Thermaltake Frio
A major player in both the retail and OEM cooler industry, the Frio might be Thermaltake’s most ambitious project to date. Two high-speed adjustable fans and five large heat pipes set the Frio apart from Thermaltake’s previous efforts.
Our pre-production unit arrived unboxed, but it did include all the hardware needed for Intel’s LGA 1156, 1366, and 775 processors, plus AMD’s Socket AM2, AM2+, and AM3 devices. Rubber washers prevent the LGA mounting tabs from contacting the motherboard’s top surface.
A chrome finish covers the pipes, while the base plating appears to be nickel. This plating is applied over an unpolished, finely sanded surface.
Installation is super-easy outside of a case, but removing the cooler with the motherboard installed requires a chassis that has an access hole in the motherboard tray beneath the CPU. If cooling performance matches its aggressive looks, this could be a great cooler for bench testing.
Unfortunately, the missing retail box is accompanied by a missing retail price. Thermaltake launched the Frio at CES, so we expect to see it reach our favorite sellers soon.
