Intel On Ice

One of the things both Intel’s 65-nm and 45-nm parts have in common is their over clocking potential, and as any Core 2 Duo user will tell you, simply buy a slower processor and overclock it to faster speeds. But you don’t want to be over clocking uncontrollably, as even Intel’s excellent thermal thresholds are easily crossed once the FSBs and multipliers are tweaked.

Thermalright is a known vendor of high performance CPU and GPU aftermarket coolers. Their latest CPU cooler—the Ultra 120 Extreme—is a massive tower-like cooling solution featuring six heat pipes. This monster needs to be paired with an equally space hogging 120-mm fan to perform at its best. Many users’ cabinets also aren’t wide enough to accommodate the high Ultra 120 Extreme, so Thermalright’s design engineers came out with the Ultima 90i. It’s much smaller and weighs just 460 grams—much lighter than the Ultra 120’s 790 grams. This cooler is best used with a 92-mm fan. It looks like a shrunk down Ultra 120, and retains the same six heat pipes.

To install this heat sink, you’ll need to remove your motherboard. This involves the installation of a back plate on the rear of the motherboard. Though tedious, this is the best way to secure a CPU cooler.

We used this heat sink with two processors—a hotter, and older Core 2 Duo Extreme X6800 (2.93 GHz), and a newer Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9650 (3 GHz).

A difference of 24 degrees on an over clocked quad core just says it all. Even the older X6800 runs 22 degrees cooler at a clock of 3.5 GHz. Very impressive for a cooler which weighs the same as Intel’s stock cooler. There are two issues we see with users swapping out their stock Intel coolers and plonking this on—the tedious installation, and the absence of a fan with stock package. A good 92-mm fan from the likes of Panaflo or NMB will set you back by a cool Rs 600, which should be added to the price of the cooler.