The Basics:

The Thermaltake Frio comes with one 120mm fan pre-installed on the front of the cooler. There is nothing fancy about this fan other than that it has white blades mounted in a black frame. On the back of the cooler there is a housing installed that will let you mount the second 120mm fan provided.



The side of the Frio is open to provide some airflow, and the fins of the cooler are supported with two sets of brackets to keep them evenly spaced. The top of the cooler has a plastic cover that has the Thermaltake logo printed on it. If you do not want this cover, it can easily be removed without affecting the fan housing or the cooling capabilities.



The Frio's fan is powered by a cable with a 3-pin connector, which also includes a fan speed controller. The fan controller has a very short cable, and has to remain on the inside of your case. For most people, it will be a set it and forget it type of thing. I would prefer this to either be motherboard controlled or for it to have a longer cable to be able to reach outside the case.



The fan housings and top cover attach to the Frio with clips, and you will need to use something to pull these up to get them off. Once they are off though, the aluminum fins of the cooler can be inspected.



The bottom of the cooler is protected by a piece of plastic which keeps scratches from occurring during shipment. With the plastic cover removed, the base was found to be perfectly smooth, with no nicks or scratches. The base does not have a mirror finish, but the necessity of that can be argued anyway. In this view we can also see the staggered arrangement of the five heat pipes as they pass through the cooler's base.