Earlier this year Thermaltake launched an air-cooled CPU cooler called the Frio. This cooler has a maximum cooling capacity of up to 220W and is marketed toward overclocking enthusiasts. What exactly can an affordable air cooler do for your CPU? Read on to find out as we test this $59 cooler at 4.1GHz on our Intel Core i7-860 powered test system!

The Frío certainly has a lot to live up to since its name is derived from the Spanish world for “Cool”. The cooler is designed to cool a maximum of 220W which puts this in the “high-end” class of coolers like the latest Zalman or Noctua for what seems to be a pretty economical price of $59.99. This cooler is marketed for overclockers, but is really built for people such as myself who are interested in video editing as well and keeping their temperatures down. It doesn’t hurt that Thermaltake designed the Frío to look uniquely aggressive and very cool...