Thermalright TRUE Spirit CPU Air Cooler Review @ [H]

The fan used or included with one or the other is louder, HS make no noise... :p You're always free to swap in your own fan for the perfect combination of CFM/noise you know... The specific fan used probably makes as much of a difference as going from the TS140 to the TS120 or even the original TRUE or Cogage TS.
 
These things are absolutely incredible... So incredible, in fact, that I think it makes low-cost antec/corsair water coolers completely obsolete.

Well done, Thermalright
 
paragon

http://www.thermalright.com/products/index.php?act=data&cat_id=37&id=186

No - thats just the mount for 2011 - 'supposed to be compatible' with just those 3 coolers listed.

However according to thermalright if the mounts you buy additionally don't work with those 3 coolers they've named as compatible the support ends with the 2011 mount you bought or to put it another way - if the cooler don't say it on the box - tough - that coolers done, no matter what Thermalright say afterwards to clear their old cooler inventory.

I f you don't like Thermalright's support position don't buy Thermalright - however this forum seems very staid and inward looking - reviews with only thermalright air coolers for comparison seems odd to my eyes these days but hey you're all old enough to make up your own minds.

Me, with socket lifecycles down to under 3 years, I'll spend my money on companies that will support me and not companies like Thermalright that sent me garbage mounts that I had to specially order and pay for and don't work at all on so called compatible Thermalright coolers despite what Thermalright claimed.
 
Well... it is installed. The box has 670g heatsink only listed for the mass. I got 477g for heatsink, 95g for fan, no hardware included

Be careful with the backplate. I'm not sure if it wasn't sitting correctly or what, but when I first was putting that on, it was like the spacer washers were too thin. I removed the screws and installed them from the other side and everything seemed to line up nicely. I put a nice coating of thermal paste that was included on both the CPU and heatsink using a piece of business card as a spreader and when I was tightening the mounting plate, I twisted the heatsink back and forth to spread the paste out and thin it properly.

Be careful with RAM height. I have G.skill Sniper so the spreaders are not that much taller than the typical RAM module. There is a few millimeter space between the top of the first module spreader and the fan.

And the results.. I have only tested 1 setting so far
GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3, HAF912 (3 intake/3 exhaust), running iGP graphics only (no card)
i7-2600K @ 4.2GHz, 1.26V (this is using Gigabyte EasyTune6 for on-the-fly overclocking and HWinfo for information
Prime95 Large FFT used to load CPU
Room is close to a chilly 60°F (18°C reading from Green drive is the coolest temp, motherboard was reading 21°C)

Stock cooler (2 different days of testing at same room temp with results within 1° of each other)
87°C peak package temp
86 average

TR120 (After 20 minutes of prime, first run)
55°C peak
54 average

And curiosity.. I know that is a mount that I linked to. What do you mean 'supposed to be'? Did you join the forum just to complain? Not good for an intro.

* and it is now idling at arend the same temp as the drive (19°C at 1.6 GHz)
 
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Congrats to you Paragon for the great temps and sensible overclock. I suggest that you go into the BIOS and start adjusting down from 1.26 v, seeing how low you can take it. It'll reduce your temps and power consumption. I haven't done much research to know how SB's voltage and clocks scale, but OC software in general uses more voltage than you need to reach a given OC, so you might want to give it a try.

Have fun. :)
 
Hmm I really want to pick this up but waiting for Newegg to carry it so I can use my voucher.

From what Paragon is saying, it looks like I might have problems with the fan hitting my memory. I'm using some Corsair Vengeance ram with the extended spreaders.
 
Impulse said:
It's been a while since I've seen NE carry TR.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I just noticed that right now. Did a search and only one hsf came up. Oh well I think I might just go with the never cool master 212 evo.
 
Be careful with RAM height. I have G.skill Sniper so the spreaders are not that much taller than the typical RAM module. There is a few millimeter space between the top of the first module spreader and the fan.
Click to expand...

Knew I shoulda switched my RAM order from the Snipers from the X when I had the chance. :(
 
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That's why I went with Snipers when I had the chance! That and the color matched my mobo better... :p (older Snipers they were selling over summer with plain spreaders and blue-ish stickers/PCB)
 
Yeah I was sorely tempted by them, even liked the color, but I was at a friend's house using his comp while BF was going on so I decided to hold off on that.

Hopefully either the P67 or Z68 G-43s can boot without sticks in the first slot.
 
Falling Anvil said:
Yeah I was sorely tempted by them, even liked the color, but I was at a friend's house using his comp while BF was going on so I decided to hold off on that.

Hopefully either the P67 or Z68 G-43s can boot without sticks in the first slot.
Click to expand...

I know with my gigabyte Z68, when using only 2 sticks, you can have them either in the 1st and 3rd or the 2nd and 4th slot from the CPU.
You could technically mound the fan on the other side and pull the air through but I do not know what difference that would make in performance. I would push it through from that side unless you have reverse flow in your case (intake in rear and top and exhaust in front and side)

XacTactX said:
Congrats to you Paragon for the great temps and sensible overclock. I suggest that you go into the BIOS and start adjusting down from 1.26 v, seeing how low you can take it. It'll reduce your temps and power consumption. I haven't done much research to know how SB's voltage and clocks scale, but OC software in general uses more voltage than you need to reach a given OC, so you might want to give it a try.

Have fun. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks! As soon as I figure out a stable area, I will be tweaking with the BIOS. I think I am at the max I can do with the software at the moment. 4.5GHz, 1.272V under load, 52-54°C max. This was able to Fold over night with no issues. Did have 1 hiccup when I tried max stress (14GB) test with IBT but that may be because I have pagefile disabled and that test will use almost all of your RAM.
One thing I noticed, whenever I try to change Voltage with EasyTune, it always locks up right away under load. I am running F8 BIOS and I notice there is an F10 version but doesn't look like much has changed although there may be changes that are not listed.
I will find a GA-Z68X-UD3(H)-B3 thread or similar and post in there for tips on settings as this is starting to get away from talking about the TRUE Spirit 120 and I do not want to turn this into my overclocking thread.

If I remember, I will update this thread with load temps at a higher ambient temperature.

Any questions on the heatsink, let me know!

Cheers!
 
I know with my gigabyte Z68, when using only 2 sticks, you can have them either in the 1st and 3rd or the 2nd and 4th slot from the CPU.
Click to expand...

I want to do that, and I was planning to, but MSI seems to be urging people to install RAM into DIMM slot 1. Then again, it seems like more of a cautionary reminder or something like that, and I guess I can always ask beforehand if people are booting from slots 2 and 4 on their mobos of that type.
 
hi paragon

re 'And curiosity.. I know that is a mount that I linked to. What do you mean 'supposed to be'? Did you join the forum just to complain? Not good for an intro'

if you don't like the facts about this cooler that's being recommended to people then feel to free to make insinuations about the purpose of sharing information - this is a forum and that's what its for.

thermalright do not support any cooler for a socket that is not specified on the box when bought. that's a fact and in my eyes an important one.

what did it say on your box about 2011 -you forgot to say cough cough. If it doesn't say 2011 Thermalright will not support this cooler on 2011. other cooler companies do not abandon their customers so quickly - the introduction of 2011 mounts by thermalright for past coolers is veneer pure and simple.

Why bother to recommend thermalright air coolers alone - look at review - perhaps Noctua should have been included in testing since their coolers do not lack support. Again a fact paragon
 
What you say doesn't matter to me. I'm using this on an LGA 1566. You are the one who is discussing the 2011. And of course it doesn't mention 2011 on the box. It was not originally designed for that, hence the additional bracket.

I would not think that there is ANY company that would support a cooler (or anything for that matter) that is used on something that is not intended for.

And I am not one to spend $50+ more on a cooler for the possibility of around 2° difference and louder fans.

If you wish to discuss i7 or LGA 1566 applications for this, let me know. Otherwise, have a happy holidays and good luck.
 
Do we know for sure that Nan's site is selling the TS120, not the original True Spirit? I'd love to buy it for my new system but I can't find it anywhere except there and it doesn't label it as "TS120."

It's odd that it wouldn't be widely available nearly a moth after the review.
 
I got mine from Nan's. Same black/yellow box as in the review.
From the looks of it, Nan's is either TR's specific storefront or has exclusive rights for now.
 
The price/performance sounds great when you use the MSRP of $30 and $40 but when you see that the only place that stocks it charges $13 for shipping you see that it's not such a good deal after that. $43 and $53 is still good, but not killer.
 
I finally managed to source a ts120 in the uk, £27 delivered... performs and sounds great except the installation is a little bit of a pain in the arse but when its done, its done..

http://www.systo.co.uk

^^ thats where i got it from, bit of a dodgy store but if you are in the uk and wanted one its the only supplier i could find (although their links have disappeared now, i think they resell from other suppliers in Europe as mine came over from Germany).
 
Just installed this in today with the rest of my new build. Still running stock and am getting these temps after a bit over 20 minutes of prime:

Idle: 23-27c
Load: 47-47-50-45(avg), 48-49-52-47(high)

I do consider these temps to be a bit high for this cooler, but understandable at this point. Combined with how my case is a mess, this was my first time installing any CPU cooler, and to be honest the process was a disaster for me. The included TIM was too viscous to want to be put down as a drop or anything not resembling a giant blob, I repeatedly installed and uninstalled the cooler to see what kind of contact I was getting, and I had to constantly reposition the base to get it screwed down. I'll probably reseat the thing and replace the TIM in the near future.

Edit: Realized that my P95 runs should be with large FFTs. It does say that it's for max heat and power consumption, but I'm getting slightly lower maximums (47-47-50-44) and borderlineish averages out of it after a bit over 50 minutes of prime.
 
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I just put a drop of TIM on both the CPU and HS and spread it out with a business card type cardboard or plastic (old credit card). When tightening the holder plate, I gently twisted the HS to help spread the TIM out.

Also, you need good case airflow.
 
Got my sister to buy it for me via Amazon(nans computer blabla) and it arived today.

One question i have though : in the mounting system package, theres a backplate cap (item 11) and the instructions say 775 only. So does that mean NOT to use the backplate cap on 1155 ??
help would be appreciated
 
correct. no plastic thingy. Instructions
When you install it, the plastic spacers should hold the screws with the back plate. Make sure that all 4 spacers properly fit into the mobo holes and are all sitting flat against the mobo.
 
@ Paragon thanx for clearance ...the instructions are some sort of mediocore ..specialy having multi platform mounting choices on 1 set makes things often more blurry than clear.
btw the pdf instructions dont work properly for me (no idea why), i only get black pages

Btw are you happy with the performance ?
 
It may be your version of acrobat reader. As for the instructions, I didn't have any issue but I am used to reading prints like this.

Performance.. been very happy. I could have gone for the typical 212 but opted for something different. As long as you have good case circulation, you should be fine. I am wondering how well it will cool in the summer months when it is not 65 in here.
 
After reading about all the troubles people went through to get this, I can't believe I managed to get this rare gem in my tiny country Lithuania.

Now onto my mini-review. I think this is the best price/performance aftermarket cooler I ever saw and owned. It keeps my 2500K @4Ghz temps lower (running prime95!) than stock cooler does when cpu is idle and not overclocked, very impressive. There isn't much to say that wasn't already said in hardocp's review I just have to agree with their score and recommend this cooler to everyone. I rate TS120 a 10/10 :)
 
one more question to the TR120 owners here.
since i still need to buy the mobo ect for my new pc, id like to know if the TR120 blocks the first ram slot on z68 boards ??
i took some measurements on my own and start having doubts:(

edit: for example ,will a Gskill ripaw have clearance on the first dimm slot?
 
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notsure said:
one more question to the TR120 owners here.
since i still need to buy the mobo ect for my new pc, id like to know if the TR120 blocks the first ram slot on z68 boards ??
i took some measurements on my own and start having doubts:(

edit: for example ,will a Gskill ripaw have clearance on the first dimm slot?
Click to expand...

I just installed the T120 tonight on my Asus P8Z68 Deluxe Gen 3. I have all four memory slots filled with Corsair Vengence Menory and it cleared just fine on mine. Tight fit but cleared.
 
I got a T120 from Nan's via Amazon. Bought it after installing a Corsair H100 in my new build and it had a noisy pump. With all the reports of those having problems I decided to try one of these based on the review here and return the H100 while I could.

Install went ok. I did have to modify the backplate to fit my Asus P8Z68 Deluxe Gen 3. Right at the bottom of the backplate there is a phillps screw with a little spring on it and the backplate will not clear it. I ended up taking a grinder to it and trimming that section to go around that screw. Added a little black paint and it was as good as new. Everything else went smooth. Added Artic Silver Ceramique to both the cpu and heatsink and fired her up. Was met with a CPU fan warning at bootup so I went into the bios and it shows the fan is spinning at between 565 to 610 rpm. I lowered the threshold for that to 500 and booted up. Anybody else run across that? Should it be spinning faster than that at idle?

Temp at idle while doing this is 18c (i7 2600k) and cpu fan speed is 575rpm. Very quite. After dealing with a squealing, clicking pump for two weeks this is great.


Haven't tried any gaming yet so we'll see what temps look like then. So far so good.

Later

Jim
 
You can check here to see if TS120 will fit your specific motherboard, I myself can confirm that it fits Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 perfectly without blocking any ram slots.
 
notsure said:
@motoman

would you be so kind and provide some pictures please. it would help me with my shopping.
im thinking bout buying http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/Maximus_IV_GENEZGEN3/
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Here are a couple of quick shots. Hope they help.

So far the cooler is working out great. Cool and quite.

Computer2012001.jpg



Computer2012004.jpg


Computer2012002.jpg
 
XacTactX said:
Hey Marc, what do you think is the design difference between the CoGaGe and TR versions of the 120 that makes the TR version perform the same with a 5 dB reduction in sound? As interested as I am in cooling designs, I still don't understand what the actual differences are that make some perform better than others. Thanks a bunch, I appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Marc probably never saw my question or else I'm sure he would reply. I decided to find the answer myself, and I have to give a big thanks to [H] and co. for doing such a good job of taking pictures. I made a folder and saved the pictures you guys took of all the different angles of the cooler, and I compared the Cogage and TR versions. Here's what I found out:

  • In refining the design, several cost-cutting measures were used. The base of the TS120 does not have beveled edges or a hole for lining up the retention mechanism. The tips of the heatpipes were rounded and had a nickel plating for aesthetics on the Cogage, on the TS120 they are absent.
  • The Cogage's base gave a dull reflection when you held a wire mesh next to it. The TS120 has a mirror finish and does not have any distortion in the center, only on the outside edges.
  • The base of the TS120 is about half as thick as that of the Cogage. In theory the Cogage should be able to absorb quick heat spikes more effectively.
  • There are holes right in front of the heat pipes on the intake side of the TS120. I do not know enough about airflow and thermodynamics to draw conclusions about this, but I have also seen this on an Enermax CPU heatsink.

Again, thanks a bunch [H] and crew for taking such good pictures, I really appreciate having the opportunity to learn about heatsink design because of you guys. :)
 
Is Amazon the only place to get it? I can't seem to find it anywhere else and I don't want to pay $13 for shipping unless I have no other choice.
 
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