Convex? Yes
I just got back from a local shop that has these in stock - they just rec'd a shipment from Thermalright yesterday. True to what everyone has said, the base is convex in one direction. I would surmise it is due to a manufacturing caused defect. Here's what it looks like;
Manufacturing
As an engineer, this is what I believe happens.
1. The base is machined flat by itself (looks nice)
2. The pipes are soldered into the grooves which run parallel to the green arrow in the picture.
3. A top plate is riveted to the bottom plate as indicated by the blue downwarding pointing arrow.
4. The force of the rivet operation bends the base plate along the red arrow/red line. This dimension is the weakest for the base plate as it has the grooves cut into it.
The high point of the convexity is in the center of the plate parallel to the pipe grooves (the contact point is over the core). I checked a few 120's and they all had the convexity; they were pretty much identical.
Installation Tip
The 120 does tend to move around. To eliminate that, I took a 1" long piece of 1/2" wide double sided foam tape and stuck it between the heatsink and the bracket (where the tip of the blue arrow is pointing in the pic). This stops any movement and also adds a bit of padding, which allows the bracket to be somewhat tighter. Just make sure to stick the bracket down on the center of the heatsink. Also, if your case is tight, put the fan clips in the fins first.
How does it perform?
My system - e6600 o/c to 3.0ghz, 1.35 Vcore, P5B-E, Scythe SFLex 1200 rpm.
PCFan measurements (CPU, Core1/Core2)
18C ambient
Stock heatsink
Idle_________24c, 32/31
TAT Load_____50c, 60/59
U120x
Idle_________18c, 25/24
TAT Load_____38c, 47/46
Conclusions
The 120 took 13C off my core temps using a near silent fan. My goal is a compromise between o/c performance and quietness. Once the TIM compound sets I may even see a few more degrees. Perhaps a lapped base would be better, but I cannot be bothered to do that since my TAT load temps are fine and are much more intense than any normal process I might run.
:?: Hmmm... I wonder what temp Anand's Far Cry River demo would run at?
I just got back from a local shop that has these in stock - they just rec'd a shipment from Thermalright yesterday. True to what everyone has said, the base is convex in one direction. I would surmise it is due to a manufacturing caused defect. Here's what it looks like;
Manufacturing
As an engineer, this is what I believe happens.
1. The base is machined flat by itself (looks nice)
2. The pipes are soldered into the grooves which run parallel to the green arrow in the picture.
3. A top plate is riveted to the bottom plate as indicated by the blue downwarding pointing arrow.
4. The force of the rivet operation bends the base plate along the red arrow/red line. This dimension is the weakest for the base plate as it has the grooves cut into it.
The high point of the convexity is in the center of the plate parallel to the pipe grooves (the contact point is over the core). I checked a few 120's and they all had the convexity; they were pretty much identical.
Installation Tip
The 120 does tend to move around. To eliminate that, I took a 1" long piece of 1/2" wide double sided foam tape and stuck it between the heatsink and the bracket (where the tip of the blue arrow is pointing in the pic). This stops any movement and also adds a bit of padding, which allows the bracket to be somewhat tighter. Just make sure to stick the bracket down on the center of the heatsink. Also, if your case is tight, put the fan clips in the fins first.
How does it perform?
My system - e6600 o/c to 3.0ghz, 1.35 Vcore, P5B-E, Scythe SFLex 1200 rpm.
PCFan measurements (CPU, Core1/Core2)
18C ambient
Stock heatsink
Idle_________24c, 32/31
TAT Load_____50c, 60/59
U120x
Idle_________18c, 25/24
TAT Load_____38c, 47/46
Conclusions
The 120 took 13C off my core temps using a near silent fan. My goal is a compromise between o/c performance and quietness. Once the TIM compound sets I may even see a few more degrees. Perhaps a lapped base would be better, but I cannot be bothered to do that since my TAT load temps are fine and are much more intense than any normal process I might run.
:?: Hmmm... I wonder what temp Anand's Far Cry River demo would run at?
I deffinately agree with your assesment of the manufacturing defect. Obviously the holes drilled for the heatpipes in the base weaken it too much! I think an easy remedy for them would be to drill the holes across the grain of the aluminum and not with it.
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