Thermalright Outs Ultra 120EX Rev. 4 CPU Cooler

[btarunr]

Thermalright today released the Ultra 120EX Rev. 4, a classic tower-type CPU cooler. The cooler is the fourth revision of the Ultra line of coolers by the company, and offers an updated fin design, as well as a high static-pressure fan. Six 6 mm-thick nickel-plated copper heat-pipes draw heat indirectly through a copper base with the same electroplating (you can pair it with liquid-metal TIM without worrying about corrosion). These heat pipes pass though an aluminium fin-stack with 52 S-shaped fins that are 0.4 mm-thick and spaced 1.6 mm apart. The fin-shape increases turbulence for improved heat-dissipation to the airflow.

The included TL-B12G 120 mm fan turns at speeds of up to 2,150 RPM, pushing up to 69 CFM of airflow, at 2.87 mm H₂O static pressure. The fan features a long-life fluid-dynamic bearing. With its fan in place, the Thermalright Ultra 120EX Rev. 4 measures 132 mm x 89.6 mm x 157 mm (WxDxH), weighing 865 g. Among the CPU socket types supported are AMD Socket AM5, AM4; and Intel LGA1700, and LGA1200. The company didn't reveal pricing.



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[spnidel]

wish they'd provide a TDP number; wonder how this one compares to true spirit 140 power

 

[konga]

I swear to god, Thermalright releases a new tower cooler every other month, no exaggeration. Assassin King SE, Assassin Spirit, Assassin X SE, True Spirit, Assassin X Refined SE, BA120, TA120EX, and True Spirit 120MINI are all single-tower coolers with single 120mm fans you can buy from Thermalright right now at Amazon, and that's not even counting the RGB versions. Time to add this one to the list too.

 

[P4-630]

There might be a review coming up by @crazyeyesreaper

 

[ixi]

I wonder why pull instead of push ventilator.

 

[dgianstefani]

Looks like a weaker clone of the Noctua U12A

 

[agent_x007]

That fan looks very much like Gentle Typhoon...

 

[freeagent]

Been using it on my 5600X for months. It’s a good cooler for smaller cpus.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I swear to god, Thermalright releases a new tower cooler every other month, no exaggeration.

And?

Looks like a weaker clone of the Noctua U12A

I wouldn't say weaker at this point in time. I think it looks better. None of that Tan/Brown tat the Noctua consistently spews forth..

 

[P4-630]

I wouldn't say weaker at this point in time.

My NH-U12A has 7 heatpipes, this one 6. And the brown/beige color is their trademark to stand out quality above RGB or whatever.

 

[freeagent]

Thermalright makes good coolers.

My NH-U12A has 7 heatpipes, this one 6.

this is pretty much the old TRUE with a different mount. Been around forever. But I bet it would give your cooler a run for its money. It can almost handle my 5900X with full limits.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

I swear to god, Thermalright releases a new tower cooler every other month, no exaggeration. Assassin King SE, Assassin Spirit, Assassin X SE, True Spirit, Assassin X Refined SE, BA120, TA120EX, and True Spirit 120MINI are all single-tower coolers with single 120mm fans you can buy from Thermalright right now at Amazon, and that's not even counting the RGB versions. Time to add this one to the list too.

Now consider how many 120mm towers are actually available, add or subtract a pipe or two.

 

[lexluthermiester]

And the brown/beige color is their trademark to stand out quality above RGB or whatever.

That depends on perception. Noctua fans are high quality, no contest there. But they are not the only ones who make a quality fan and while those colours are their "trademark", that doesn't mean they are desired. They are hideously ugly and I wouldn't use them if they were offered to me for free. Yes, you read that correctly. I would rather PAY for quality fans that have a colour scheme that will compliment my case and equipment rather than use Noctua's ugly ass fans for FREE.

So yeah, I think Thermalright has a winner here!

 

[phanbuey]

Looks like a weaker clone of the Noctua U12A

They came around the same time in 2005-2007 and the Ultra 120 used to be the undisputed king for a while. Both designs are ancient, but pretty sure the thermalright was first - they evolved from stuff like the HR-01.

Thermalright Ultra 120: Elegant, Fanless and Efficient Cooling (anandtech.com) - article from 2007...

Here is the cooler they released back then

Spot the differences? I mean... that's a great design to maintain performance for so long.

Honestly though - intel Prescott being hot... AMD slapping them around with power efficient chips... same cooler designs... impeding economic crisis... So much really has stayed the same from 2007 .

 

[dgianstefani]

They came around the same time in 2005-2007 and the Ultra 120 used to be the undisputed king for a while. Both designs are ancient, but pretty sure the thermalright was first - they evolved from stuff like the HR-01.

View attachment 261493

Thermalright Ultra 120: Elegant, Fanless and Efficient Cooling (anandtech.com) - article from 2007...

Here is the cooler they released back then
View attachment 261494

Spot the differences? I mean... that's a great design to maintain performance for so long.

Honestly though - intel Prescott being hot... AMD slapping them around with power efficient chips... same cooler designs... impeding economic crisis... So much really has stayed the same from 2007 .

Trust me the AMD chips are hot and have their own problems too, despite how power efficient they may be.

 

[P4-630]

That depends on perception. Noctua fans are high quality, no contest there. But they are not the only ones who make a quality fan and while those colours are their "trademark", that doesn't mean they are desired. They are hideously ugly and I wouldn't use them if they were offered to me for free. Yes, you read that correctly. I would rather PAY for quality fans that have a colour scheme that will compliment my case and equipment rather than use Noctua's ugly ass fans for FREE.

So yeah, I think Thermalright has a winner here!

I agree , Thermalright makes good coolers, I have bought some of them chipset and GPU coolers in the past.

 

[Voodoo Rufus]

With the maturity of heatpipe/sink designs, I can't say I'm surprised. The manufacturers are going after incremental performance. The same with CPU waterblocks as most follow a similar basic design now.

If it works, it works. Good looking sink, too. All one is choosing is how much heatsink they're willing to pay for, single or dual tower, single or dual fan, or go the low profile route.

I'm amused they show it on a Z77. 10 year old motherboard?

 

[Tulatin]

Ah, the TRUE comes back from the dead. They're still great sinks.

I already have two in the closet, but the ability to get modern brackets for them is appealing.

Now, if only this would fit in a O11 Dynamic.

 

[freeagent]

Ah, the TRUE comes back from the dead. They're still great sinks.

I already have two in the closet, but the ability to get modern brackets for them is appealing.

Now, if only this would fit in a O11 Dynamic.

You used to be able to buy a bolt through kit for newer sockets, not sure if they retired the kit, I think they did.

I still have my TRUE from 2007, they didn’t come with fans so I used what I had.. 120x38 panaflos in p/p. Worked awesome, even with a 6 core on 1366. I actually liked it better than The D14 I bought to replace it.. don’t have the D14 anymore. But the D14was the review sample that OCF used.

Good times.

 

[Chrispy_]

wish they'd provide a TDP number; wonder how this one compares to true spirit 140 power

The TDP numbers are a bit useless though as it depends on what CPU is under it and how many of the heatpipes are directly over the die(s)

 

[freeagent]

wish they'd provide a TDP number; wonder how this one compares to true spirit 140 power

No competition to TS140P. Although TS140P interferes with the closest dimm on my Strix -F, and TRUE does not.

Edit:

Was using TY-143, I don’t use stock fans too often

 

[MachineLearning]

You used to be able to buy a bolt through kit for newer sockets, not sure if they retired the kit, I think they did.

I still have my TRUE from 2007, they didn’t come with fans so I used what I had.. 120x38 panaflos in p/p. Worked awesome, even with a 6 core on 1366. I actually liked it better than The D14 I bought to replace it.. don’t have the D14 anymore. But the D14was the review sample that OCF used.

Good times.

Aw man, I didn't know they retired the TBK kit. I hope they bring it back eventually.

That's one of the coolest things about Thermalright, you can use the same mounting hardware for virtually every heatsink they've made in the past 17 years, on any socket. Some reviewers on Amazon are using the original Ultra 120 with AM4.

Hell, I've been using a Frost Commander 140 on LGA775 with the bolt-thru kit for benchmarking...

 

[Tulatin]

Aw man, I didn't know they retired the TBK kit. I hope they bring it back eventually.

That's one of the coolest things about Thermalright, you can use the same mounting hardware for virtually every heatsink they've made in the past 17 years, on any socket. Some reviewers on Amazon are using the original Ultra 120 with AM4.

Hell, I've been using a Frost Commander 140 on LGA775 with the bolt-thru kit for benchmarking...

You /CAN/ use AM2/AM3 brackets with AM4. It's just really, really tight.

 

[spnidel]

No competition to TS140P. Although TS140P interferes with the closest dimm on my Strix -F, and TRUE does not.

Edit:

Was using TY-143, I don’t use stock fans too often

if you have any data, how does the TS140P compare to the NH-D15? I can't find any info on that anywhere

 

[freeagent]

if you have any data, how does the TS140P compare to the NH-D15? I can't find any info on that anywhere

My particular TS140P needs a lap if I want to use it on AM4, on Intel it’s great! About as good as my Le Grand Macho RT. Sorry no direct comparison as I have not owned D15