Customer review: Thermaltake Frio CPU Cooler

In writing this review I'm very aware that this is a popular cooler with a reputation that has already been established in the cooling community.

As there are plenty of reviews out there performed by professional journalists and hardware websites providing tech heavy reviews with an abundance of facts and figures regarding thermal performance, and as I am simply a "man in the street" appraising the cooler with regards to the questions I myself would want answering I have deliberately avoided loading this review with tables and statistics.

Item description
Thermaltake Frio CPU Cooler

Manufacturer and code
Thermaltake CL-P0564

Cost
£36.04 (inc VAT @ 20%)

Supplier
SpecialTech
http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/...9&cat=0&page=1

Description and overview
A CPU cooler aimed squarely at the overclocking fraternity. The Frio is of the "tower" type and is supplied with two 120mm fans which can be mounted in a push/pull configuration, with each fan having an independent speed controller. The cooler has a plastic shroud and comes with a wide selection of mounting brackets and accessories.

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First impressions and quality.
The Thermaltake Frio comes securely packaged, with the exterior of the box giving plenty of information regarding contents, performance and compatibility. Inside we find the cooler itself, with the primary fan already attached nestled in a protective polystyrene casing. Also included are a second fan, a set of instructions, several packets of chromed mounting brackets, screws, rubber grommets and thermal paste. Quality and attention to detail are evident in abundance in this cooler, and although as stated the cowling is plastic it still feels solid and substantial.

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Instructions.
Instructions are included, but could do with being a little clearer. If you've fitted more than a few coolers in your time you have a pretty good idea of what is involved. That said, you still need to know exactly what's involved with the cooler at hand. It is here that the Frio lets itself down (but only a little bit). It isn't immediately obvious which of the many packets supplied for the many different processor configurations is the one you want. A good five minutes will be spent scouring the multi language instructions for the holy grail that instructs you to select packet "X".
That said. once the correct packet was located the rest of the instructions are fairly well laid out and ...well...instructive.

Fitting.
For the purposes of this review I fitted the cooler to an i7 920 CPU, although in addition to the 1366 I used fittings are provided for 1156, LGA 775 and AM2, AM2+ and AM3. Of note is that unlike some of its competitors it is not necessary to buy additional conversion plates and brackets as everything you need is supplied, All you have to do is locate the packet you need for your particular configuration and get stuck in.

Fitting to the 1366 socket was more of a fiddle than I expected it to be, and as the other sockets this cooler caters for utilise essentially the same mounting method I have no reason to believe they would be any less irritating.

The system is simple enough, two brackets attach by means of 4 screws (2 on each side) to the underside of the cooler. These brackets have 4 locating pegs which then pass though the motherboard from front to back, passing through the supplied back plate before being secured by nuts on the rear of the Motherboard.

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So it's all simple right?...Wrong...The problem is that as there is quite a bit of play in the screw holes which locate the brackets onto the cooler, and as this "play" determines the exact location of the pegs that pass through the Motherboard It requires a bit of trial and error to get the pegs to line up properly with the holes in the motherboard. As this is a "Motherboard out" installation (unless you have rear access) there is a chance, all-be-it a small one that with the need to loosen and adjust the screws before re trying the "fit" through the Motherboard holes, that the motherboard could be damaged. I have fitted many other coolers and have to say I see this as quite a significant weakness in an otherwise exemplary CPU cooler.

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Performance.
Performance? Do we mean how well does it work, or how good does it look? It seems perhaps unnecessary to appraise a cooler on its looks (we only care how well it performs right?...yeah right!) Actually it's largely academic as it performs well under both headings.
Looks wise, the chrome of the Heat sink fins is counterpointed by the black of the cowling and the white of the fan blades, with just a hint of colour being introduced by the red streaks on the top of the unit.

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Performance wise this cooler ticks all the boxes. It has an Aluminium and copper base through which pass five 8mm diameter heat pipes. Heat is dispersed via a total of 48 0.5mm thick Aluminium fins. Two cooler fans can be fitted with integral fan controllers enabling speed adjustment between 1200 and 2500 rpm at a respectable 20-43dBA. Airflow is stated at 101.6 CFM.

So what does this all mean in real money? Well there are plenty of websites out there that can bombard you with facts and figures about its thermal capabilities and I have no intention of adding to this pile of numbers. As this is an Over-clocker's cooler what we really want to know is "If I use it, how far can I push my CPU". Well with the Frio fitted I was able to take my i7 920 all the way up to a nice stable 4.2GHz, with Full load temps not exceeding 80 degrees and idles sitting down in the mid 30s . As they say, results may vary, but I feel this cooler has established a name for itself and my experience does nothing to refute the data so far.

Conclusion.
A truly remarkable cooler. Looks good and does the job. What more can we ask

Good points.
Looks
Price (there are many that cost more that do not perform as well)

Bad points.
Instructions could be clearer.
Fitting is a bit of a fiddle compared to other manufacturers methods.

How could the product be improved?
performance wise it couldn't, but most definitely the above criticisms could be addressed

Would I want to spend more to make it better?
A bit more for a less fiddly fitting mechanism perhaps. However the instructions should be changed at no extra cost.