A Closer Look

Taking a closer look "under the hood" of the Frio we can see what makes this cooler stand apart from the crowd. Although it is very similar to other "tower" designs Thermaltake has used a unique angular fin design that creates air turbulence to increase its cooling ability. If you take a close look at the pic on the right you can see that the fins are not only slanted but they are also angled near the outer edge. Thermaltake has incorporated five 8 mm copper heat-pipes into the Frio's design. These Heat-pipes are staggered to aid in transferring more heat to the aluminum fins. Like many coolers on the market, the Frio wears a durable and attractive nickel plating finish that not only protects the copper from oxidation, it enhances the look as well.


Looking at the top of the cooler the angular fin design is much easier to see. Thermaltake has embossed their classic Tt logo into each of the fins which not only adds to the look, it also increases the surface area a small amount. The Frio's copper base is excellent for transferring the CPU's heat to the five heat-pipes.


Included with the Frio is two fans made by Thermaltake. As with most of Thermaltake's fans, the ones included have a standard three pin power connector along with a RPM control knob to allow control of the fan's rotational speed. The control knob can be removed if you wish to run the fan at full speed or plan on using a fan controller to adjust its speed. Thermaltake specs these fans to push 101 CFM at full speed while putting out 43db in sound volume which may be a bit loud for some peoples liking.


Polished to a shine, the base of the Frio appears to be an excellent surface for our CPU's IHS (integrated heat spreader) to make contact with. As the razor blade shows, the base of the cooler is lapped near perfectly flat, just how we want it to look.