The Frio receives a monstrous update, but is
it worth $116?
Thermaltake's quiet Frio ruled the roost in
many situations, especially at high heat loads. As such, the Frio Extreme will
have a tough job bettering it and, at $116, it competes with Corsair's H80
too-dangerous ground for an air cooler.
Thermaltake Frio Extreme
The enormous Extreme is measure 151x148 x
160mm (W x D x H) with its two 140mm fans, and weighs 1.23kg. However, one of
the fans sits outside of the two heat sinks, making it foul even short DIMMs in
LGA2011 systems, requiring you to raise the fan. In our system, this meant the
side panel no longer fitted, so we had to seal it to the case with tape to
ensure a fair test.
The cooler's six 6mm heat pipes are bound together
in a polished contact plate, although there's no easy-to-fit shroud for the two
140mm fans - these are secured using fiddly clips. However, the cooler can only
be installed with your motherboard outside your case, as the center fan blocks
the mounting mechanism. The mounting mechanism is fairly straightforward,
though, with plates fixing to the motherboard, which are in turn secured by a
hold-down plate straddling the heat sink. A fully variable fan controller is
also included.
At its lowest speed, the Extreme was 2°C
warmer than the Arctic Freezer i30 and equal to the Corsair H80 at its lowest
speed. At maximum speed, the delta T dropped from 41°C to 39°C - matching the
Freezer i30, but slightly warmer than the H80. It tamed our toastyLGA2011 system,
though, and managed a delta T of 60°C at its lowest speed and 57°C at full
speed -cooler than the Freezer i30. AM3+ cooling was fine too, with a delta T
of 46°C at full speed. Sadly, however, even at low speed, the Frio Extreme
isn't particularly quiet and full speed sees it make a substantial din.
Conclusion
The Frio Extreme is a capable cooler, but there are better options available
The Frio Extreme is a capable cooler, but
there are better options available. LGA1155 has the Arctic Freezer i30, which is
far cheaper and just as good, while LGA2011 has the option of the Freezer i30
or the even cooler Corsair H80. Meanwhile, AM3+ owners will hear less noise,
albeit with slighter higher temperatures, from Be Quiet's Dark Rock 2.
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Details
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Price:
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$116
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Supplier:
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www.ebuyer.com
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Manufacturer:
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www.thermaltake.com
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SKU number:
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CLP0587
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Compatibility Intel:
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LGA775, LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA2011,
LGA1366 AMD: Socket FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2
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Weight:
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1.25kg
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Size (mm):
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151 x 148x 160 (W x D x H)
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Fans:
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2x140mm
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Stated noise:
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18-38dBA
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Cold:
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Good cooling; variable fan controller
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Colditz:
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Very expensive; large; noisy
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