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Thermalright TRUE Copper review

Thermalright TRUE Copper review

Specifications and a Closer Look

Specifications (taken from the TRUE Copper product page at www.thermalright.com)

  • Combined Dimensions: L133 x W156 x H38 mm
  • Weight: 1900g
  • Material Types: 100% copper construction
  • Configuration: Tower type with looped heatpipes
  • Heatpipe Width/Quantity: 6mm, 6 heatpipes
  • Supported Sockets: Sockets 775 and AM2
  • Fan Dimensions: Not included but fits 120×25mm and 120×38mm fans. Clips are included for dual fan operation.

Like the original TRUE, the TRUE Copper 120 is of the tower variety, employing six U-shaped heatpipes and a unique angled fin system that forces more of the air to make contact with the fins. Like almost all Thermalright products, a fan is not included. The buyer is left to select a fan that meets their noise and performance requirements. We’ll be using our reference Scythe S-FLEX fan for testing as well as a high-CFM 120x38mm fan to see if the TRUE Copper benefits from extra airflow.
The most shocking specification listed above is definitely the incredible 1900 grams that this heatsink weighs. This is without a fan too. That is almost two kilograms or four pounds. The original TRUE weighed in at less than 800 grams, so this heatsink is more than twice the weight of the original. Before we even received the heatsink, we had some serious concerns about the weight of the TRUE Copper.

The TRUE Copper is packed in a simple pearl-white box with an embossed logo.

The same suite of accessories that come with the TRUE Black are included with the TRUE Copper. You get a set of four fan clips and Thermalright’s premium grade thermal paste; Chillfactor 2. The original TRUE does not come with the second pair of fan clips or Chillfactor 2.

The TRUE Copper is a truly impressive sight. It has been a while since we’ve seen a heatsink constructed entirely of copper—especially a full-sized tower. There is, however, be a reason that we don’t see many copper towers. The TRUE Copper is unbelievably heavy. So heavy that we found ourselves handling it with two hands so as not to drop it. Weight issues aside, the construction quality of the TRUE Copper is nothing short of perfect. It is polished to a beautiful shine and the fins are flawless.

From the side we get a better view of the unique angled fin system. Air is forced through the heatsink in such a way that it makes more contact with the fins for better heat dissipation.

The TRUE Copper is polished to a mirror shine but picks up fingerprints like crazy. The Thermalright logo is engraved on the top of the heatsink.

The TRUE Copper employs six “U-shaped” heatpipes just like its two predecessors. They are also highly polished and look great.

The copper base is polished to an almost mirror shine. Some faint machine marks are visible around the edges. The base is very slightly convex as we saw in our straight-edge razor-blade testing. This effect is very minor and the TRUE Copper should make good CPU heatspreader contact.

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Comments

  1. Leonardo
    Leonardo Thermalright is at it again. Today, we'll be taking a look at the third iteration of the hugely popular TRUE heatsink?the TRUE Copper. As you have probably already guessed, the TRUE Copper is a 100% copper version of the ?Ultra Extreme?.

    We took a look at the TRUE Black back in August and were very impressed. Although a fantastic performer, the ?Black? was just a black nickel pla... Continue reading
  2. Garg
    Garg That's an impressive bit of kit, especially with the Delta strapped on it. I don't think I need anything that extreme, but I'd say there's definitely a market for it.

    It's funny how this makes the "regular" TRUE look less extreme.
  3. BuddyJ
    BuddyJ I think I need one of these. Nice review!
  4. lemonlime
    lemonlime The base looked the same as the TRUE Black that I reviewed, Leo. It appears that Thermalright has corrected that major convex base issue they had when the TRUE first hit the streets. I've heard that the very slight convex effect of the base is intentional, but haven't been able to confirm this claim. It is so minor that I didn't hold it against the TRUE Black or the TRUE Copper.
  5. Leonardo
    Leonardo Thanks for the info.
  6. muddocktor
    muddocktor I have one of these waiting for me at the house. It arrived today, and now I have to wait another whole week before i come in from the rig to play with it.:bawling:

    I plan to test mine against the original TRUE I already own and if it fits inside the case I just built my latest water loop in, I would like to test it's cooling prowness against it also. The loop I plan to test against is running a Q6600 at 3.6 and consists of a Danger Den MC-TDX block, a Swiftech MC355 pump with an XSPC top, a Swiftech MCR220-QP Res radiator and 1/2" silver Tygon tubing, with the radiator mounted on a Swiftech Radbox on the back of the case. The case this is mounted in is a Silverstone TJ-06B, which might give me mounting problems though. It mounts the board upside down and depending on socket placement, can give interference with the bottom of the case with the heatsink when mounting it with airflow going from front to back. That is why I ended up not using this case for my main rig when I upgraded the board in it to a Gigabyte X38-DQ6 from the old P5WDH deluxe I had been using. The socket placement on the Gigabyte board was closer to the edge of the mobo and I couldn't mount my original TRUE on it except in a horizontal postion with airflow either going to the case bottom or at my video card. Hopefully the P5Q Pro board I have installed in that case has enough clearance to mount the TRUE's in their normal orientation. If they will fit, I will just set the MC-TDX block aside while testing the TRUE's (hopefully, so I don't have to tear the loop apart.

    Oh, and this will also be interesting as I will be running this in a normal case and will see if the extreme weight of the copper TRUE affects cooling if it isn't supported at the top.
  7. Leonardo
    Leonardo I'm looking forward to your report!
  8. primesuspect
    primesuspect Icrontic still not tech enough for you, mudd? ;) We're the first on the web with the TRUE copper review :p
  9. muddocktor
    muddocktor Pretty good scoop, Brian! :thumbsup:

    It sure is purty too! :D

    I am real interested in seeing how it performs against a mid-priced watercooling setup, since it is so pricey. The system I will be checking it against isn't truly a fair comparison, price-wise, but still if it comes within a few C of it's cooling ability then the copper TRUE will be a good substitute instead of a mid priced loop. I think it would smoke that Bigwater kit Mike tested not too long ago though and I bet it would give the Swiftech H20-220 Compact Liquid Cooling Kit w/Apogee Drive kit a very good run for it's money and for less cost too.
  10. BuddyJ
    BuddyJ It wasn't the BigWater, it was the ProWater 850i and the Copper beat it soundly

    true_copper_graph4.png

    Wish we had that Swiftech kit to throw into the comparison.
  11. Leonardo
    Leonardo
    Pretty good scoop, Brian!
    Indeed!
  12. muddocktor
    muddocktor
    Buddy J wrote:
    It wasn't the BigWater, it was the ProWater 850i and the Copper beat it soundly

    true_copper_graph4.png

    Wish we had that Swiftech kit to throw into the comparison.


    I'm kind of short on funds right now but maybe in a few weeks I can try to swing something with the owner of Jab-tech and get an Apogee Drive block/pump and some 3/8 tubing. The radiator I have on that machine is the exact same one that comes with the H20-220 Compact Liquid Cooling Kit, so I wouldn't need the whole kit to test it's configuration against the copper TRUE. John at Jab-tech is a pretty stand up guy in my experience and he might cut me some kind of deal (especially for some mentions of his store ;) ).

    EDIT: And thanks for correcting me on the name of that TT unit. I can't ever remember all the names of TT's water kits. And since they use mixed metals in their loops (aluminum and copper), I try to stay away from those kind of setups. If you don't run some kind of effective inhibitive fluid you get ionic and galvanic corrosion.

    EDIT2: Well, just checked the Jab-tech site out and they don't have either the kit or the Apogee Drive block/pump, so I guess that's a wash. I will have to figure something else out I guess.
  13. muddocktor
    muddocktor I've been playing with my Cu TRUE for around a week now and it's been an experience, and not a particularly good one either. My base on the Cu TRUE I bought through the retail channels had a very bad base finish to it. The actual finish looked good, but the base wasn't even close to being flat. I found that across the base perpendicular to the heatpipes the base was convex, and not even in it's convexity. Here are some pictures I took of the base showing the problem:
  14. muddocktor
    muddocktor Now across the other way on the heatsink the base was pretty flat. Here are some pictures checking from one side of the heatpipes to the other side.
  15. muddocktor
    muddocktor Finally, here is a picture of a flatness test with a pane of glass and using blue dyed water. As you can see, the base isn't even close to being flat with the dye test and makes for a poor contact patch.
  16. jared
    jared grr i thought they were going to fix that? :(
  17. Leonardo
    Leonardo
    grr i thought they were going to fix that?
    Speculation by some, that's all.

    To be fair, I haven't seen a reliable source, or anything from a Thermalright source commenting on the their heatsink bases. I've read so many second or third hand accounts of Thermalright stating the convex base is an intentional design, but I have yet to see any Thermalright statement. I think Thermalright will keep making those warped bases until people stop buying them.
  18. Jeff Sorry to comment on such an old post, but I can provide an e-mail direct from Thermalright stating the convex base is intentional. I purchased a TRUE (1366) last week, and there is definitely a slight bulge which appears to come from one of the center heat pipes on one side. Thermalright responded promptly to my e-mail today, telling me it was designed that way... They say the CPU is slightly concave, though I can't imagine that the curvature of the CPU could exactly match the curvature of the heatsink, since it doesn't appear to be a uniform bulge (I haven't tried installing it yet)...

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