MSI Core Frozr XL RGB CPU Cooler Review

Performance

On our stock i7-7700K, the MSI Core Frozr XL makes easy work of keeping things nice and cool. Of course, it really should, this is a stock CPU and pretty much any CPU cooler should be half decent at this. It’s a good few degrees cooler than the be quiet! and the Cryorig models, which is good to see, and while it didn’t beat the much bigger Noctua, it’s still competitive against it.

Pushing up the heat didn’t give us any cause for concern either. The temperatures next went past 70 Celsius, which is more than comfortable for an i7-7700K running at a blazing fast 5 GHz. The gaming test was particularly promising though, with the CPU at mixed load, the cooler had no issues dealing with quick changes in temperature and CPU load.

With two 120mm fans, the XL is a little louder than some competitors. It’s honestly louder than I would have expected it to be, and I think the fan response rate and profile is tuned a little too high. If MSI makes it a little more economical with the speed changes on the fan, I think it would be better. It’s not too loud though, keep in mind it’s going up against be quiet! and Noctua here.

Overclocking was certainly leaving us with an audible cooler. If you’ve got a noise dampened chassis, maybe it’s not a big issue for you, but anyone else may want to dial back the fan profile to silent at the cost of a little more heat.