Thermaltake NiC C5 & FrioOCK

Thermaltake has been in the aftermarket cooler business concern since twenty-four hours 1 and although the company is probably best known for its center-catching designs, it has recently begun placing more emphasis on performance -- something we're happy about subsequently being disappointed in the $80 Frio Advanced.

Thermaltake NiC C5

Before this twelvemonth Thermaltake unveiled its NiC (non-interference cooler) serial consisting of the F3, F4, C4, and C5. All of the company'due south new models should be fully compatible with RAM of all kinds, which is patently ideal for power users who make full their DIMM slots with taller high-end modules.

The NiC lineup supports TDPs of 160w, 180w, 200w and 230w respectively, with each ability rating corresponding to the models in order of mention above. Heat is conducted from the CPU onto the libation through a thick nickel-coated copper base and and then onto the aluminum fins with 3 to five 6mm U-shaped heat-pipes. The NiC range provides a variety of options ranging from a single fan to dual fans with a shroud. The ane we received -- Thermaltake's flagship NiC C5 -- has the latter configuration.

With a TDP rating of 230w the C5 is designed to tackle today'south fastest processors, measuring 160H x 140W 10 50D mm with 0.4mm-thick curved aluminum fins that purportedly reduce backpressure and maximize airflow. Heat is extracted from the copper base via five 6mm heatpipes that stretch up from the lesser through the fins which, again, are cooled by a pair of 120mm fans. The blowers are arranged in a push/pull configuration and run between 1000 and 2000 RPM -- adaptable with a fan controller.

When operating at full speed, they move 99.i CFM and generate 39.9dBA of noise. The fans use a three-pin connector rather than a 4-pin and we couldn't control their speed from the motherboard, forcing us to use the fan controller.

Tipping the scales at 811g, the NiC C5 is heavy, though information technology is by no means the heaviest libation in our roundup. Additionally, at only $55, it'due south a far cry from the nearly expensive and could evidence to exist a fantastic value.

Thermaltake FrioOCK

Thermaltake'due south Frio brand is home to some of the company's about farthermost air-cooled solutions, such every bit last year's Frio Extreme with a TDP of 250W -- the highest of any Thermaltake libation. As mentioned, we've previously tested the Frio Advanced, only its subpar performance made it hard to recommend.

This time we'll be looking at the FrioOCK, which was surprisingly released way dorsum in Feb 2022, well earlier the LGA2011 platform had seen the light of mean solar day. Thermaltake has nonetheless kept this cooler alive with continual updates.

Equally a upshot, the FrioOCK supports every desktop platform released since the Pentium 4 and Athlon 64. So why has Thermaltake kept the FrioOCK alive? For a company that churns through CPU cooler models on a monthly basis nosotros wanted to see what was so special about the FrioOCK.

The cooler measures 158.4H x 143W x 136.8D mm, weighs a whopping 1093g and boasts 130mm fans that move 121 CFM of air and generate an ear haemorrhage 48dBA of dissonance when cranked to their maximum speed of 2100 RPM.

Like most of the coolers we've looked at and so far, the FrioOCK's base is constructed of copper and connects to an array of fins with a series of 6mm heatpipes -- vi of them.

Priced almost 30% higher than the NiC C5, the $70 FrioOCK sits among the most expensive coolers we're testing.