Thermaltake Frio CPU cooler review

[siopao1984]

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Thermaltake Frio CPU cooler review by VR-Zone.com

Introduction

Thermaltake is a company very well known among enthusiasts. Ever since the founding of the company, they primarily focused on cooling related products. It might be hard to believe but today, 12 years after Thermaltake was founded, we are going to review the first CPU cooler Thermaltake designed with overclocking in mind. The name of the cooler is Frio, a word which stands for “Cold/Freezing” in Spanish; we will see if it can live up to its name in this review.

Manufacturer features and specifications


Ultimate Overclocking Thermal Structure Design

• Supports Intel Latest 6-Core Processors
• excellent cooling capacity – supports 220W
• 0.5mm aluminum fins with large surface for heat dissipation
• 5 x Φ8 mm-U-shape copper heat pipes for accelerated heat conduction
• Tower side flow design efficiently optimizes cooling performance.

Ultra Powerful Dual 120mm VR Fan and Eye-Catching Cover

• 120 mm VR Fan, adjustable between 1200 and 2500 RPM max. for best overclocking performance
• additional 120mm Fan enhances cooling performance
• black and red cooler top add aesthetical appearance

Universal Socket Compatibility & Accessory Package

• universal socket support:

Intel: LGA1366,LGA1156,LGA1155,LGA775
AMD: AM3, AM2+, AM2
Premium thermal grease maximizes heat transfer from the CPU into the cooler copper base for rapid dissipation

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Product Packaging and Bundle



Thermaltake supplies the Frio CPU cooler inside a fairly large and sturdy cardboard box. The artwork is almost entirely focused on a picture of the cooler itself, with plenty of information concerning the cooler’s features and compatibility to be found at the sides and rear of the box.



Inside the box the cooler is held between two thick Styrofoam pieces, ensuring its safety during transportation. The fan is exposed to the right wall of the box but the wall is very thick and should keep the fan safe.



Thermaltake bundled only the parts necessary for the installation of the Frio on all chipsets, plus a second cooling fan. The bundle consists of two backplates, one for AMD and one for Intel processors, the necessary aluminum retention brackets and screws needed for the installation of the cooler, a small syringe of good thermal compound, four rubber installation studs for the second fan, a basic black and white manual and a warranty card.

[siopao1984]

The cooler



Although someone might have expected the Frio to be of monstrous proportions, it is by no means small but neither much larger than an average tower cooler. Despite that it remains a very heavy cooler, weighting over 1kg with both fans installed. The tall cooler is designed to hold one or two 120mm cooling fans. Thermaltake supplies two of their very powerful 125mm fans, each rated at a maximum speed of 2500RPM, which can be replaced for any other 120mm fan.



The aluminum fins of the Frio are plain and simple, unlike the V or wavy patterns designed to minimize air drag we usually find on classy coolers. Thermaltake minimized air drag by simply using a fan frame, placing the fans slightly away from the cooling fins.



Most of the cooler’s top is covered by a decorative black shroud with red stripes. It is very strange that Thermaltake did not have the shroud covering the top of the heatpipes, all of which are exposed.



Both fans come with a 3-pin power supply cable. Each of the fans can be manually controlled by a rheostat attached to the fan’s power cable. Sadly, you will have to open your case in order to reach for the rheostats.



The chromed base of the cooler is actually made out of copper. Its small size serves mainly as a support for the five large heatpipes, ensuring the mechanical cohesion of the cooler and it also allows the installation of the mounting brackets. The base is also responsible for transferring the heat from the CPU to the heatpipes as they do not come into direct contact with the CPU itself.



The base of the cooler is extremely well machined, down to a flawless mirror finish.

[siopao1984]

Installation



The installation of the Thermaltake Frio is not a hard process but it requires time and tools. You will most likely have to remove your motherboard from your case even if the motherboard tray is cut open behind the CPU area. To begin with, you need to fasten the correct mounting brackets on the base of the cooler using the provided screws. You are going to need a PH2 screwdriver for these screws.



Next, you will have to install the mounting bolts on both mounting brackets. You can tighten the bolts by using a small wrench or pliers but do not use excessive force. Once the mounting bolts are installed do not forget to place the black rubber washers on them.



Finally, you need to place Frio onto your CPU and flip the motherboard over to install the backplate retention bracket. You are going to need a 2.5 to 4mm flat headed screwdriver for tightening these nuts.



The Frio does not cover too much of the motherboard, unlike other monstrous coolers. It might not even block any RAM slots if they are not close to the CPU area. Normal RAM modules will fit beneath the cooler but modules using tall heatsinks might interfere with the installation of the Frio if the slots are too close to the CPU area.

[siopao1984]

Testing equipment and performance

In order to provide you with the most professional and accurate reviews, we are using the following equipment to test the performance of coolers. The ambient temperature is constantly maintained at 22 Celsius degrees.

Custom copper thermal core with automatic power controls
Watlow heat generation rods
PT100 temperature sensors
Lutron DW-6091 Power Analyzer
SL-5868P digital sound level meter
CompuLAB interface
MyPClab thermal interface
Custom calibration box
Custom software

More information about our testing equipment and methodology can be found in this article.

Editor’s note : Both cooling fans are installed.



The thermal performance of the Thermaltake Frio is nothing short of astounding. The Frio was able to thermally outperform much more sizable competitive products with ease. Unfortunately not all of that good performance is due to its good design and/or quality; the furiously fast 120mm fans are highly responsible for it. As a result, the cooler is ridiculously loud with both fans running at maximum speed and not very quiet with the fans running at their minimum speeds either.

[siopao1984]

Final words and conclusion

Quality (30% of the total score)

The quality of the Thermaltake Frio cooler is well above average. The body of the cooler is well designed and very well made, with no imperfections and/or sharp edges. Thermaltake paid a lot of attention to polishing the base of the Frio as well, which is among the best factory polishing jobs we have ever seen. Finally, its plastic frame is well made, sturdy and tightly secured.

Quality Score 9.0/10



Performance (40% of the total score)

The thermal performance of the Thermaltake Frio is nothing short of stellar; we are certain that this cooler is among the best air coolers money can buy at the time of this review. Unfortunately much of its high performance depends on the excessively fast 120mm fans, which are unbearably loud at maximum speed for almost any usage; only users who only use their computers for gaming and enjoy having their speakers maxed out might not be annoyed by the noise. With the fans turned down though the Frio becomes a very civil product and only slightly audible, which makes it a very versatile solution for hardcore overclockers and benchmark score hunters.

Performance Score 9.0/10



Aesthetics (20% of the total score)

Although relatively simple, the Frio is a well designed product which will match any classy system, especially those with black or red motherboards. The white bladed fans could use some subtle white lighting but they definitely look better than a simple black fan. Finally, the plastic cover does help with this product’s aesthetics value, although it certainly is not as prestigious or elegant as an aluminum cover and we believe that it should cover the tops of the heatpipes as well.

Aesthetics Score 8.5/10



Value (10% of the total score)

The Thermaltake Frio is a high performance tower cooler which can be installed on any desktop CPU currently available and can be used as either as a high performance everyday cooler with its fans slowed down or as an extreme performance, although loud cooler for intense overclocking. With a retail price of about 58$ USD / 70$ SGD, it offers great versatility and long term value, especially to users who upgrade/swap hardware frequently and to benchmark score hunters who also use their systems for everyday use.

Value Score 9.5/10

[Lingaw-lingaw_sa_payag]

bugata ui.. masigo kaha ni sa Vulcan (if walay 200mm side fan)? saw this in PCX site

[Ezio_Auditore]

btaw, mao ni naa sa PCX na site. Thermaltake Frio PCX

[jeanrash]

^^ Yap mao na bro, I think tag 2.8k ang price cguro if Im not mistaken.. Very nice cooler indeed..

[deespter]

ganaha kau ko ani pro d lang maigo sa akong case... tsk tsk...
pro mas nindot sad to ang TT FRIO OC King, mas dako pa ani...