Thermalright is synonymous with highest quality enthusiast air cooling products. Everyone else has always had to play catch up to their air cooling products. Today I’ll be looking at their latest single tower designed cooler –The Venomous-X.
Thermalright (head quarters in Taiwan) is probably the most well known of all after market enthusiast (air) cooler manufactures. They make coolers for Central processing units, graphics cards, memory, power regulation circuitry (mosfets) and chipsets. They also manufacture cooling fans and thermal pastes. Their Ultra 120 eXtreme (referred to as TRUE from here onwards, with rev C indicating the latest revision of the venerable design) series is perhaps the best known of all of their brands and was for a very long time the best air cooler available for CPUs (In an industry with a 6 month cycle, this is saying something!). Only recently was their dominance challenged with the arrival of the Prolimatech Megahalem and especially the Noctua NH-D14, the (current) leader of the pack.
PACKAGING
The box is a departure from the usual card box brown packing that had become a trademark of Thermalright coolers. The Venomous-X comes in a more chic looking box, which is black in color with most of the text in blue.
Though the packaging has changed, the information on the box is still sparse. There is no list of features, specs or little cut holes to peek inside. It is still pretty much Standard Thermalright stuff apart from the new look of the box.
Inside is a little accessories case below which lies the Venomous-X surrounded by polyurethane foam shroud. The installation instructions lie between the two.
Unlike recent Noctua coolers, the Venomous-X ships without any fans in the box. This is pretty much in line with nearly all of Thermalright’s previous offerings. If you already have high-performance cooling fans you really won’t be too miffed. If you don’t you’ll need to buy one (or two for good measure) –an added expense. In my opinion it is high time Thermalright started bundling fans with all their coolers (one does come bundled with rev C TRUE; 1366 RT Rev C to be precise). All in one bundles have more appeal as one doesn’t have to fish around for fans. Bundling a fan (or even two) with a cooler is probably cheaper than buying the same fan as a separate item (the cost of packaging and shipping can be avoided). Thermalright if you are reading this we want a Venomous-X fan package!
ACCESSORIES
Apart from the fan the package has all the other necessary parts to install the cooler in any of the contemporary (read Intel) platforms. There is a universal back plate which is good for Socket 775/ 1156 or 1366 based processors, thermal paste (Chill Factor 3), four silicon anti vibration strips, four wire clips (for 2 fans) and a nifty Thermalright Sticker.
The Mounting System
The cooler is shipped with a universal mounting system for all contemporary Intel processors. This is different from what was shipped with the original TRUE coolers. The new system comprises of:
A. The Multiple Support Back Plate:
B. Anchoring Bracket
C. Pressure Adjustable Mounting Plate
D. AMD Processors Mounting System
E. Thermalright –The Chill Factor 3 Thermal goo
F. Fan Mounting System
*These parts are labeled in the picture above
A. The Multiple Support Back Plate
One back plate is designed to fit all Intel processors available of late i.e. those that are designed for sockets 775, 1156 and 1366. A plastic inset is provided for use with a LGA 775 motherboard. This goes into the central cutout in the back plate. The back plate features four threaded bolts that move in a slot. Their position can be adjusted according to the processor used. This is a very good implementation of a universal back plate. No loose parts to fiddle with. In fact I’d rate this as the best designed back plate for all recent air coolers. The following video (with audio commentary explains the plate in detail)
B. Anchoring Bracket
The anchoring bracket goes on from the front of the board and is fixed to the back plate using 4 “screw pillars”. The anchoring bracket comes with 4 threaded pillars. Two of these are used to secure the cooler at any one time using the mounting plate (see below). As there are two sets of these, there is no need to change the direction of the bracket if a change in the orientation of the cooler is to be made. The cooler simply secures itself to the threaded pillars perpendicular to the ones used in initial installation. Again small attention to detail which makes the life of the assembler that much easier. More brownie points to Thermalright!
C. Pressure Adjustable Mounting Plate
Perhaps the most interesting part of the entire package is the inclusion of this plate. The cooler is secured to the bracket using this plate using two spring loaded screws. Once that is done, the central pressure adjustment knob can be manipulated using the provided wrench to change the pressure applied on the heat sink base. Turning the knob clockwise increases the pressure from the default 40 lbs (pounds) up to a maximum of 70 lbs (pounds). This is certainly a novelty solution. What remains to be seen is that if this brings tangible improvements in real world performance numbers (read: improved cooling efficiency).
D. AMD Processors Mounting System
The mounting system is not compatible with any of the AMD processors. Sadly an alternate mounting system is not yet included in the retail box and has to be purchased separately. There is news from the company is that they will start including an AMD mounting kit in retail boxes as well.
The mounting system supports all AM2, AM2+ and AM3 socket based processors. A back plate is used to secure AM2 bracket using 4 spring loaded screws (ala original TRUE). As the position of mounting holes in AMD motherboards is the same irrespective of socket type a simpler back plate can be employed. The solution is simple yet elegant, though there isn’t an option of utilizing the pressure adjustment plate.
E. Thermalright –The Chill Factor 3 Thermal goo
The cooler comes with Thermalright’s own branded thermal paste –the chill factor 3. This is the top of the line paste in Thermalright’s arsenal. It is non-conductive. There is enough thermal paste for several applications.
F. Fan Mounting System
2 sets of wire clips and silicon (anti vibration) strips are provided. The latter is used as a noise and vibration damper. This system is similar to the one employed in the earlier TRUE coolers, but is a departure from the fan mounting system provided with rev C of TRUE. The fan bracket is easier to attach, but I really don’t see the exclusion of it as a deal breaker. Sure I would have liked to have a bracket, but I am not going to loose any sleep at its exclusion.
VENOMOUS-X –TRUE Rev D?
There is an uncanny resemblance between the Venomous-X and Ultra eXtreme. There are, though subtle difference between the two. They are designed to make the Venomous-X a meaner, sleeker and light weight, with sacrificing performance. The venomous-x is shorter (5 mm), barely smaller (1mm) and lighter (755 grams instead of 790 grams) as compared to its predecessor. The cooler still has 6 heat pipes which are 6 mm in diameter. (For a list of differences please refer to the table at the end of the section)
The Cooling Tower –Sleeker
The cooling tower is designed pretty much like that of a TRUE, though there are some differences as compared to the latest incarnation of the latter (rev C).
The plates in venomous-x are spaced about 1.9 mm apart. (As compared to 2.0 mm for rev C) and there is one less plate to boot (47 vs 48).
Despite the lack of one plate and the smaller dimension of the cooler, the cooling area is almost the same as that of rev C. This is because the plates are almost rectangular, while rev C. had its plates curved inward at the center (i.e. concave outwards). The total cooling area is about 3525 cm2. The smaller gap helps improve air pressure, while the change in shape allows for a smaller design with a similar heat dissipation surface as the rev C.
The plates are also constructed differently. The cooling plate’s edge design has been changed. From a concave (outward) flat surfaced plate design to a serrated design. This has been seen before in Noctua’s NH-D14, but here the serrations are wider and quantitatively less. These are designed to help reduce resistance to air flow.
The plates still have the same bent design in a profile view. This helps direct airflow towards some of the voltage regulatory circuit.
What is missing from the cooling tower (that was present in TRUE rev C) is a central perforation (cut out) at the bottom which ran through the length of the cooler
The Heat Pipes
The cooler sports 6 Nickel plated copper heat pipes of 6mm diameter –exactly like the previous TRUE models. However they do have a different orientation within the heat sink. They are arranged in two straight rows, rather than an oval (see picture above). This is done (presumably) to improve airflow and heat dissipation. The heat pipes are soldered to the plates as well as the heat sink base. The solders are all clean and there isn’t any excess solder on any of the joints.
The Heat Sink Base –Shiny!
A definite departure from all prior thermalright cooler design is the presence of a mirror shine base. Testing in the past has revealed that the shiny or matte finish of the base has minimal if any impact on cooling performance. Nonetheless the presence of a shiny base is something that did take me by surprise simply because Thermalright has never done anything like this before!
The center of the base has a forward convexity –standard Thermalright design characteristic. According to their engineers this is the best way to ensure the highest thermal conducting thermal efficiency between the CPU and the heat sink. I suppose with the inclusion of a variable pressure knob, the convexity can eventually be flattened somewhat, so there might be some logic to this design.
Impressions
As always the construction of the cooler is top notch. The heat pipes are soldered to the plates in the cooling tower. The solder points are not apparent, the base (surprise, surprise) has a mirror shine. The cooler’s uncanny resemblance to the rev. C is a testament to the engineers at Thermalright. They are confident enough to model their latest cooler so close to its predecessor, showing how well designed it was. Thermalright had the (almost) perfect single tower design with the TRUE. What they have done is taken a winning design, modified to make it “sleeker” (read: smaller and light weight) and more aerodynamic (better airflow) and thermally advantageous (read more heat dissipation). Where other companies have drastically altered their design in order to improve cooling (e.g. Noctua moving to a two tower design) and dethrone Thermalright, they (Thermalright) have decided to improve upon their single tower design, rather than work on a two tower cooler (ala IFX-4) first. I say first as it is rumored that Thermalright might be working on a new dual tower design.
The inclusion of a variable pressure knob is a new feature. What remains to be seen is its utility in actual cooling. This will become clear after testing.
Apart from the lack of fans (and perhaps a mounting system for AMD platform) in the box, I really can’t fault the package. Everything is built to (high) Thermalright standards.
Here is a table showing how the Venomous-X differs from TRUE Rev C.
OFFICIAL SPECS, ON-LINE RESOURCES & INSTRUCTIONS
- All new patented multiple support pressure vault bracket system, allow users adding pressure to the bracket system (40~70 lbs.), and have a more efficient and secure mounting.(1366 / 1156 / 775).
- Mirrored copper base increasingly upgrade the quality and the performance of the heat sink.
- Special bent winglet design, allows hot air to pass the heat sink more rapidly.
- Heat sink are all nickel plated to ensure the best quality and performance and could last for years.
- Soldered heat pipes, copper base and fins, to ensure the best thermal conducting efficiency.
- Six sintered heat pipe design, all heat pipes are nickel plated. To slow the oxidation deterioration to the heat pipe, to ensure longer usage and performance of the heat sink for the CPU.
- Including 2 sets of 120 x 25mm fan clips and Chill factor II thermal paste.
- Convex copper base design, to ensure the highest thermal conducting thermal efficiency between the CPU and the heat sink.
I was pleasantly surprised to see how well Thermalright has designed their Venomous-X page. The flash animation clearly shows the installation process. The FAQ section covers potential problems with extra tall memory stick heat fins. The step by step installation guide is also very well done. They still have some work to do before that can catch up with their competitors. This however has more to do with “aesthetics” than actual content. Perhaps rather than calling the downloadable installation manual “PDF” they should simply call it what it is. They can also do with creating a link for all the reviews and rewards for this product rather than putting it on the same page. They can also add a lit of compatible motherboards. Most of this is nit picking, but when you want to be the absolute best, you have to be better than your competition.
The unit is very easy to install. Even if you haven’t done a lot installation, installing Venomous-X is a very pain (and frustration) free experience. There is a well illustrated instruction leaflet as well. Those who have not done this before will find the instructions easy to follow. Changing the settings on the pressure knob is detailed as well.
INSTALLATION
The cooler is installed in a Core i7 (920) based system. The instructions on the website (in form of flash animation) are good enough for those who are tech savvy. The installation manual will do for the rest of us.
The test system does have “extra” tall Dominator memory and I did run into problems with installation of the cooler parallel to the expansion slots as well as installation of the fan in the more “standard” installation. The fins on Dominators had to be removed to accommodate the cooler (as well as the fan). Though this applies to the first memory slot only in this case, the rest of the memory slots are in the clear. Thermalright does provide an extensive list of memory sticks that are compatible with the cooler. However they don’t provide a list of motherboards which might have issues with the cooler’s installation. Provision of such a list can certainly be advantageous as potential issues can be identified before purchase.
The Mounting Mechanism
The installation is very straight forward, thanks to the well designed mounting system. The motherboard needs to be taken out of the case unless your case has a cut out in the tray to expose the area on the motherboard where the back plate goes. Most new cases have this and really it is a god send!
The universal back plate is set to the correct socket type (in this case 1366). The threaded pillars are passed through the holes in the motherboard.
The board is flipped around and 4 screw pillars are used to place the anchoring bracket (With a rubber washer in between).
The bracket is held down with 4 thumb screws.
Thermal paste is applied on the heat spreader. To allow for a fair comparison (all our previous tests were done with AS 5) I used Arctic Silver 5 (AS 5) rather than the provided thermal paste. The standard curing time was allowed to pass before testing.
The cooler leaves a pretty uniform impression, with the central (which is convex downwards) emphasis.
*A detailed comparison of various thermal pastes coming up soon!
The Cooler
Finally the cooler is fixed to the anchoring bracket using the pressure adjustable mounting plate.
The cooler can be installed vertically or horizontally (either parallel or perpendicular to expansion slots). Thermalright recommends that the cooler be installed in a “standard” position where it is perpendicular to the expansion slots. The other possibility, where it is parallel to slots yields results that are consistently at least 1°C better. This is probably because the heat pipes are parallel to the processor die which results in better heat dissipation.
As has been mentioned before, the Corsair RAM interfered with the assembly of the cooler in a vertical fashion.
The heat fins on memory stick in the first slot had to be removed in order to accommodate the cooler. Installing the cooler horizontally also is not without issue. This time the front fan was the culprit. Again the heat fins had to be removed in order to fit the fan.
Once the cooler is secured to the board, the knob can be used to adjust the pressure.
Fans
Finally the fans are fixed to the cooler using the provided wire clips and anti vibration silicon strips. Two pairs are provided to place two fans on the cooler for a pull-push configuration.
INSTALLATION TIPS
- The cooler should be installed parallel to the expansion slots (heat pipes parallel to the processor). This results in better cooling of the CPU.
- The fans have to be installed after the cooler is screwed on to the base. The access to the screws would otherwise be blocked.
- When installing the cooler tighten each screw in turn. This prevents the cooler from slipping. Do not over tighten! These are spring loaded screws. When you can’t turn them any more, the desired end point is reached. Don’t use brute force!
- When changing the pressure, hold the cooler. It is possible for it to twist when turning the knob.
- Make sure your memory modules (or your board) doesn’t interfere with the cooler (or its fan). If your memory has (removable) fins, chances are you’ll need to remove them.
Despite the fact that I had to remove the heat sink fins, this was probably the easiest and quickest installation I have ever carried out. Thanks to a very well designed mounting system. As this cooler isn’t humongous it is very very easy to install. At no point was I in an awkward position. In fact the cooler can be installed inside a case (provided your case allows that) in less than 10 minutes, provided you know what you are doing!
TESTING
The system specs for the test bed are shown in the table below. The ambient temperature for all tests was 20°C.
OCCT V3.1.0 was used. Linpack test was selected and run for the default duration. Linpack is developed by Intel itself and is used in its burn tests. It generates a lot of heat. Temperature monitoring was done by OCCT. Hyper threading was turned “ON” for all tests.
System Specs
*Original TRUE-120 Design
** Pressure knob was left at its default of 40lbs
Thermalright were kind enough to ship a pair of 1600 and 2000 rpm fans. These are the Thermalright FDB-12 -1600 and -2000 fans. They are rated for 64 and 81 cfm airflow and 28 and 38 db/A noise levels respectively.
The coolers were also tested using Noctua NF-P12 and NF-P14 (only for NH-D14) Fans.
RESULTS
ONE FAN TEST
(16): Shows the cooler equipped with TR-FDB-12-1600 fan
(20): Shows the cooler equipped with TR-FDB-12-2000 fan
Other: Shows the cooler equipped with a Noctua NF-P12 1300 rpm fan; for NH-D14 this is NF-P14
The results are not bad at all. The Venomous-x is as good as the two towered NH-D14 which is equipped with a faster fan. The cooler does significantly better than the original TRUE.
The cooling efficiency of the Venomous-X improves as the fan rotation speed increases.
Note: I monitored the temperature of onboard components as well. When equipped with a single 120mm fan, the NH-D14 had higher power regulation circuitry temperatures as compared to either of the Thermalright models. This is probably because the cooler relies on the 140mm fan (hanging below the cooler) providing air over the power circuitry components.
TWO FANS TESTS
(16): Shows the cooler equipped with 2xTR-FDB-12-1600 fan
(20): Shows the cooler equipped with 2xTR-FDB-12-2000 fan
Other: Shows the cooler equipped with a Noctua 2xNF-P12 1300 rpm fan; for NH-D14 this is 1xNF-P14 1xNF-P12
The situation doesn’t change with two fans installed. The relative parity between the coolers is maintained. A second fan adds about 5° - of extra cooling. This is very respectable for a cooler half the size and nearly half the weight of its main competitor! As before with only 120mm fans, the onboard power circuitry did see a spike in temperature when using the NH-D14.
CRANKING UP THE CPU CLOCK
To really test the prowess of the cooler, the clock and the core voltage were increased as long as the system remained stable. The testing parameters remain the same as given above (OCCT Linpack test). The cooler was tested in a single and dual fan configuration using Thermalright 2000 rpm fans (TR-FDB-12-2000).
Even with a single fan the cooler is capable of keeping the processor below 80°C. The figures are very impressive.
VARIABLE PRESSURE SETTING
A distinguishing feature of the Venomous-X is the ability to change the pressure applied by the cooler on the processor. To see if this really makes any difference, the cooler is tested with pressure set at 40 (~18 KGs) pounds and then at 70 (~32 KGs) pounds.
The pressure adjustment does definitely improve cooling, if only by a little bit. Depending on how a particular heat sink spreader is shaped, results may vary further. Our 920 had a nearly flat spreader, and thus might not have benefitted the most out of the pressure adjustment.
SAFETY
What remains to be seen are the long term effects of maintaining a higher pressure on the processor’s heat spreader and the motherboard. The high pressure can theoretically alter the shape of the heat spreader and might also damage the motherboard. Is it trade off in temperature gain worth the effort? The answer lies in the needs of an individual user and the peculiarity of the shape of the processor’s heat spreader. Concave heat spreader might benefit more than 1°C (difference between 40lbs and 70lbs settings) that I saw.
IMPRESSIONS
Despite being smaller and lighter than either the TRUE or more significantly the NH-D14 the Venomous-X performs remarkably. The differences between this and the NH-D14 are not significant at all. The cooler does scale well with addition of an extra fan OR with faster fans. The obvious trade off with a faster fan is more noise, but in my testing the noise was never a factor that bothered me.
PRICE/ PERFORMANCE
The cooler retails for about US$ 65. Two Thermalright fans add another US$ 30 to the package. The grand total thus comes out to be about US$ 95.
As with the Noctua NH-D14 (or the Prolimatech Megahalem) here in lies the problem. The final aggregate cost runs nearly to a US$ 100.
The question that needs to be asked is that is all of this worth it?
In my opinion the answer is a solid “yes”! There are several reasons for this, which are listed below
- You get the best possible air cooling performance. There are cheaper coolers that do “approach” the performance of these super coolers. But again they don’t match it (the performance).
- The finest workman ship. The final product is of a top notch quality and finish. You won’t find jagged edges, visible solder etc.
- Support. Thermalright sells bolt on kits for new processor sockets for their older products.
CONCLUSION
Thermalright’s single tower design reached its pinnacle with the TRUE. The Venomous-X is more of a refinement of the same design rather than a new product. This does not take anything away from Thermalright as they have (probably) already reached the thermal limits of a single tower design. I can play a “What If” game and ask how the cooler would have performed had dimensions not changed (the cooler is smaller than the TRUE) or what if they had retained the perforation in the tower (again a feature of rev. C TRUE). I am sure Thermalright engineers considered these possibilities and they came up with the best possible modification they could. The other possibility is that they are waiting for their competitors to respond to the Venomous-X and bring in these changes.
As I said, I can play this “What If” game forever, but the reality is here and it is not going to change no matter how long I play the game.
The great part is that the reality is a top notch product, worthy of reclaiming the throne of the best (single) tower design air cooler available.
It’s time for the next round to begin. The old king is dead; all hail the new king, The Thermalright Venomous-X.
PROS
- Very good performance for a single tower design
- Excellent scaling with CPU clock (& voltage)
- Excellent mounting mechanism
- Sleekly designed
- Ability to change the pressure on heat sink base
- Shiny heat sink base
- Bundled wire clips for 2 fans
- Top quality thermal paste
CONS
- No fans in the package
- No AMD mounting system in the package
- Relatively expensive
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