Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme

Not to be outdone by the competition, Thermalright has improved yet again on its already excellent Ultra 120, with the Ultra 120 eXtreme.

The eXtreme manages to cram in six heatpipes compared with the four on the Ultra 120, while keeping the main heatsink the same size and retaining compatibility with 120mm fans.

Packaged inside the trademark Thermalright sturdy brown box and foam padding are the fan clips, some thermal paste, retention screws, a Socket 775 motherboard back plate and retention bracket for all AMD AM2 and Intel Socket 775 CPUs.

However AMD Socket 754/939/940/AM2 users will run into the same obstacles that previously presented themselves with the Ultra 120. This will require users to procure an AMD-compatible backplate for the eXtreme as it is
not included.

An improved Socket 775 retention bracket is also included that folds with a scissor-like action. This means it can now easily fit through the heatpipes, an operation that previously involved painstakingly forcing the bracket in between the heatsink and surrounding pipes.

Despite stating compatibility with all 120mm fans we still ran into problems as the retention clips only work with fans that have separate screw holes on both sides of the fan. As a consequence, fans that have holes on both sides connected via a tube of plastic won’t work here, and some ingenuity may be required.

Spreading thermal paste on our resident heat generator Chernobyl, in an ambient room temperature of 24°C and using a Noctua 120mm fan, the Ultra eXtreme managed 39°C degrees. This is pretty schmick, but considering the previous test results this puts it in line with the original Ultra 120, which gave a 42°C reading in an ambient 27°C. We have an inkling that inside a case environment, the eXtreme will really shine.

If every degree matters and you want the best possible CPU temps on air then the eXtreme is the best heatsink to get – at least until Thermalright raises the bar once more.