MSI 240-watt Core Frozr CPU air cooler marks a bold, breezy return to air cooling after a 10-year hiatus

(Image credit: MSI)

As spotted by momomo_us, MSI has discreetly announced a new CPU air cooler, the MAG Core Frozr AA13. This model, available in black or white, marks MSI's comeback to the CPU air cooling market after nearly a decade-long absence.

MSI is generally recognized for a variety of products; however, CPU coolers are less prominent within its portfolio. Nonetheless, the company launched several models between 2016 and 2019 as part of its Core Frozr series. The lineup was not extensive, comprising only three variants: the Core Frozr S, Core Frozr L, and Core Frozr XL.

Image 1 of 4

The MAG Core Frozr AA13 measures 5.98 x 4.76 x 3.72 inches (152 x 121 x 94.5 mm). It is a compact, single-tower CPU air cooler designed to fit within most mid-tower cases. The cooler is equipped with four 6mm direct-contact copper heat pipes that efficiently transfer heat away from Intel or AMD processors to the 50-fin radiator.

The CPU cooler relies on a single 120mm cooling fan, which MSI claims delivers a static pressure of 2.36 mmH2O and an airflow up to 62.6 CFM. The rifle-bearing fan is rated at a noise level of 30.11 dBA, which peaks at 34.1 dBA when at maximum speed. There's the typical RGB lighting, so you'll need a 5V ARGB 3-pin header to connect the fan to your motherboard.

According to MSI, the MAG Core Frozr AA13 can accommodate processors with a TDP of up to 240W. These assertions are based on the company's internal testing with the Core i9-14900K. The CPU cooler is equipped with mounting mechanisms for Intel LGA1700 and LGA1851 sockets, as well as AMD AM4 and AM5 sockets.

MSI hasn't provided the pricing information or the availability date for the MAG Core Frozr AA13.

Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.

See more Cooling News

Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

4 Comments Comment from the forums

bit_user

The article said:
According to MSI, the MAG Core Frozr AA13 can accommodate processors with a TDP of up to 240W. These assertions are based on the company's internal testing with the Core i9-14900K.
That has large die area, compared with Ryzen chiplet-based CPUs. Also, I have to nit-pick that it's official TDP is 125 W, although you can definitely tweak its power limits to run it at 240W, sustained.

The article said:
The CPU cooler is equipped with mounting mechanisms for Intel LGA1700 and LGA1851 sockets, as well as AMD AM4 and AM5 sockets.
The AM4/AM5 mounting mechanism better rotate it 90 degrees from what's shown in the pic, because its handful of heat pipes are oriented the wrong way for effective cooling of those CPUs. Consider the implications of you cooler blowing in a bottom-to-top direction, instead of front-to-back. Maybe it's okay, but definitely something to plan for.

Lastly, as much as I like the idea of direct-touch heat pipes, I think it's a stretch to use just 4 of them, no matter how big or well-designed they are. It's difficult for me to fathom how they expect something like this to stand up to coolers from Thermalright.
Reply
uplink-svk

I love it how manufacturers claim 240W, then You put under it 14900K and it screams @ 100°C all the time. I mean it probably could cool 150W at full RPM, but no way a 120 mil tower can handle as much as most of the 360 AiOs can't. My custom loop with one 360mm rad and now Ryujin 360 Extreme can handle 9950X3D at default at full burn at around 80°C. That's three 120mm towers with 30mm fans and thick rad. I mean MSi believes people don't know thermodynamics or something. NH-D15 and gen2 can barely cool 220W @ 90°C, and fail at 250 - 300W.

And I'm talking PTM and Graphene pad, no trial and error thermal paste shenanigans.
Reply
bit_user

uplink-svk said:
I love it how manufacturers claim 240W, then You put under it 14900K and it screams @ 100°C all the time. I mean it probably could cool 150W at full RPM, but no way a 120 mil tower can handle as much as most of the 360 AiOs can't.
100% agree. I'd love to see this thing tested, just to show how ridiculously far off they were in their claims.
Reply
jonaswox

bit_user said:
100% agree. I'd love to see this thing tested, just to show how ridiculously far off they were in their claims.
It looks exactly like an old cooler Master Hyper 212 of mine.
Reply