra Extreme 120 (TRUE) CPU heatsinks are. Contenders over the last two years have been few. Today the original TRUE vs. TRUE Rev. B and the TRUE Rev. C. Thermalright decided to challenge itself and give the enthusiast a better product.
Conclusion
If you ever thought there was no way Thermalright could improve the performance of the Ultra Extreme then you’ll be happily disappointed. Thermalright continues to improve and refine the design of the TRUE to squeeze out every little bit of performance it can. Of course this doesn’t mean those of you with the original design should run out and grab the new edition. Rather, for anyone who has been holding off getting one or has been on the fence this may just be the best time to pick one up.
Price/Performance
The charts below show the cost you will pay for each degree in temperature reduction the heat sink gives you over the stock cooler. The two areas that influence this chart are cost of the heat sink and its performance. An expensive cooler that gives you superior performance will be rated as average here since its cost hurts its rating. Conversely, a poor performing heat sink that costs next to nothing will be rated as average since its performance will hurt its ratings. We ideally look for low cost and high performance. All prices were gathered by doing a very quick search of the web for each cooler and listing it here sans S/H and tax (these can vary widely from region to region).
As an example, if a cooler outperforms the stock cooler by 10C and costs USD $5.00 it would be listed in our chart as $.50. You would pay fifty cents for each degree of better performance over the box cooler.
This chart shows you the cost each degree of performance will cost you over using Intel’s stock cooler. Prices have fluctuated since this chart was created so we suggest you check for yourself at FrozenCPU.
The Bottom Line
The TRUE has been at the pinnacle of heat sink performance for some time. It however has never been referred to as a "budget" product. There was a time when this heat sink would cost you upwards of $70 USD sans fan. Thankfully this new edition costs less at ~$59 USD, though there is still no fan being included. While this may not win the award for the most affordable heat sink, it is certainly is the best performing from Thermalright at its price and highly available. The new TRUE Revision C brings better cooling at a less expensive price. Add in the ability to use low flow fans for good "silent" cooling and you have a winner on your hands.
If you are looking to save a good bit of money and are willing to give up on the TRUE's excellent mechanical mounting system, the CoGage TRUE Spirit leads in our value category.
Without question, the TRUE remains the enthusiasts' choice when it comes to air cooling today's processors. The only question remaining is, "Where does Thermalright go from here?"
