| Thermaltake Frio CLP0564 CPU Cooler |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cooling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by David Ramsey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, 03 May 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thermaltake Frio CLP0564 CPU Cooler ReviewThe factor many car buyers consider most important, studies have shown, is styling- whether the person being asked will admit it or not. Practicality, performance, and even price are secondary considerations. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does point out how important styling is in many people's purchase decisions. Especially in a crowded marketplace, styling can help distinguish one product from its competitors. Thermaltake's new Frio CLP0564 CPU Cooler makes a bold styling statement, but can it back it up with performance? Benchmark Reviews puts this cooler through the paces with an overclocked and overvolted Core i7-920 processor to find out.
Vendors of aftermarket CPU heatsinks face an uphill battle: most retail CPUs are delivered with a heatsink from the manufacturer, and any pre-built computer will of course have one, so the demand for an aftermarket unit is always going to be only a tiny fraction of the total computer market in terms of quantity. Aftermarket CPU coolers are the province of overclockers, and although performance is the primary consideration, other factors such as price, noise, and aesthetics can come into play as well. Thermaltake's previous CPU cooler designs often seem to have favored radical appearance over actual performance. The Frio is their current top-of-the-line cooler, and text on the box assures us that it's "Designed For Overclocking." About ThermaltakeSince the beginning of Thermaltake in 1999, it has been at the forefront of creating new and exciting products at a time where most computer users were provided little to no choices for components that may seem irrelevant, but in reality crucial to the performance of a PC. Thermaltake Server Series solutions, with years of thermal experience and industry leadership, sets its goal on reforming total thermal management in server segment by formulating the perfect mixture of versatility, efficiency and thermal management with each respective server product category: Rackmount Chassis, Server Fixed & Redundant Power Supply and Server CPU Cooling Management Solutions. With its comprehensive line of products available, it enables Thermaltake's core customers to enjoy a one-stop-shop experience, reduce product design-in evaluation period and most important of all, flawless integration process. Each of Thermaltake's strengths enables its customer to focus on their core business while taking advantage of the skills and efficiency of a single thermal management solution partner. Features & SpecificationsUltimate Overclocking Thermal Structure Design
Ultra Powerful Dual 120mm VR Fan and Eye-Catching Cover
Universal Socket Compatibility &Accessory Package
Closer Look: Frio CLP0564 CPU CoolerThe retail box for the Thermaltake Frio cooler mirrors the black-and-red color scheme of the cooler itself.
Like many higher-end coolers, Thermaltake includes all the hardware you'll need to mount the cooler on any modern socket. Although some coolers are switching to use plastic backplates, Thermaltake's mounting systems and screws are all solid metal...which is a good thing given the weight of the cooler.
With both fans, the Frio weighs in at a hefty 1,042 grams (over 2 pounds). This is not an unusual weight for a high-end air cooler, but it's still roughly four times the maximum cooler weight Intel recommends, so you should be careful when moving your computer with this cooler installed. The two fans are attached to snap-off shrouds with vibration-damping rubber fan mounts.
Both 120x25mm fans (Thermaltake PLA12025S12HH-LV; this fan appears to be unique to this cooler) use 3-pin connectors rather than 4-pin PWM connectors, so your motherboard won't be able to adjust the fan speed on the fly. Each fan's power cable, though, has a spliced-in connector for a separate manual fan speed controller knob. If you don't connect the controllers, the fans will run at their minimum speed of 1,200 RPM, rather than their maximum speed as you might expect. With the fan controllers you can adjust each fan's speed independently up to about 2,500 RPM.
The base of the cooler is nicely finished. While not mirror-polished, it's still quite reflective and the very fine graining can barely be felt with a fingernail. Thermaltake isn't buying into the "exposed hear pipe" design that seems increasingly common among high end coolers, but the copper heat pipes are plated with a shiny coat of nickel. The screw holes at the side of the base are for attaching the correct mounting flanges for your system.
Installing the cooler is a two-step process: first, you attach the appropriate mounting flanges for your system to the base of the cooler. Screws protruding down from the mounting flanges pass through the motherboard and the baseplate on the back, where you use small, flat nuts to secure the heat sink assembly. The nuts are slotted so they can be tightened with a screwdriver. This is a much simpler method than many other heat sinks use, which require you to fumble around the heat sink fins and motherboard components near the CPU socket to tighten very hard-to-reach screws or nuts.
Stripped of its fans and shrouding, we can see the Frio is a relatively standard modern heat-pipe design. 48 aluminum fins are pierced by 5 slightly offset heat pipes. The actual heat sink core looks a little small compared to other high-end coolers. 
With both fans and plastic shrouding attached, the Thermaltake Frio CLP0564 is a moderately large cooler (by modern standards) at 118mm deep (front to back), 139mm wide, and 165mm tall. Removing either fan reduces the depth to 98mm. It's looking good so far: modern design, multiple fans, and a little bling with some understated plastic shrouding. But how does it perform? Let's proceed to the next section to find out. Heatsink Test MethodologyBenchmark Reviews is obsessed with testing CPU coolers, as our Cooling Section has demonstrated over the past few years. We've solicited suggestions from the enthusiast community, and received guidance from some of the most technical overclockers on the planet. As a result, our testing methodology has changed with every new edition of our Best CPU Cooler Performance series. Because of this, each article is really its own stand-alone product, and cannot be fairly compared to the others. This particular article is a perfect example of that principle, since we're using a fresh methodology. Benchmark Reviews continues to test CPU coolers using the stock included fan (whenever applicable), and then replace it with a high-output fan for re-testing. Manufacturers are not expected to enjoy this sort of comparison, since we level the playing field for all heatsinks by replacing their included fan with a common unit which is then used for every CPU cooler tested. Many manufacturers include fans with their heatsink products, but many 'stock' fans are high-RPM units that offer great airflow at the expense of obnoxiously loud noise levels. By using the same model of cooling fan throughout our heatsink tests, we can assure our results are comparable across the board. This is one of the more significant changes we have made to our test methodology, since many of the benchmark tests we have conducted in the past have compared the total package. Ultimately we're more interested in the discovering the best possible heatsink, and we believe that you'll feel the same way. For each test, ambient room temperature levels were maintained within one degree of fluctuation, and mefasured at static points beside the test equipment with a digital thermometer. The CoolIT Systems ECO A.L.C. comes with a thin layer of pre-applied thermal compound, which was used for these tests. The comparison coolers used a common Thermal Interface Material of our choosing (listed in the support equipment section below) was utilized instead. The processor received the same amount of thermal paste in every test, which covered the ICH with a thin nearly-transparent layer. The heatsink being tested was then laid down flat onto the CPU, and compressed to the motherboard using the supplied retaining mechanism. If the mounting mechanism used only two points of force, they were tightened in alternation; standard clip-style mounting with four securing points were compressed using the cross-over method. Once installed, the system was tested for a baseline reading prior to testing. At the start of each test, the ambient room temperature was measured to track any fluctuation throughout the testing period. Lavalys EVEREST Ultimate Edition was utilized to create 100% CPU-core loads and measure each individual processor core temperatures. It's important to note that software-based temperature reading reflects the thermal output as reported from the CPU to the BIOS. For this reason, it is critically important (for us) to use the exact same software and BIOS versions throughout the entire test cycle, or the results will be incomparable. All of the units compared in our results were tested on the same motherboard using the same BIOS and software, with only the CPU-cooler product changing in each test. These readings are neither absolute nor calibrated, since every BIOS is programmed differently. Nevertheless, all results are still comparable and relative to each products in our test bed (see The Accuracy Myth section below). Since our test processor report core temperatures as a whole number and not in fractions, all test results utilize EVEREST to report averages (within the statistics panel), which gives us more precise readings. The ambient room temperature levels were all recorded and accurate to one-tenth of a degree Celsius at the time of data collection. When each cooler is tested, Benchmark Reviews makes certain to keep the hardware settings identical across the test platform. This enables us to clearly compare the performance of each product under identical conditions. Benchmark Reviews reports the thermal difference in test result charts. For the purpose of this article, thermal difference (not the same as thermal delta) is calculated by subtracting the ambient room temperature from the recorded CPU temperature. Please keep in mind that that these test results are only valid within the context of this particular test: as the saying goes, your mileage may vary. Intel Test System
Support Equipment
All of the tests in this article have been conducted using vertical motherboard orientation, positioned upright in a traditional tower computer case. Heatsinks are positioned so that heatpipe rods span horizonally, with the fan blowing air out the back of the chassis. The heat sink fans are connected directly to the power supply (rather than motherboard headers) and run at full speed during the test. At the start of our test period, the test system is powered on and EVEREST system stability tests are started with Stress CPU and Stress FPU options selected. EVEREST loads each CPU core to 100% usage, which drives the temperature to its highest point. Finally, once temperatures have sustained a plateau (no observed change in average temperatures for 5 minutes), the ending ambient room temperature and individual CPU core levels are recorded thus completing the first benchmark segment. The time to reach stable temperatures varied between 15 and 45 minutes for the heat sinks in this test. The second test segment involves removing the stock cooling fan and replacing it with a high-output 120 mm Yate Loon D12SH-12 cooling fan, then running the same tests again. The Accuracy MythAll modern processors incorporate an internal thermal diode that can be read by the motherboards' BIOS. While this diode and the motherboard are not calibrated and therefore may not display the actual true temperature, the degree of accuracy is constant. This means that if the diode reports 40°C when it's actually 43°C, then it will also report 60°C when it's truly 63°C. Since the design goal of any thermal solution is to keep the CPU core within allowable temperatures, a processor's internal diode is the most valid means of comparison between different heatsinks, or thermal compounds. The diode and motherboard may be incorrect by a small margin in relation to an actual calibrated temperature sensor, but they will be consistent in their margin of error every time. Testing and ResultsI used the following heat sinks in this comparison: Prolimatech Megahalems, Scythe Mugen 2, CoolIT ECO A.L.C., Thermalright Venemous X, Titan Fenrir, Xigmatek Thor's Hammer, and the Corsair H50. Of the comparison coolers, the Megahalems, Venemous X, and Thor's Hammer did not come with a fan, and the Scythe SY1225SL 12LM-P 'Slip-Stream' fan was used for the "stock fan" testing. For these tests, I overclocked the Intel Core i7-920 processor to 3.8gHz, and set the CPU core voltage to 1.4 volts, leading to very high load temperatures...but that's what you need to test coolers at this level! Note that the two water coolers suggest different fan orientations: while in both cases the fan is sandwiched between the radiator and the rear of the case, Corsair recommends that the fan suck outside air into the case, while CoolIT recommends that the fan draw case air out through the radiator. We complied with these recommendations for both stock and high-speed fan testing. Since the Thermaltake's fans come with fan controllers, Benchmark Reviews tested the fans at both their lowest and highest settings. The charts below report the thermal difference (processor temperature vs. ambient temperature) as well as the difference in degrees Celcius from the Thermaltake Frio, in order of performance, with the best results listed first (lower is better): Stock Fan Tests
The Thermaltake Frio (with its fans on high) places first in this test, with the Thermalright Venemous X, Scythe Mugen 2, and Prolimatech Megahalems clustered a few degrees higher. The Titan Fenrir is another 4 degrees up, and the Xigmatek Thor's Hammer, Corsair H50, and CoolIT ECO A.L.C. were unable to complete the test, since I stopped the test once the reported average processor temperature exceeded 95 degrees Celcius. The thermal difference reported for these three coolers is the last recorded before the 95 degree threshold was exceeded. The Frio's the only cooler in this test with dual fans, and the results show the advantages of simply pushing a lot of air through the fins of the heatsink. At their lowest speed, the fans are all but inaudible, but still managed to best the very good Titan Fenrir. The stock Thermaltake fans are rated at 20-43dBA, although it's unclear if this specification is for one fan or both fans together. Bearing in mind that perceived noise is very subjective, I found that at full speed, the fans produce a moderately loud "whooshing" noise. While loud, it's less objectionable (to me) than the noise produced by the Yate Loon fan used in the next test. Yate Loon High Speed Fan Tests
This test is the one that levels the playing field: by testing all coolers with the same fan, we can get a better idea of the relative performance of the coolers given the same airflow. The Prolimatech Megahalems proves again that it's one of the best air coolers you can buy, and the Thermaltak Frio CLP0564 drops from first place to mid-pack, which is not surprising: its two fans are rated for an aggregate 101.6 cubic feet per minute of airflow, while the Yate Loon D12SH-12 fan is rated at 88CFM, making the Frio the only cooler here whose stock fans provide more airflow than the Yate Loon. While upgrading the fans on a third party heatsink is the first thing many enthusiasts do, the fans provided with the Frio provide top-tier performance. CPU Cooler Final ThoughtsPicking the right CPU cooler is rarely an easy choice, and Benchmark Reviews hopes we've made this process easier by providing information in this and other CPU cooler reviews. The market is changing rapidly enough that the top cooler of 2008 wouldn't be considered a serious contender in 2010; and manufacturers continue to asymptotically approach the theoretically ideal cooler than will bring your CPU down to ambient temperature. It's important to remember that there's a reason there are so many different coolers available: not every cooler works in every situation. The top-performing Prolimatech Megahalems is available at FrozenCPUfor $64.99, and adding one or two fans can easily kick the total price over $80.00. Also, the Megahalems is a very large heatsink that may not fit in your system...and frankly it's overkill for all but the hottest, highest-clocked processors. While low processor load temperatures are always good, reducing them another 5 degrees will make no difference to the stability or longivity of most systems (unless the load temperature is near the thermal limit of the CPU).
The Frio is relatively compact for a top-tier air cooler; its small size is made possible by the extra airflow provided by its dual fans. I was a little disappointed to see that the only way to control the fan speed is via tiny manual controllers that by their design must dangle loosely inside your case; I prefer PWM (pulse-width modulation) fans that allow your computer to adjust the speed as needed, but failing that, an external controller knob, even at the rear of your computer in a card slot, is better than having to remove the side panel of your case and rummage around inside. The design of the fan power cables, with a separate "pigtail" connector for the fan speed controller, means that the stock fans cannot be controlled with a bay-mount fan speed controller either. If your system doesn't need the Frio's full performance, it's easy to snap off the rear fan and use only the front fan. But fans aside, you can't complain about the performance of this cooler: the only air coolers that beat it are much larger and significantly more expensive. Like the Prolimatech Megahalems, Thermalright Venomous X, and Scythe Mugen 2, the Frio does without the trendy "exposed heat pipe" design, and perhaps the fact that so many of the top-performing coolers do without it says something about how effective it really is. This heatsink is not cheap at about $60, but if you're moving up from an older dual-core system to a spiffy new quad-core system, don't be tempted to bring your old CPU cooler along with a new mounting kit. Coolers designed for LGA775 processors may well not be able to handle the heat output of a newer LGA1156 or LGA1366 processor. The heat spreader on an LGA775 has an area of about 812 square millimeters, while a LGA1366 Core i7 processor is 1,120 square millimeters— or 38% more surface area. A Phenom II processor's heat spreader has 71% more surface area, and an LGA775 cooler trying to handle the 140W (non-overclocked) heat output of a first generation Phenom II might well be overwhelmed. Thermaltake Frio ConclusionPlease remember that these test results reflect our experience with each cooler on a specific motherboard, with a specific processor, BIOS revision, and test programs. That said, the ranking produced by these tests is accurate and gives a good idea how the coolers will perform relative to one another on any given system. Obviously, your choice of fans will dramatically affect the performance of any air cooler, but the performance of the Frio's included fans is good enough that the only reason you'd want to replace them would be to connect to a PWM fan connector or separate fan controller. The cooler was very easy to install. While most high-end air coolers can be a real pain (I've more than once bloodied my knuckles on cooler fins straining to reach a hard-to-get-at mounting screw), the Frio's rear-bolt method is a breath of fresh air I hope to see other vendors emulate. The cooler's 165mm height will make it a tight fit in some narrow cases; the red plastic runners on the top of the heat sink were only a millimeter or so from the side panel of the case used in this test. However, you can get several millimeters of extra space by simply snapping off the top plastic cover. The cooler is quite heavy at just over a kilogram (2.2 pounds), far above Intel's recommendations, but then any high-end air cooler will be similar (some all-copper coolers are significantly heavier). The sturdy metal backplate secures the coolers well, but I'd advise transporting a computer equipped with this cooler on its side if possible. The quality of construction of the cooler is top-notch, with perfectly aligned fins, a well-finished base, and precisely-fitting plastic parts. The appearance of the Thermaltake CLP0564 heatsink strikes a nice balance between functional and blingy: it's cool enough to justify a side-window case, but does without LED lighting, chrome plating, or some of the other excesses seen (even in some of Thermaltake's other coolers). The white fan blades provide a nice contrast to the red and black plastic. Removing the snap-off plastic top of the cooler gives it a very industrial appearance if that's what you like. However, the necessarily dangling fan controllers detract somewhat, although I suppose you could stuff them under the button of the heatsink if you didn't need to adjust your fan speed often. Functionally, the Frio is excellent: its dual fans move enough air to provide good performance even at their lowest setting, and exceptional performance at their highest settings. Overclocking enthusiasts may prefer manual fan control to the convenience of PWM-controlled fans, but the design of the Frio's fan control wiring precludes the use of a separate fan controller, which means you'll have to reach inside your case every time you want to change your fan speed. The Thermaltake Frio is available for $59.99 at NewEgg. This compares very well with other top-end coolers like the Prolimatech Megahalems ($64.99 at either FrozenCPU or NewEgg) and the Thermalright Venomous X ($69.99 at FrozenCPU), especially considering that the price includes mounting hardware for all current Intel and AMD sockets and comes with two fans as well. This cooler is an excellent value. Air coolers seem to be reaching physical limits in their performance. A top-performing air cooler must be physically large, with lots of heat pipes and fins, to dissipate the necessary heat. Some air coolers are already too large to fit in some cases, or interfere with the memory in the slots closest to the processor. The Frio's design uses dual fans to allow a smaller heatsink "core" that provides performance competitive with much larger coolers. Pros:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Comments