Thermalright SI-120:
Supplied by: Bacata

When Thermalright released the first 120mm powered CPU cooling in the world; they traded in compatibility for performance. The XP-120 was at the top of the performance/noise balance list for a long while. Other companies jumped on the large CPU fan bandwagon and the XP-120 started loosing ground. Currently it’s still an excellent heatsink but it doesn’t fit all motherboards out there and newer heatsinks are offering better performance.

So Thermalright went back into their labs and came up with the SI-120, it touts compatibility with all motherboards and while the basic design hasn’t been overhauled; there might be some performance differences between the two versions? That’s what I’m going to find out.

It’s been on the market for a while now and can be found priced at ~€40 / ~$45

Shipped in a plain cardboard box with the company logo at the top - nothing fancy.

Specifications :

Compatibility:

AMD: Athlon64/64+ Socket754/940/939

Intel S478 and S775 (through a custom mounting bracket)

Fan included: None (supports 120mm)

Heatsink Dimensions: L135xW125xH90mm
Weight: 400gram

In the Box :

A large sticker

2 clips to mount a fan (not compatible with bridged fans like this one)

A manual

A rather large tube of thermal compound

2 adhesive rubber strips used for vibration reduction (between heatsink and fan)

A K8 mounting bracket and screws

Construction :

The SI-120 resemblances the XP-120 strongly but you’ll notice the changes immediately.

- The unit is quite a bit higher than the XP, so this means longer heat pipes. They also ditched the small heatsink from the base.



- The total surface of the base is larger and quite smooth.




- Seen from the top the difference between the two is less visible.




Installation next ->