{"id":28740,"date":"2012-04-03T14:39:03","date_gmt":"2012-04-03T13:39:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=28740"},"modified":"2012-04-08T04:38:04","modified_gmt":"2012-04-08T03:38:04","slug":"thermaltakes-frio-frio-ock-can-take-the-heat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/thermaltakes-frio-frio-ock-can-take-the-heat\/","title":{"rendered":"Thermaltake’s Frio & Frio OCK can take the heat!"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/a>We received the Frio and Frio OCK CPU coolers from\u00a0Thermaltake for evaluation at the end of last year.\u00a0\u00a0Previously we\u00a0had issues with\u00a0reaching speeds over 3.8GHz with our Core i7-920\u00a0using our Noctua NH-U12P SE2 CPU cooler<\/a>.\u00a0 Now that we are testing faster and faster graphics including the GTX 680<\/a>, we feel the pressure to\u00a0increase the speed of our CPU and this is our adventure in overclocking it further.<\/p>\n

We have had\u00a0our Intel Core i7-920\u00a0CPU\/Gigabyte X58MB for 2-1\/2 years and we were originally\u00a0doubtful that we could reach our goal of 4.2GHz which would allow us to set our aging Core i7-920 right alongside a mildly overclocked i7-2700K in terms of performance.\u00a0 Would the new Thermaltake Frio or Frio OCK help us to\u00a0reach our goals?<\/p>\n

The 5-heatpipe Thermaltake\u00a0Frio (below, right)\u00a0is\u00a0$58.99 at Newegg.com<\/a>.\u00a0 The 6-heatpipe Frio OCK (below, left)\u00a0is currently $77.99 at Newegg<\/a>\u00a0and it compares in price with our Noctua NH-U12P-SE2 at Newegg for $72.99<\/a>.\u00a0 Both of these Thermaltake\u00a0coolers are ready for the 6-core Intel CPUs and neither of these coolers are considered budget by any means while the Frio OCK (and the Noctua)\u00a0is aimed at the higher end of air coolers.\u00a0 \"\"<\/p>\n

As important as saving money on hardware is, this editor believes that the choice of a CPU cooler is critical to any PC build. The cooler should never be cheap or retail. Too much depends on it if you value keeping your CPU cool or especially if you plan to overclock.\u00a0It is highly recommended\u00a0that you instead look for sales and\u00a0use\u00a0rebates to save money.<\/p>\n

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This review is not just about \u201cvalue\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 If you want to cool\u00a0a Phenom II X4 or even an X6, a value CPU cooler such as a Coolermaster Hyper N 212+<\/a> will suffice.\u00a0 Even Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs such as Core i5 and Core i7 run relatively cool until you begin to push the core speeds up to 4.5GHz or so.\u00a0 Unless you are supplying\u00a0a relatively high\u00a0voltage to most CPUs, a budget cooler will work nicely.\u00a0 Even stock heatsinks are evolving to keep up with the hotter running quad-core and hex-core\u00a0CPUs.\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, the FX series of AMD CPUs almost\u00a0require watercooling or a high-end air cooler and a very beefy power supply unit (PSU) if you are really serious about a Bulldozer\u00a0overclock in excess of 4.4GHz as we were<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Both Thermaltake Frio\u00a0boxes advertise “Designed for Overclocking” and we can expect that the Frio OCK is going to be more efficient as it uses 6 heatpipes and supports 240W TDP CPUs compared to 5 heatpipes and 220W for the Frio.\u00a0 How does this affect practical overclocking of our Core i7-920?\u00a0 Are we able to beat the cooling of our current Noctua cooler which allows us to clock confortably to 3.8GHz?<\/p>\n

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Intel\u2019s newest Core i7 and i5 CPUs mark a new and exciting advance in processing power, but they definitely require a higher quality heatsink than for our older Core2Duo or\u00a0Core2Quad CPUs\u00a0or for overclocking our older AMD Phenom II 980 BE X4, especially if you want to cool them without excessive noise.\u00a0 Our test CPU, the Intel Core\u00a0i7-920, also requires excellent cooling once you approach 4.0GHz as its stock clock\u00a0is only 2.66GHz.\u00a0 Thermaltake offers an easy entry into the world of premium\u00a0air cooling with the Frio and\/or Frio OCK, both\u00a0of which are each complete\u00a0packages that offer everything you need to cool your overclocked CPU, including thermal paste.\"\"<\/p>\n

Heat is drawn away from the CPU by the base of the heatsink and is transferred up into the array of hi-grade aluminum fins for dissipation.\u00a0Two large 120mm fans spin – one\u00a0on each side of the heatsink fins array in a \u201cpush-pull\u201d configuration, blowing CPU-heated air through and away from the heatsink.\u00a0 There is also a manual rotary switch at the end of a short cable\u00a0that allows you to max out the fan’s rpm if you need them.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Frio ships with\u00a0a Thermaltake\u00a0multi-socket mounting system that has\u00a0an easy and\u00a0very straightforward installation\u00a0while the Frio OCK is quite different and a bit more complex for\u00a0our Intel LGA1366 platform.\u00a0\u00a0They are\u00a0also adapted for 1156 and 775 platforms and Intel’s latest extreme 6-core CPUs\u00a0as well as AMD socket AM2, AM2+ and AM3\/AM3+ platforms. A\u00a0small tube of\u00a0Thermaltake’s thermal compound is included.<\/p>\n

Before we compare these coolers to each other and to the Noctua cooler, let’s unbox, install, and test\u00a0them individually using OCCT\u00a04.1 <\/a>as an extreme test to load all the cores of our CPU at 100%.<\/p>\n