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The battle for the high end cooling throne has reached fever pitch this year. The Noctua NH D14 ruled supreme for a long time, although it recently had to make way for a new king, the Phanteks PH-TC14PE. Today we are looking at the latest flagship cooler from Thermaltake, The Frio Extreme. Is this a serious challenger for the top spot?
Thermaltake have released a plethora of high end coolers in the last couple of years, including the original FRIO, the Frio OCK, Frio Advanced and the latest Frio Extreme which we are reviewing today.
The Thermaltake Frio Extreme uses the high end construction of combining two tower heatsinks with a dual fan cooling system.
The Frio Extreme highlights that Thermaltake are pulling out all the stops. They are using two large 140mm fans which can be adjusted with the supplied fan controller.
Additionally they have finally ditched the plastic shroud, opting for a naked dual tower heatsink methodology.
We will compare today against the class leading Noctua NH D14 and the Phanteks PH-TC14PE in a heavily overclocked state.
Features:
Ultimate Over-clocking Design Structure, supports up to 250W
- Dual tower heat-sink with 0.4mm aluminum fins provide large surface for heat dissipation.
- 6 x Ø6 mm-U-shape copper heat pipes accelerate heat conductivity.
- Mirror-finished copper base, provide perfect contact with CPU.
- Premium thermal grease maximizes heat transfer from the CPU onto the copper base for faster dissipation.
The Combination of VR and PWM Fan Control
- Dual 14cm high performance blue blade designed fans, spins from 1,200 to 1,800RPM.
- Combination of VR and PWM functions, switchable upon user’s preferences.
- Tool-less and Easy installation design for quicker disassemble and assemble the fan module.
Universal Socket Compatibility & Accessory Package
- All-in-one back-plate design, support all Intel and AMD platform
- Universal socket support :
Intel: LGA 2011, 1366, 1155, 1156, 775
AMD: FM1, AM3+, AM3, AM2+, AM2
wow thats expensive. its good, but the prices are crazy for these coolers.
I still like the D14, but this is a good job. im glad they ditrched the plastic bit around it, made the fans easy to attach but it was sure to stop the airflow a little.
Very impressed with that, but i think the liquid coolers make more sense as you have a ton of room inside the case and no problems with memory fitting etc.
The all important question was never answered.
Can they technically get them any bigger in the future? 🙂
Great review.I’m still thinking which Air Cooler should I use when I buy the i7 3930k or the i73820
Very interesting read, thanks.
Nice to see Thermaltake finally challenging the highest performing air coolers on the market. What speed were the fans when running the cooling test? No doubt the Frio Extreme has shown good performance but the PH-TC14PE performs closely with much lower RPM fans which I bet are much quieter too.
As you said in the review though, the fan installation method seems awkward. They closely resemble the method used on Thermalright’s Silver Arrow, another heatsink which was a PITA to install fans onto.
Well done to Thermaltake though. Extra competition is usually good for the consumer :D!