Ultra 90 vs. Freezer 7 Pro vs. ???

S

SDraconis

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 28, 2005
Messages
141
Trying to find a cooler that's not going to break the bank, and these two seem to make the most sense so far. Since the E4300 only costs ~$115, spending a lot on a cooler just seems wasteful (as in, I could've just bought a faster processor and gotten a higher stock clock instead). I was originally intending on staying on stock, but temps are getting higher than I'd want and I'm going to be moving into a very hot room for the summer.

From eWiz, ~$29.50 for the Freezer 7 Pro and from SVC $34.62 for the Ultra 90 w/Panaflo fan (after CA tax and shipping). So far, the pro I am seeing with the Ultra 90 is that I could choose to get the bolt-thru kit and not deal with the stupid 775 pin connector thing, but that then bumps my price and I'm not sure if it's even necessary. I haven't seen any reviews that actually end up comparing the two head to head. Any thoughts?
 
:cool: Or, wait for the NEW Thermalright Ultima-90. Comes in an "I" version for Intel and an "A" version for AMD.

It will handle either a 92 mm or 120 mm fan.
 
Freezer Pro 7, three months, O/C cpu to 3.4 ghz ( E6600 ) and have not seen the temps in bios over 47 / 48c.... Yet..Home Ambient temps at 79 degress F


VelocityMicro Gamers Edge

680i SLI
Bios P-25
E6600 2.4 ghz @ 3.4 ghz max
4 Gigs Corsair Dominator DDR2-8500 C5D 4-4-4-12 2T
8800 GTX
Arctic Cooler Pro 7
WD 250 Hrd Drv 16 mb cache
Vista Premium 64 bit
 
buffbiff21 said:
forget them both.

Get a Scythe Ninja for 35 at Jabtech
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Avoiding anything pricier. As I said, originally I was going to stick with stock.

PowerHungry said:
:cool: Or, wait for the NEW Thermalright Ultima-90. Comes in an "I" version for Intel and an "A" version for AMD.
Click to expand...
I would love this cooler, as it fits the ideal of lighter 90 size but a 120 fan, but who know when it's coming out and at what price range.

Spanki said:
I'd say that the ACF7P ($22 at Directron, btw) is the best bang for the buck at that price. Another one worth considering is the Cooler Master Hyper Tx, for a few dollars more. Reviews of the Hyper Tx fairly consistently rank it very high.
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I'll look into the Cooler Master. Btw, I always consider prices after tax and shipping, and it comes out to the same price for me at Directron and eWiz.

Looks like nobody seems to have any experience with the Ultra 90. I had a similar problem in looking for reviews that compare it to other coolers in the same price range.
 
Sorry to dig this back up, but I've come to realize how much I dislike the Intel 775 push-pin system. I might just have to fork over the extra cash to get the mounting kit with the Ultra 90, making it a total of $41.41 after tax and shipping from SVC.

Do I have any other options/anyone wanna talk me out of it?
 
You know, maybe it was just me, but when I first got my board, I had a hell of a time with the stock Intel HSF and it's push-pins... but it turns out it was totally my own error/misunderstanding. You see, I looked at the thing (and pretty sure I even read the directions) and to me, what made sense was:

1. push down on pin until it 'clicks'
2. twist knob into 'locked' position

...apparently this is completely NOT how it works :). Twisting the knob around the way the arrows indicate is how you REMOVE the damn things... which was causing me no end of trouble getting them to 'stay inserted' :).

Anyway, now that I know how they work (just push it in until it clicks in place and you're done), I really like that system.

Having said that...

I might just have to fork over the extra cash to get the mounting kit with the Ultra 90, making it a total of $41.41 after tax and shipping from SVC.
Click to expand...

...ouch. Does that alo include the fan you need to buy? I'm finding it hard to recommend spending that much on the Ultra 90, for the level of cooling you'll get when all is said and done. You might want to have a look at the chart on this page and re-consider just how much you hate the push-pin system... the Scythe Mine has a lot going for it and can be found for $28.99 at Directron (before shipping).

The Mine comes with a very nice/quiet fan and has a nice mounting system that will let you put a 120mm fan on it if you want. If you look at the next page of that review, you'll see it out-performing a lot of other heatsinks (Scythe Ninja, Scythe Infinity, Noctua NH-U 12, Thermalright SI-120, etc) with the same fan attached (within 2C of the Tuniq, using the same fan). The Ultra 90 (with it's smaller 92mm, but similar cfm and noise level fan) lags behind by some ~7C. In other recent reviews, it also fairs well.

I ended up going with the Cooler Master Hyper Tx and am happy with it, but the Scythe Mine was a very close second on my list and I don't recall why I didn't choose it - I might go with that if I was buying again today.
 
Spanki said:
You know, maybe it was just me, but when I first got my board, I had a hell of a time with the stock Intel HSF and it's push-pins... but it turns out it was totally my own error/misunderstanding. You see, I looked at the thing (and pretty sure I even read the directions) and to me, what made sense was:

1. push down on pin until it 'clicks'
2. twist knob into 'locked' position

...apparently this is completely NOT how it works :). Twisting the knob around the way the arrows indicate is how you REMOVE the damn things... which was causing me no end of trouble getting them to 'stay inserted' :).
Click to expand...
Holy crap, I've been doing that wrong. No wonder I bent the damn things...

Spanki said:
Does that alo include the fan you need to buy? I'm finding it hard to recommend spending that much on the Ultra 90, for the level of cooling you'll get when all is said and done.
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Sorry. Yes, that's including the Panaflo medium.

If I find the push-pin system isn't so bad, I might go for the Freezer 7 Pro as many people seem to have it/like it, but I'll take a look at your suggestions. In the meantime, I'm going to see if maybe I goofed on my stock heatsink installation.
 
Okay, here's the pricing I found (after California tax and shipping):

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro: $29.26 (SVC)
Cooler Master Hyper TX: $33.68 (Mwave)
Scythe Mine: $36.92 (Directron)

At the price point, the Freezer 7 Pro is looking the best. Though it's not that huge a difference, is it still worth it to go with the Hyper TX or the Mine instead?
 
One thing I REALLY like about the Hyper TX is the duct/vent system, it diverts some of the exhaust airflow onto the mobods power circuitry, but more usefully (for me at least) it means that the entire fan assembly can simply be unclipped from the heatsink and removed, making it VERY easy to access the push pins.
 
I agree with Matbix. My personal 'advantages over the ACF7Pro' list would look something like this:

Hyper Tx:
- aforementioned shroud diverts air to help cool power MOSFETs, also provides easy fan removal.
- quieter fan than ACF7Pro, yet cools as well or better.
- (very subjective) I like the looks of the Hyper Tx compared to the ACF7Pro :) (primarily due to shape of fins, more than the shroud, but the shroud is not unpleasant).

Scythe Mine:
Pros:
- larger, quieter default fan
- easily replaceable fan, which can accomodate 120mm fan (given enough case clearance). The stock fan should serve you well, but being able to replace it with something stronger may extend the life of the heatsink into future cpu changes.
- I haven't seen head-to-head comparisons, but based on all available info, the Mine very likely out-performs the ACF7Pro as well
EDIT: Hehe.. oops.. the ACF7Pro is included in that Hexus roundup... looks like the Mine does indeed out-perform it (by about ~5C in that particular test setup).

Cons:
- bigger overall footprint (but still smaller width than Ultra 120, Tuniq Tower, Scythe Infinity, Noctua 12, etc)... depending on other components, may have clearance issues.

...it's your money, so you'll have to decide if the above might be worth the extra few dollars, but if you spread those ~$4-$7 dollars out over the life of the heatsink, it's a pretty minimal investment, value-wise.

Anyway, on the push-pins... that really took me for a loop :). I'd get two of them clicked in place, then twist the dial (thinking that locked them), then push the other two in place and the first ones would pop out (!!). Anyway, the proper way to do it is to have the knobs turned clockwise, then just push them in until they click and you're done. When you go to remove it, turn the knobs counter-clockwise (direction of the arrows) and that unlocks it.
 
I have a Pentium D (50$ @ newegg) and i bought a Tuniq Tower. But the way i see it is, im planning on upgrading to a Q6600 when the price plummets,so ill use the same cooler i bought for that Proc.
 
Spanki said:
Anyway, on the push-pins... that really took me for a loop :). I'd get two of them clicked in place, then twist the dial (thinking that locked them), then push the other two in place and the first ones would pop out (!!). Anyway, the proper way to do it is to have the knobs turned clockwise, then just push them in until they click and you're done. When you go to remove it, turn the knobs counter-clockwise (direction of the arrows) and that unlocks it.
Click to expand...

Lol I had EXACTLY the same experience with the push-pins- frustrated the hell out of me at first until I realised th correct way to install them. Remember to RTFM people!!!
 
SDraconis said:
Okay, here's the pricing I found (after California tax and shipping):

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro: $29.26 (SVC)
Cooler Master Hyper TX: $33.68 (Mwave)
Scythe Mine: $36.92 (Directron)

At the price point, the Freezer 7 Pro is looking the best. Though it's not that huge a difference, is it still worth it to go with the Hyper TX or the Mine instead?
Click to expand...

I just picked up the Freezer 7 Pro for $21 delivered to NY from ewiz.com . Pretty sweet price.

EDIT: Looks like the free shipping is over. Sucks
 
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