INTRODUCTION

   Even though CPU air coolers have very little cooling efficiency headroom left for improvement manufacturers are doing their best to push that to its limit, either by adding more fins and heatpipes or by simply using higher performance fans (sometimes even two of them in push and pull). By implementing these improvements (however tiny) CPU air coolers have managed to come really close and, in some cases, even surpass the cooling performance of AIO liquid models and for consumers who are not interested in getting the latter (either due to fear of possible leaks or pump noise) this is great. Thermalright back in 2016 released the Macho 120 SBM CPU cooler (review here) and although its cooling performance wasn't as good as its larger brother the Macho Rev.B (review here) it did gather numerous awards from media all over the world. Today and almost 3 years later we'll be testing its successor, the brand new Macho 120 Rev.B model.

   From our beginning in 2001 THERMALRIGHT has always strived to make the best possible cooling solutions available in the computer market. We have implemented many changes in the industry, like convex cooler base and that are now widely used by in industry today. We choose the best possible higher thermal conductivity values materials, our heat pipes, base plate and fin material is state of the art. High standard product is by our possible cooling solutions art design, the premium quality of material, and the performance test many times before release it. Our Art is to keep the best Quality and Performance on our heatsink.

   So, what did Thermalright change/improve in the brand new Macho 120 Rev.B CPU air cooler? Compared to the heatsink of the Macho 120 SBM the heatsink on the brand new Macho 120 Rev.B may not be as long (130mm/120mm) but it's quite wider (86mm/102mm) and also heavier (560g/600g). Both models feature the same number of fins (30 including the top black fin), the same number of nickel plated heatpipes (five 6mm ones) and the same nickel plated base made out of C1100 pure copper. The biggest difference between these two models however is their fans so even though the Macho 120 SBM model came bundled with the somewhat inaudible TY-127 enhanced hyper-flow bearing fan (1300RPM/33dBA/55.81CFM) the brand new Macho 120 Rev.B model comes bundled with the latest TY-121 sleeve bearing fan (1800RPM/25dBA/77.28CFM) which is also among the highest performance models released by Thermalright to date (you may have noticed that Thermalright reports a lower decibel number for the TY-121 fan but as you will see later on it's not really accurate). The time has come for us to see how the brand-new Macho 120 Rev.B compares to its predecessor the Macho 120 SBM.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Thermalright has placed the same product picture at the front and rear of the box (sole difference is the background color which is black for the front and olive for the rear).

The product specifications are printed on the right side of the box in 3 languages.

Moving on the right side we find 6 drawings showcasing the main product features.

Contained inside the box are the Macho 120 Rev.B heatsink, TY-121 fan, 4 fan clips, long Philips screwdriver, installation instructions for AMD and Intel mainboards, TF4 thermal paste tube, backplate and all the pieces needed to mount the cooler onto Intel LGA 775/1150/1151/1155/1156/1366/2011/2011-3/2066 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/AM4/FM1/FM2/FM2+ compatible mainboards.

THE MACHO 120 REV.B

Measuring 120mm in length, 102mm in width and 150mm in height with a weight of 600g the heatsink of the Macho 120 Rev.B sits between the smallest and largest heatsinks ever used in a Macho cooler.

As with past models the top fin is painted black (the holes in the fins are there to improve airflow inside the heatsink).

Once again, the heatsink of this Macho CPU cooler has a total of 30 aluminum fins.

The design of the heatsink once again helps with possible RAM clearance issues.

Just like with its predecessor the Macho 120 Rev.B model has five 6mm nickel plated copper heatpipes.

The nickel plated base made out of C1100 pure copper has the same mirror-like finish we've learned to expect from a Thermalright CPU cooler.

One more discrepancy we found between the specifications listed by Thermalright and the product itself are the RPM of the TY-121 fan since the reported number is 1800 and printed on the fan is 1500.

Instead of using separate anti-vibration pads the TY-121 fan has its own on all corners.

With the TY-121 fan mounted the Macho 120 Rev.B now measures 127mm in length and weighs 740g.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   We always take things quite seriously when it comes to work so just like with the previous LGA1366 database we will not be testing each CPU Cooler on its own and with different ambient temperature levels and thus we can actually have yet another valid CPU Cooler database. Testing a CPU Cooler automatically means that you need to know where it stands against the immediate competition and to accomplish that we have spent both money and time through the years, something that we plan to continue to do so in order to get the most accurate results for the end consumers who read these lines. Every CPU cooler in this database is tested with the bundled 140mm/120mm/92mm/80mm fans while working at both idle speed and 100% of their speeds for all the temperature tests. CPU Coolers that do not come bundled with a fan/s are measured using a Noctua fan (size dependent on the model) to test for the temperature tests but due to the lack of a stock fan dBA level tests are obviously skipped. Single (120/140mm) watercooling solutions are tested with the radiator mounted at the rear of our test rig while dual/triple/quad (240/260/280/360/420/480/560mm) solutions with the radiator mounted at the top. For the dBA tests every cooler in the database was measured both while on idle mode or with the fan controller in the minimum setting and while on extreme load or with the fan controller all the way to the highest possible setting (PWM fans do that on their own without our intervention). Every single test takes place in a temperature controlled room of 23 degrees Celsius Ambient Temp with the help of two AC units placed diagonally inside the room. The Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste is used with every CPU Cooler in our latest LGA2011 database (although initially this was not the plan, we had to change things to get the most accurate results). Finally, it's very important to point out that just because a CPU Cooler is better than another when tested with our test rig that does not necessarily mean that the same performance differences will apply 100% for other CPU models and in other situations (such as different ambient temps and system configurations).

     To successfully record the load temperatures, we use the latest OCCT application for around 6-10 minutes to push the processor to its limits and after that is done and the temperatures are recorded, we wait for about 10-20 minutes for the CPU to cool down and record the idle temperatures. This is done to allow time for the thermal conductive material to achieve the optimal performance level. Same procedure is then repeated with the Passmark BurnIn Test as a failsafe just in case the OCCT results are wrong. This procedure is more time consuming than the usual peltier/thermometer tests but this way not only can we deliver real world results to our readers based on real CPUs but we can also triple check the results using a variety of programs. Last but not least the temperatures were recorded using both the latest versions of AIDA64 and RealTemp while the noise level tests are performed using a high precision ExTech HD600 Decibel Meter placed about 10-15cm above the CPU Cooler. Still although the same testing procedure applies to all units do take into consideration that unlike the official numbers which are measured in special noise isolated labs with just the fans here, we also have both the rest of the cooler and the rest of the system (although all system fans are turned off when recording noise levels).

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   Using a higher-performance fan is always the easiest way to improve cooling efficiency on any released cooler model regardless of whether it’s a heatsink or a radiator (the amount of improvement depends on the type of heatsink and radiator however – some do better with higher airflow levels while others do better with higher pressure levels). So, when we saw that Thermalright used a much faster fan with the Macho 120 Rev.B I can’t say that it came as a surprise. Also using a heatsink with a larger total surface for faster heat dissipation was the normal thing to do when looking to improve cooling efficiency. What both of the above mean is that surpassing the recorded cooling efficiency of the Macho 120 SBM was pretty much guaranteed (the how much no but almost 2 degrees is a good difference). Again, recording higher noise levels from the TY-121 fan was not a surprise since even at the printed RPM number on the fan of 1500 it’s still 200RPM faster compared to the TY-127 fan used in its predecessor.

   Although we were unable to find the Thermalright Macho 120 Rev.B CPU cooler anywhere in the USA it is currently available for 47.99Euros inside the EU (PC-Cooling) a price tag which is right what we’d expect for a high-end model. Overall the brand-new Macho 120 Rev.B doesn’t disappoint. Its cooling efficiency has been improved quite a bit compared to that of its predecessor and even though the new TY-121 fan is quite loud it still gets highly recommended from us for people looking for a high-performance CPU air cooler.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality
- Very Good Cooling Efficiency
- Zero RAM Clearance Issues
- Bundle
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Noise Levels
- Current Availability (USA)