Overclocking On Air: 10 LGA 1156-Compatible Performance Coolers

Round-ups
By
published

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.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
161 Comments Comment from the forums
  • kumaiti
    Not a single top down cooler?? That is disappointing, though I can already see the excuse: "they don't have as much performance as the tower coolers".
    Reply
  • mrgrey
    Argh - unbelievable! I literally just purchased my build on newegg, and they just posted this article. I bought the Arctic Cooling 7 over the Hyper 212+, not having seen the article yet.

    Hey Tom's - what temps are you getting at 3.2 GHz with the Arctic Cooling 7? Did you use arctic silver 5?
    Reply
  • barmaley
    Test settings page reads: CPU Intel Core i7-860, but CPU-Z screen shot under it reads Intel Core i7-870. Which one is it that you tested Tom?
    Reply
  • Is there an article testing thermal compounds?
    Reply
  • nzprogamer
    mrgreyArgh - unbelievable! I literally just purchased my build on newegg, and they just posted this article. I bought the Arctic Cooling 7 over the Hyper 212+, not having seen the article yet. Hey Tom's - what temps are you getting at 3.2 GHz with the Arctic Cooling 7? Did you use arctic silver 5?
    no worries there you will be fine
    Reply
  • nzprogamer
    i had the 212 and sunbermtech both were running really good and cool. but i would buy the sunbeamtech with the easy exchange fan kit.
    Reply
  • arkadi
    I just love to read toms old school articles like this one :)
    Reply
  • falchard
    What no Coolermaster V10 or Thermaltake SpinQ Vertical?
    Reply
  • Crashman
    kumaitiNot a single top down cooler?? That is disappointing, though I can already see the excuse: "they don't have as much performance as the tower coolers".falchardWhat no Coolermaster V10 or Thermaltake SpinQ Vertical?You would have to ask the manufacturers, since they picked the coolers.
    Reply
  • micky_lund
    prolimatech megahalems
    Reply