Installation (Part I):

With the V1 Ultra successfully installed on a graphics card not found on the Thermalright compatible list, I thought I was in the clear for a clean installation. But, once I popped the card into my system I realized Thermalright may want to create a separate compatibility list, with this one addressing motherboard and CPU cooler combinations. On the test system's ASUS A8N-e motherboard, the fan from the V1 Ultra pressed right into the side of the Thermalright SI-120 CPU cooler. The images below detail the extent of the interference.


Installation (Part II):

I contacted Thermalright regarding the issue presented above, and was pleased when they said the V1 Ultra could be run without a fan, and that the radiator would be cooled by the SI-120's fan. Although this arrangement can't possibly be as efficient as the dedicated fan blowing down over every inch of the radiator, I was willing to give it a shot. The images below show the assembled cooler minus the fan, ready for another shot in the test system.


Without the cooling fan, the V1 Ultra fit into the test system easily. Although there isn't a fan blwoing directly onto the radiator, the three 120mm fans in the area should generate enough flow to keep the air moving around the radiator.


With the cooling fan, I anticipated the Thermalright V1 Ultra to be an excellent cooler enabling some decent overclocking. Without the fan, overclocking may still be possible, I am now looking at it more as a passive solution to allow silent operation at stock settings. Testing won't analyze overclocking, but I am hopeful that the default speed performance is at least sufficient to indicate that overclocking is still an option.