Ultra-120 Extreme vs. Ultima-90

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cornelious0_0

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Apr 6, 2003
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Just wondering how well the Ultra-120 Extreme typically does with a single 120mm fan installed to pull air through the heatsink? The reason I ask is because in my Shuttle I plan to have the Ultra-120 positioned parallel to my HR-05 with the fan between them blowing towards the HR-05.

What do you guys think would be better...the Ultra-120 with a single 80cfm 120x25 fan in the "pull" position or an Ultima-90 with dual 45cfm 92mm fans in a push/pull setup???

My heatsink options are limited because I'm gonna have to make my own mounting for anything aftermarket (offset mounting holes on the Shuttle mobo) and Thermalright's two contenders have a large/open space above the base of the heatsink for me to use. I'm open to other heatsink suggestions, but for now I'm going back and forth between these two.
 
A TRUE in a Shuttle? What kind of Shuttle are you thinking of using here? I've seen a lot of mods for Shuttles and have conjured up a few myself, but I can't imagine any amount of cutting that could keep a TRUE in a Shuttle. The Ultima 90 I could see in any of their G2 and G5 lineups, but anything else is just plain.... I don't see how it can be done.
 
That Linux Guy said:
A TRUE in a Shuttle? What kind of Shuttle are you thinking of using here? I've seen a lot of mods for Shuttles and have conjured up a few myself, but I can't imagine any amount of cutting that could keep a TRUE in a Shuttle. The Ultima 90 I could see in any of their G2 and G5 lineups, but anything else is just plain.... I don't see how it can be done.
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x2

I would love to see how you get a TRUE in, and if you can...go w/ the TRUE over a ultima 90 w/ two fans.

I use a 90 Ultra and I can only get a single fan "push" w/ it ....I can only wish to be able to put a TRUE in my SFF :eek:
 
I use an external optical drive shared over the network so I have a lot of space free. I've been thinking of putting the burner back in but for how rarely I use it the external drive does fine.

I'm gonna be finishing measurements and cutting tomorrow night so I'll let you guys know what I decide on, I was just worried about the single fan pulling through the TRUE not being overly effective.

Thanks for the kind words though, the more input the better.
 
I'm thinking of being a little more drastic and completely redesigning the front panel of the case, not using the plastic bezel at all and essentially making the front of the case almost entirely mesh...as to (possibly) allow a push-pull fan setup on the TRUE with it installed parallel to the HR-05, intaking air through the front of the case.

We'll see, and I'll keep you guys updated.
 
If I'm not mistaken, isn't the CPU socket on those P-series Shuttles closer to the front side, rather than centered? This would case the TRUE to jutt out one side, thus rendering one side of the case useless. Also, even if you could mount the TRUE paralell to the case front, would you still have enough room to stick a 12cm fan in between them?

I like your willingness to mod the snot out of your Shuttle, but a bit off topic, a push-pull config usually doesn't do as well as you'd think. I' hope you're not thinking you'll get twice the airflow with 2 fans. The only way 2 fans will significantly outperform 1 is if you're using fans that create low amounts of static pressure, Like Scythe Slipstreams for example. They're great case fans, but they don't create enough pressure to do justice on most heatsinks. Also, with the fin thickness, and fin density of the TRUE, a high static pressure fan is a must. You'd be better off just going with 1 38mm by 120mm fan. You'll get nearly identical results, and save 12mm. Just a thought. Looking forward to seeing some pics when you start hacking it up. :)
 
That Linux Guy said:
If I'm not mistaken, isn't the CPU socket on those P-series Shuttles closer to the front side, rather than centered? This would case the TRUE to jutt out one side, thus rendering one side of the case useless. Also, even if you could mount the TRUE paralell to the case front, would you still have enough room to stick a 12cm fan in between them?

I like your willingness to mod the snot out of your Shuttle, but a bit off topic, a push-pull config usually doesn't do as well as you'd think. I' hope you're not thinking you'll get twice the airflow with 2 fans. The only way 2 fans will significantly outperform 1 is if you're using fans that create low amounts of static pressure, Like Scythe Slipstreams for example. They're great case fans, but they don't create enough pressure to do justice on most heatsinks. Also, with the fin thickness, and fin density of the TRUE, a high static pressure fan is a must. You'd be better off just going with 1 38mm by 120mm fan. You'll get nearly identical results, and save 12mm. Just a thought. Looking forward to seeing some pics when you start hacking it up. :)
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Thank you for your interest, I am always happy to see people showing interest/curiosity in things I have planned. You are correct, the position of the CPU socket is very close to the front of the case, installing the TRUE parallel to the front of the case is the only way to get it to fit. I combined the thickness of the TRUE with the 50mm thickness of two fans and there is just barely enough space to fit it all in behind the front panel. If things end up getting closer then I think I can always just go with a single fan on the "inside" side of the TRUE, but I'd prefer to push-pull for one main reason.

Here's a summary of the mods that are taking place, finishing with the reasoning behind the desired push-pull setup:

I'm in the process of completely redesigning the way that the Shuttle is going to look, it's not going to resemble the SP35P2 a lot once I'm done, but I really like the idea and it'll be beneficial in a few ways. What I'm doing is cutting out the majority of every panel in the case, leaving an inch or less of case left around each edge, and installing this mesh in the opennings...basically creating very large mesh windows on each panel.

Personally I find the look of the silver aluminum interior very boring and plain, so in addition to installing the (almost) full panel mesh windows I'm also getting the entire chassis powder coated black. In addition to the mesh panels and the powder coating I'll be sleeving the PSU black as well to complete the look.

I was originally going to stop there, but I just couldn't stand going with the smaller Ultima-90 knowing that the TRUE would technically fit in my case with the front internal drive cage removed. In order to make the push-pull fan setup truely effective I'm going to be removing the front plastic bezel entirely and also cutting out 90% of the front of the case, leaving a huge mesh panel in it's place as well.

Aside from shaving an inch or two off the depth of the Shuttle this is going to give it a very unique look, with everything 100% black it'll be extremely eye catching to be able to see into the SFF case from every angle, and it'll be something very unique that I've never seen done in the past.

With the front of the case replaced with a large panel of mesh, the fan on the TRUE between the heatsink and the case will be pulling cool air in from outside the case, and the second fan will further push it over my HR-05, and also provide a lot of airflow to/through the PSU...cooling it down significantly.

I know that all might be a lot to take in and/or picture, but in my head it looks effing amazing, and I can't wait to get this all completed. All I have left to do is work out the measurements for the TRUE's mounting system that I'm designing and figure out where I'm going to put the cases power button.

The really nice thing about the P2 Shuttle chassis is the cooler doesn't use a backplate on the mobo, it actually screws into the case under the board. Once I get the mounting plate designed and cut it'll be a simple matter of having screws long enough to thread into the case from above with enough space for me to put a spring and wing nut ontop of the plate to tighten things down.

Sorry for rambling, but there's so much going on in the next week that I'm bouncing off the walls with excitement.

Be sure to keep throwing comments/suggestions out in the air...if something is brought up that I can change/implement into the design in time I'll definitely consider it...always good to have a few more minds brainstorming for me. :D

EDIT: To simplifiy things I'm thinking that if I have the one fan right up against the front mesh intaking cool air there might not be much need for the second fan when it comes to CPU temps so I'll probably leave it out, what do you guys think? Even with the thick fin density would the single 120x25 80cfm fan be alright if it's blowing cool air (similar to a ducted setup if not better) straight on the heatsink?
 
cornelious0_0 said:
EDIT: To simplifiy things I'm thinking that if I have the one fan right up against the front mesh intaking cool air there might not be much need for the second fan when it comes to CPU temps so I'll probably leave it out, what do you guys think? Even with the thick fin density would the single 120x25 80cfm fan be alright if it's blowing cool air (similar to a ducted setup if not better) straight on the heatsink?
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You might want to go with a 38mm fan instead if possible, as the higher static pressure would be beneficial to the performance of the TRUE. However, a single fan should be sufficient depending on exactly what you plan on doing with your CPU.
 
Zero82z said:
You might want to go with a 38mm fan instead if possible, as the higher static pressure would be beneficial to the performance of the TRUE. However, a single fan should be sufficient depending on exactly what you plan on doing with your CPU.
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The CPU is going to be overclocked, but nothing insane. Problem is that I don't/won't have room between the TRUE and the front mesh to install a 38mm thick fan, so I'm "stuck" with the 120x25mm. I was kinda hoping that the efficiently "ducted" cool air intake would help make up for the lack of preasure of the 25mm thick fan.

I'll probably start with the single fan and add the second if performance is lackluster at all. Also, not using the second fan on the TRUE would help the HD4870 a bit, if I don't replace the stock cooler then the fan would be partially covered by the second 25mm thick fan, and I'd prefer to leave all air pathways open.
 
Well, having a clear path for the airflow won't help your pressure any. However, a 25mm fan will be enough for the TRUE. Especially if you'll only be performing modest overclocks, you won't need any fans with crazy amounts of pressure.
 
Zero82z said:
Well, having a clear path for the airflow won't help your pressure any. However, a 25mm fan will be enough for the TRUE. Especially if you'll only be performing modest overclocks, you won't need any fans with crazy amounts of pressure.
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That's what I was hoping/thinking. I'll start with the single 120x25 fan and add the second for that extra oomph if necessary.

I'll be picking up the Ultra-120 eXtreme tomorrow after work to get final measurements done, finishing my cuts to the case tomorrow night and getting it painted (or at least dropping it off) on monday.

I'll be starting a new thread in the Small Form Factor forum as well as posting pics in here to "release" pics of the case after the cuts are done.
 
Well...got all the case cuts done. I still have to sleeve the PSU and cut the mesh, but a lot of the work is done.

I basically ended up cutting up the stock Shuttle I.C.E. heatsink to mount the Ultra-120 eXtreme and it actually worked out really well. Aside from the fact that I still have to fix a few things with the mount (the weight from the mount is about 75% on the outside edges of the base of the heatsink, no pressure on the center at all right now) I have already dropped my load temps by 11c with a single, fairly quieter Scythe 120x25mm fan!!!

Other then improving my custom mount for the TRUE, I'll be replacing the Scythe fan with something faster to further lower temperatures.

I'm really pleased so far with the way things are turning out. The case looks like a mess because it was just cut up and it's not yet painted, but give it a few more days and it'll be a thing of beauty. :D

I'll post pics in the morning in my new thread called "SP35P2 Pro: Project Open Air" in the case mod worklog forum...off to bed after a few hours of dremel work, a wee bit tired. :p
 
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