Titan Fenrir and Skalli CPU Coolers Review

Conclusion: Titan Fenrir

Honestly, it seems that no matter what we threw at it, the Fenrir just kept smiling and asking for more. Unlike many (if not most) HDT coolers we have looked at, Titan’s flagship model does not need a high speed fan to get simply stunning results. As with all air based coolers, it does do quite a bit better with higher performance fans, but that is just the nature of the beast and is not a issue in any way, shape or form. The fact of the matter is the more air which can be passed over the cooling fins the better the cooler is going to do. The crux of the matter is that most heatsinks need a lot of air to be effective at cooling an overclocked CPU whereas the Fenrir excels in every airflow situation. Honestly, it was only at anaemically low speeds (900rpm) with high over-clocks on a hot running Intel 920 CPU that this cooler was not the best of the best.

This really is the first Heatpipe Direct Touch cooler which not only performed well but actually gave the "best of the best of the best" a real run for their money. At every fan speed other than ultra low this cooler was right up there breathing down the Prolimatech Megahalems’ neck. The fact that any mid priced cooler can cause a high priced unit to look overpriced is simply stunning in our books. Indeed, as we saw in the Value section the Fenrir is a down right excellent deal. Its price point is such that if you only plan on mild overclocking you will get significantly better results than the previously best “budget” cooler: the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus. With numbers like it showed, the Fenrir makes it very easy to justify paying a small premium rather than going with an OCZ Vendetta 2, Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus or any cooler for that matter. At almost every temperature load this cooler simply dominates all comers.

Is Titan’s wunderkind perfect? No, it is awfully darn good at a broad range of thermal loads but to truly compete at the high end it needs to be tweaked and allowed to mount a second fan. The only other weakness the Fenrir has is the fact that its single fan does get loud when running at maximum speeds. For the majority of its performance envelope it is very mild mannered but at maximum speed it turns from a nice respectable Dr. Jekyll in to a loud, crude and fairly obnoxious Mr Hyde. Fortunately, it is quite evident that the Fenrir isn’t using this high RPM fan as a crutch to disguise poor thermal performance.

Because of its amazing versatility and great performance results at an extremely broad range of scenarios we are proud to present the Titan Fenrir with our highest accolade: the Damn Good Award. Meanwhile, for its great performance at a very reasonable price we also feel very justified in awarding this amazing heatsink the Damn Good Value award. With the exception of a customer looking for a dual fan cooling solution, you really can not go wrong choosing the Fenrir over other more readily available options.


Pros:

- GREAT performance results
- Good looks
- High performance fan which is very versatile (800 – 2150 rpm)
- Very adaptable to numerous situations and noise levels
- Very good price to performance ratio


Cons:

- Availability
- Capable of mounting only a single fan
- Fan may be versatile but does get loud at high RPM