Thermalright PS120 EVO Dual-Tower Cooler Unboxing Review

The Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO (PS 120 EVO) is a dual-tower, seven-heat-pipe, air-cooled cooler with seven Ø 6 mm heat-pipes and upgraded to two TL-K12 fans, and the all-black design brings the overall aesthetics to a new level. It supports Intel LGA 1851/1700 and AMD AM5/AM4 platforms, and although the price has been raised, it is still within the $2,000 range and comes with a 3-year warranty.

Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO (PS 120 EVO) Specifications:

Intel Feet: LGA 2066/2011/1851/1700/1200/115x
AMD feet: AM5/AM4
Dimensions: 110 x 125 x 157 mm
Weight: 810 g (without fan)
Number of heat pipes: Ø6 mm x 7
Copper Base: C1100 Pure Copper Nickel Plated (Flat)
Fan used: Thermalright TL-K12
Fan size: 120 x 120 x 25 mm
Fan Speed: 2150 RPM ± 10%
Maximum airflow: 69 CFM
Maximum wind pressure: 2.87 mmH₂O
Fan Power Supply: 5V 3-Pin ARGB / Fan PWM 4-Pin
Comes with thermal paste: Thermalright TF-7
Warranty: 3 years

Thermalright Limin Phantom Spirit 120 EVO Dual Tower Cooler Unboxing

Thermalright launched the classic twin tower Peerless Assassin 120 (PA120) in 2020, and since then it has successfully snatched the first choice of air-cooled tower cooling from the original Scythe, and since then the appearance rate of Scythe's Tiger Retreat, Infinity, and Wind Devil has decreased dramatically, and most of air-cooled distribution lists are almost taken over by Thermalright today. The demand for air-cooled lists has almost been taken over by Limin.

The unboxing of Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO, also known as PS 120 EVO, is priced at around NT$1,890 (USD) in Taiwan. It is a dual-tower with two Thermalright TL-K12 fans and seven Ø6 mm heatpipes, providing a new cooling option for Intel/AMD mainstream and high-end processors. and high-end processors with Intel/AMD mainstream and high-end processors.

Supports Intel's LGA 2066/2011/1851/1700/1200/115x as well as AMD AM5/AM4 platforms, which means that the next two new platforms will be supported, but of course, AMD has been using the same footage for years, so it doesn't matter.

The ∆ Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO (PS 120 EVO) utilizes the AGHP 4 4th Generation Counter-Gravity Heatpipe.

∆ PS 120 EVO Basic Features.

∆ Basic specification.

∆ Customized shaped pearl cotton for storage.

 

The PS 120 EVO is still a dual-tower setup, with cooler dimensions of 110 x 125 x 157 mm in length, width, and height, and a default height of 157 mm. Some of the compact chassis need to pay attention to whether they are compatible or not, and unlike the cheaper original PS 120, the more expensive PS 120 EVO uses a black-plated design for the tower and the heatpipes, and with an aluminum top cover to heat up the whole thing for a more complete feel.

The tower itself has a Y-axis offset, which means that it is either closer to the M.2/GPU or the top of the chassis, while the X-axis has no offset, but the cooling fins are cut to reserve space for the memory and motherboard VRM heatsinks to avoid any installation conflicts.

∆ Tower height 157 mm.

∆ Reserve space for memory and motherboard heatsinks.

∆ Y-axis offset display.

∆ Fully blackened cooling fins are rounded and polished.

∆ Aluminum top with Thermalright logo.

 

All seven Ø 6 mm heatpipes are black plated to further enhance the overall quality and maintain the aesthetic effect. The C1100 copper nickel-plated contact surfaces are pre-painted with a scratch-resistant protective sticker, which you should remember to remove before applying thermal paste!

∆ Blackened seven hot tubes.

∆ Transparent Protector.

∆ CNC C1100 Pure copper with nickel plated contact surfaces.

∆ Pure planar setting.

 

Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO (PS 120 EVO) comes with two TL-K12 fans using S-FDB V2 bearings, with a maximum airflow and pressure of 69 CFM and 2.87 mmH₂O, and a maximum fan speed of 2150 RPM ± 10%, unlike the cheaper version that comes with C12 V2. Unlike the C12 V2, which comes with the cheaper version, the C12 V2 offers a more powerful fan this time.

The fan itself is powered by a PWM 4-Pin and synchronized by a 5V 3-Pin ARGB for ARGB lighting effects.

∆ TL-K12 Fan.

∆ A male and a female ARGB serialized wire helps to rectify the wiring, PWM for fan speed setting and power supply.

∆ Fan lighting effect.

 

The accessories section is the same as the original and does not offer anything different. The contents are provided: two mounting fastener sets, TF7 thermal paste, PWM bisecting cable, two sets of fan mounting screws, and Intel mounting backplate.

∆ Accessory box.

∆ Accessories at a glance.

∆ TF7 Thermal Balm.

∆ Fan mounting fasteners are shown.

 

Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO Thermal Performance Measurement

Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO (PS 120 EVO) dual-tower air cooler was installed on a barebones test platform with Intel Core i9 13900K processor and MSI MEG Z690I UNIFY motherboard. During the test, the fan slots were set to run at full speed in the motherboard BIOS. The actual test was conducted in a closed room with 24°C air conditioning, for reference only, as the ambient temperature in a normal room is difficult to control.

We use AIDA64 FPU, Cinebench 2024 multi-core test to simulate the temperature data under extreme load conditions, and we also play Assassin's Creed: Viking Age at 1080P resolution to present the game running conditions, and we use HWiNFO64 to collect and record the maximum temperature and power consumption of the CPU and CPU Package. power consumption.

 

Testing Platform

Processor: Intel Core i9 13900K (QS)

Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO (full speed)

Motherboard: MSI MEG Z690I UNIFY ( BIOS version: 7D29v1H )

Memory:Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 RGB 7200 MT/s 16GBx2 (White)

Display card:MSI GeForce GTX 1080 SEA HAWK X

Operating System: Windows 11 Professional 22H2

System Drive: Plextor PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 2280 SSD 512GB

Gaming Disk: Intel 670P 2TB M.2 2280 PCIe SSD (Solidigm)

Power supply:FSP Hydro PTM PRO ATX3.0 (PCIe5.0) 1200W

Graphics Card Driver: GeForce Game Ready 555.99

Case: STREACOM BC1 Benchtable V2

 

I would like to add a few things, the first is that I have updated the BIOS version of MSI MEG Z690I UNIFY to version 7D29v1H, the second is that the default PL1 / PL2 of MSI MEG Z690I UNIFY is 288 W. I will use the default settings of this motherboard to conduct the test, which means that the average power consumption is limited to 288 W for long time; and the extreme power consumption (for Turbo Boost extreme state) is also 288 W for short time. The power consumption (for Turbo Boost extreme state) is also 288 W. The rest of the settings: Game Boots_off, XMP_on, Fan_full speed.

In the AIDA64 CPU load test for everyday applications, the 13900K was around 191 W; the temperature peaked at 78 °C and 75 °C during the Assassin's Creed Valhalla game.

In the high-pressure load test program, the 13900K with a maximum power consumption of 227 W topped out at 85 °C in a round of Cinebench 2024 multi-core rendering, while the thirty-minute long stress test AIDA64 FPU program topped out at 85 °C. The 13900K's maximum power consumption of 227 W topped out at 85 °C in a round of Cinebench 2024 multi-core rendering.

1. AIDA64 FPU_30 Minute
2. AIDA64 CPU_30 Minute
3. Assassin's Creed Valhalla 1920 x 1080 (FHD)_5 Minute
4. Cinebench 2024 Multi Core_1 Round

• CPU temperature is measured by the diode in the slot to measure the internal (core) or external (case) temperature, but there is no way to know exactly whether it is the internal or external temperature that is measured, and most monitoring software uses this item to display the CPU temperature.
• CPU Package temperature is recorded by all Digital Temperature Sensors (DTS) in the package as the average of the maximum temperature over 256 milliseconds, and is the HWiNFO64 recommended CPU temperature observation value, which is also used as a benchmark for overheating and downclocking of the processor.

∆ Thermal performance.

∆ AIDA64 FPU test status.

 

Conclusion

Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO (PS 120 EVO) was tested with an ITX motherboard and Intel i9-13900K, under high load pressure test, it was able to compress the CPU of 214~227 W at 85 °C, roughly estimated the heat dissipation limit may be around 250 W, which is similar to the PL limit of most motherboards for i9, considering that people who buy PS 120 EVO for installation should not buy a flagship motherboard. This is similar to the PL limit that most motherboards give to the i9. Considering the fact that people who buy the PS 120 EVO to install their PCs will not be buying a flagship motherboard, and that they will be using it with mainstream or high-end motherboards at most, it shouldn't be too much of a problem for this dual-tower, seven-heatpipe model to be used without any additional overclocking.

The overall cooling performance of the Thermalright TL-K12 is a bit worse than that of the 360 AIO water cooler, with temperatures ranging from 9~11°C for high load usage to 8~9°C for gaming and daily use. The Thermalright TL-K12 fan is a bit noisy at full speed, so noise-sensitive gamers may want to customize the fan curve to find the most suitable for their own use.

 

The PS 120 EVO has been upgraded with Thermalright TL-K12 fan and blacked out design to differentiate it from the original one. I personally like the blacked out design, which is sharper in terms of visual effect and suitable for gamers who like to have a low-profile style of installation.

 

In the installation, I feel that the fan wire can be tightened to make the installation more smooth, but considering the price of less than two thousand, it is difficult to ask for anything perfect, the author this time with the Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 RGB 7200 MT/s 16GBx2 (White) Memory (height: 44 mm), the front fan will be up so the overall height will be increased from 157 mm, if you don't like the fan being up, it is recommended to use with the memory below 40~42 mm in height, preferably the one without RGB light bar is the most suitable, and you won't be able to see it after installing the device anyway.