Testing
The following system was used in testing:
Case: NZXT Tempest EVO
Motherboard: XFX 680i LT SLI
CPU: Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz
Memory: 2x2GB OCZ SLI Ready DDR2 800 MHz
CPU cooling:
- SilenX iXtrema IXC-120HA2
- Thermaltake DuOrb
- Titan Cool Idol
- Cooler Master GeminII S
- Cooler Master Sphere
- Cooler Master Hyper 212
- Zalman CNPS9300 AT
- Vantec AeroFlow FX 92
- Vantec AeroFlow FX 120
- Xilence Xilent Blade Pro
- Thermaltake MaxOrb EX
- Thermaltake SpinQ
- Noctua NH-C12P
- Thermaltake BigTyp 14 Pro
- Cooler Master V8
- Titan Fenrir TTC-NK85TZ
- Thermaltake TMG IA1
- Cooler Master V10
- Thermaltake ISGC-100
- Thermaltake ISGC-200
- Thermaltake ISGC-300
- GlacialTech Igloo 5610 Plus Silent
- Thermaltake ISGC-400
- Cooler Master Hyper TX3
- AeroCool DCC-C900
- Thermaltake SpinQ VT
- Xtreme Gear HP-1216B
- Cooler Master Vortex Plus
- Thermaltake Frio
Video Card: XFX 9800 GTX+ Black Edition
Tests were conducted under idle and load states. The computer was left to sit after 30 minutes after being turned on to check the idle temperature. The load temperature was found by running the latest version of Prime95 which supports multi-core CPUs by default. Temperatures were obtained through SpeedFan.
| CPU Cooler | Idle (°C) | Load (°C) |
| Thermaltake SpinQ VT – High | 27C | 38C |
| Thermaltake Frio – 2 Fans – High | 28C | 39C |
| Thermaltake Frio – 1 Fan – High | 29C | 38C |
| Xtreme Gear HP-1216B – High | 30C | 41C |
| Thermaltake Frio – 2 Fans – Low | 31C | 42C |
| Thermaltake SpinQ VT – Low | 31C | 43C |
| Thermaltake Frio – 1 Fan – Low | 32C | 43C |
| Xtreme Gear HP-1216B – Low | 32C | 44C |
| Titan Fenrir TTC-NK85TZ | 37C | 47C |
| Thermaltake TMG IA1 – High | 36C | 48C |
| Cooler master V8 – High | 38C | 50C |
| Cooler Master V10 | 39C | 51C |
| Thermaltake ISGC-300 – High | 39C | 51C |
| Thermaltake TMG IA1 – Low | 39C | 52C |
| Cooler Master V8 – Low | 41C | 52C |
| Thermaltake MaxOrb EX – High | 43C | 53C |
| Thermaltake SpinQ – High | 43C | 57C |
| Noctua NH-C12P | 41C | 54C |
| Thermaltake ISGC-300 – Low | 41C | 54C |
| Cooler Master Hyper TX3 | 42C | 54C |
| Cooler Master Hyper 212 | 44C | 54C |
| Zalman CNPS9300 AT | 41C | 55C |
| Thermaltake ISGC-400 – High | 42C | 55C |
| GlacialTech Igloo 5610 Plus | 43C | 55C |
| Thermaltake MaxOrb EX – Low | 45C | 55C |
| Thermaltake ISGC-200 | 42C | 57C |
| Thermaltake BigTyp 14 Pro – High | 42C | 58C |
| Vantec AeroFlow FX 120 | 43C | 58C |
| Thermaltake ISGC-400 – Low | 44C | 58C |
| Thermaltake SpinQ – Low | 45C | 58C |
| Titan Cool Idol – High | 44C | 59C |
| Cooler Master GeminII S | 45C | 59C |
| Vantec AeroFlow FX 92 | 46C | 60C |
| Thermaltake BigTyp 14 Pro – Low | 42C | 61C |
| AeroCool DCC-C900 | 45C | 61C |
| Cooler Master Sphere | 46C | 61C |
| Xilence Xilent Blade Pro | 47C | 61C |
| Titan Cool Idol – Low | 45C | 62C |
| SilenX iXtrema – 2x Fans | 44C | 64C |
| Cooler Master Vortex Plus | 42C | 65C |
| Thermaltake ISGC-100 | 50C | 65C |
| SilenX iXtrema – High | 44C | 66C |
| Thermaltake DuOrb | 47C | 67C |
| SilenX iXtrema – Low | 45C | 69C |
The Frio performed very well in all of the tests. With one fan on low speeds it reached an idle temperature of 32C and load of 43C, on high speeds it reached a low of 29C in idle and 38C under load conditions. With two fans on low speeds it reached a low of 31C and load temperature of 42C, on high speeds it reached a low of 28C in idle and 39C under load.
The question is, is the second fan really necessary? Perhaps under overclocked conditions the cooler could have a wider difference between one to two fans. I don’t think under normal conditions would the second fan be necessary.
Even though you have the option to adjust the fan speeds, I really wouldn’t recommend turning the fans up too high because it gets extremely loud! One fan was pretty loud and adding the second made it sound like a large air conditioner. I don’t even know if sound dampening would help how loud the two fans on high speeds would be.