- Jul 4, 2006
- 150
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My new heatsink and fan combo came in. Here are my first impressions, in order to help anyone that may be interested in purchasing one for themselves. Keep in mind that every case and motherboard combination is different, so your experiences will vary from mine depending on your hardware.
Case: Lian Li A10a
Motherboard: EVGA 680i SLI
CPU: C2D E6600
Fan: Scythe S-flex 1600 rpm SFF21F
The heatsink is fairly big, but deceptively light. The fin portion matches the size of a 120mm case fan, is about 2.5 times as thick, and the heatpipes and block extend downward another 2 inches. After installation, I tested the stability of the mounting system. There seems to be hardly any leeway for it to tilt or rock off of the cpu contact area. It is very sturdy. However, it does twist around easily. I don't think that will affect anything though, and it's definitely not close to being heavy enough to where I'd worry about it ripping through a motherboard despite it's size.
Installation: I had to take my motherboard out for this. I'd read elsewhere that you could slip the 4 point bracket under the motherboard and just line the holes up. It doesn't fit this way for me. Not enough clearance.
I also was forced to remove the top 120mm case fan at the top of my case. There wasn't enough clearance for it to fit alongside the heatsink. All in all, not a huge deal.
After getting everything settled in again, I realized the heatsink doesn't clear the top of the case if you try to slide it in on the motherboard tray. You have to install the rest of the heatsink while it is inside the case. The heatsink barely clears on any given side.
I installed it so that the airflow goes from the front of the case towards the rear exhaust fan at the back of the case. The lengthwise portion clears the northbridge hsf by a couple of millimeters, at most. Same goes for the top of the case.
I had to buy a 120mm fan filter for a way to hold the top fan grill to the case, as the screws had nothing to hold onto once I removed the 120mm fan.
Screwing the heatsink on was a breeze. Just be careful with the amount of downwards force you put on the screw, in case you slip. Don't want to slice a trace or anything like that if you miss. They stop screwing in on their own after enough turns, and there is no guesswork on your part.
Clipping the 120mm fan onto it was tough, given the almost non-existant clearance on any side of the heatsink and the fidgety clips you have to use. This, aside from taking the motherboard out and putting it back in, was probably the most time consuming part of the entire process.
My particular s-flex fan seems to be emitting a high pitched whining noise described by a handful of reviews on newegg. It's akin to having a cricket chirping inside your case. Highly irritating. I do not look forward to replacing it once I talk to the place I bought it from. It was a lot of work to get that sucker in correctly.
Performance: Astounding. Previous heatsink was an AC freezer 7 pro. At stock: I'd idle somewhere around 40-45c with probably 26-28c ambient temps. Would break 60c sometimes on full 100% loading, both cores, through intel TAT. Never bothered with overclocking on this hsf, since my temps were already uncomfortably high. I also had to remove the top 120mm fan on the Lian li for this hsf.
With the Ultra 120, My idle was somewhere between 30-34c at stock, and I don't remember breaking 40c at full 100% load through TAT. I'm now at 3.2ghz, 1.2375 vcore, 400fsb x8 multi. Intel TAT at dual 100% load was hovering between 54-56c after 15 minutes, and didn't go any higher. After taking off the load, temps return to 38-40c idle within 15 seconds. That was fast, I had to try it twice just to make sure things weren't going wrong. I am currently running a dual prime95 torture test, and at 100% load I'm at 50-51c for each core after nearly an hour and a half, with no stability issues.
I was able to successfully run HL2 lost coast video stress test.
1600x1200, 4x AA, 16x AF, highest quality settings on everything I could find in the options menu.
2.4ghz w/ ac7: 153 fps average
2.8ghz 400x7 Ultra 120: 170 fps average
3.2ghz 400x8 Ultra 120: 178 fps average
Overall: I never really expected this much from the cooler. I've been simply amazed at the difference in performance. My load at 3.2ghz is even lower than load @ stock with the old hsf. I may try to get some pics up to show anyone who might be interested just what kind of clearance I'm talking about. We'll see. Keep in mind that your experience could vary greatly from mine depending on your case, video card, airflow, motherboard, thermal compound (I used AS5, no burn in yet) and seating of the hsf. This was just to give people a general idea of what to expect if they are using components or cases similar to mine. Hopy you found it helpful or at least informative.
Case: Lian Li A10a
Motherboard: EVGA 680i SLI
CPU: C2D E6600
Fan: Scythe S-flex 1600 rpm SFF21F
The heatsink is fairly big, but deceptively light. The fin portion matches the size of a 120mm case fan, is about 2.5 times as thick, and the heatpipes and block extend downward another 2 inches. After installation, I tested the stability of the mounting system. There seems to be hardly any leeway for it to tilt or rock off of the cpu contact area. It is very sturdy. However, it does twist around easily. I don't think that will affect anything though, and it's definitely not close to being heavy enough to where I'd worry about it ripping through a motherboard despite it's size.
Installation: I had to take my motherboard out for this. I'd read elsewhere that you could slip the 4 point bracket under the motherboard and just line the holes up. It doesn't fit this way for me. Not enough clearance.
I also was forced to remove the top 120mm case fan at the top of my case. There wasn't enough clearance for it to fit alongside the heatsink. All in all, not a huge deal.
After getting everything settled in again, I realized the heatsink doesn't clear the top of the case if you try to slide it in on the motherboard tray. You have to install the rest of the heatsink while it is inside the case. The heatsink barely clears on any given side.
I installed it so that the airflow goes from the front of the case towards the rear exhaust fan at the back of the case. The lengthwise portion clears the northbridge hsf by a couple of millimeters, at most. Same goes for the top of the case.
I had to buy a 120mm fan filter for a way to hold the top fan grill to the case, as the screws had nothing to hold onto once I removed the 120mm fan.
Screwing the heatsink on was a breeze. Just be careful with the amount of downwards force you put on the screw, in case you slip. Don't want to slice a trace or anything like that if you miss. They stop screwing in on their own after enough turns, and there is no guesswork on your part.
Clipping the 120mm fan onto it was tough, given the almost non-existant clearance on any side of the heatsink and the fidgety clips you have to use. This, aside from taking the motherboard out and putting it back in, was probably the most time consuming part of the entire process.
My particular s-flex fan seems to be emitting a high pitched whining noise described by a handful of reviews on newegg. It's akin to having a cricket chirping inside your case. Highly irritating. I do not look forward to replacing it once I talk to the place I bought it from. It was a lot of work to get that sucker in correctly.
Performance: Astounding. Previous heatsink was an AC freezer 7 pro. At stock: I'd idle somewhere around 40-45c with probably 26-28c ambient temps. Would break 60c sometimes on full 100% loading, both cores, through intel TAT. Never bothered with overclocking on this hsf, since my temps were already uncomfortably high. I also had to remove the top 120mm fan on the Lian li for this hsf.
With the Ultra 120, My idle was somewhere between 30-34c at stock, and I don't remember breaking 40c at full 100% load through TAT. I'm now at 3.2ghz, 1.2375 vcore, 400fsb x8 multi. Intel TAT at dual 100% load was hovering between 54-56c after 15 minutes, and didn't go any higher. After taking off the load, temps return to 38-40c idle within 15 seconds. That was fast, I had to try it twice just to make sure things weren't going wrong. I am currently running a dual prime95 torture test, and at 100% load I'm at 50-51c for each core after nearly an hour and a half, with no stability issues.
I was able to successfully run HL2 lost coast video stress test.
1600x1200, 4x AA, 16x AF, highest quality settings on everything I could find in the options menu.
2.4ghz w/ ac7: 153 fps average
2.8ghz 400x7 Ultra 120: 170 fps average
3.2ghz 400x8 Ultra 120: 178 fps average
Overall: I never really expected this much from the cooler. I've been simply amazed at the difference in performance. My load at 3.2ghz is even lower than load @ stock with the old hsf. I may try to get some pics up to show anyone who might be interested just what kind of clearance I'm talking about. We'll see. Keep in mind that your experience could vary greatly from mine depending on your case, video card, airflow, motherboard, thermal compound (I used AS5, no burn in yet) and seating of the hsf. This was just to give people a general idea of what to expect if they are using components or cases similar to mine. Hopy you found it helpful or at least informative.
...and nowhere near a shiny finish. 
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