Thermalright Ultra 120

[reyn116]

can the ultra 120 be installed horizontally? im asking this because the HR-03 plus, needs plenty of clearance with a 92mm fan installed and i fear the Ultra 120 might be in its way when installed vertically.

thnx in advance

[Alex]

Yes I think so (might depend on socket, mobo and case) but most silent fans should preferably be mounted vertically (for lower noise and longer lifetime).
And that will be hard to combine if you have a tower case.
Also airflow will be "horizontal" which might be less effective.

[J. Sparrow]

A tower cooler can be installed in four ways. I don't understand what you mean with "horizontal" so here it's the full story:

1) In a desktop case, the cooler is perpendicular to the floor plane. This is the way SPCR reviewers test the heatsinks, so I guess it's ok.

2) In a tower case, the cooler is parallel to the floor. This is the way most people are probably using the U120 and other tower coolers.

According to TR there's no difference between the two, however some people believe that the parallel orientation works best. The sub-cases:

a] the exhaust is directed towards the rear of the case; this is the preferred orientation to quickly remove heat from inside the case.

b] the exhaust is directed upwards (towards the right side in a desktop case); sub-optimal choice because the hot air is recycled through the PSU, this could mean the fan ramps up.

[reyn116]

by horizontal i mean to mount the ultra 120 so its will be, in the P180, blowing upwards facing the top exhaust rather than the rear exhaust

[J. Sparrow]

Yes, it's possible. In most AMD motherboards the U120 will be exhausting upwards, while on 775 motherboards, you have the choice. If you have a DFI AMD motherboard, you'll need the S-Clip to allow for rotated mounting.