Gelid Solutions Tranquillo CPU Cooler Review

Introduction:

Today I have a review of the Tranquillo CPU cooler from Gelid Solutions. Gelid Solutions is a company in Hong Kong, China that was founded in 2008 by Gebhard Scherrer and VC Tran, Both very skilled in the PC cooling industry. Gelid Solutions has some unique products that include CPU coolers such as the one we are reviewing today, Excellent Fans (UV Reactive ones too!), and Thermal pastes, all with superior design and functionality.

Now enough with the chit-chat, let’s jump into the actual review!

Packaging/Included items

First off, let’s take a look at the packaging of the Tranquillo and see what’s inside the box.  Check out the pictures below. The packaging was very sturdy and well designed as well, explains all of the features of the CPU cooler thoroughly as well as having a few illustrations of the product.

(Click on the images to view larger version)

(The Packaging even includes a very convenient carrying handle!)

(Mounting hardware for all the supported sockets is included)

(A very nice 120MM white fan in also included in the box)

Design

The Tranquillo CPU cooler has a typical “tower” style design that is similar to other coolers currently in the market, The Tranquillo is however different from those similar coolers in the aspect that it can only have one fan attached to it, has a very interesting plastic logo on the top of the cooler and it also has a curve on the cooler on the side that does not hold a fan.

The Design of the Tranquillo is very interesting and thus makes it stand apart from other coolers that are currently in the market, a very good thing in times like these when every cooler seems to look alike.

The Fan that is included is a White PWM fan that can spin from 750 RPM’s to 1500 RPM’s, the fan is however pretty stylish in a black PC chassis such as mine as it draws your eyes to the CPU cooler. All in all In the Design aspect the Gelid Solutions Tranquillo Gets an A+!

Installation

The Installation of the Tranquillo is very straightforward and simple. All the hardware needed is included for both AMD Sockets (754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3) and Intel Sockets (775, 1366, and 1156). In my case the installation was on an 1156 socket and it was a breeze. One thing to note is that you should not install the fan onto the cooler until you have first fastened the cooler onto your motherboard as the fan would block you out from being able to screw in the actual cooler. Once installed it looks great and feels secure.

 Test System

The specs of the System used to test this cooler are as follows:

Processor: Core i5 750

Motherboard: EVGA P55 SLI FTW

Memory: 4GB Corsair DHX DDR3 (1333 MHz while testing) 9-9-9-24 Timings

Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500gb 7200RPM, 16MB Cache

Video Card: XFX Geforce GTS 250 512mb

Video Resolution: 1600x900

Power Supply: Corsair 750TX 750 Watt

Case: Cooler Master Storm Sniper Black Edition

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

Testing

I tested the Tranquillo under stress tests in Prime95, The Tranquillo Fan was running at 1500 RPM and I let it stress test for about 2 hours, here are the Results:

Note: Temperatures are in Celsius

Core i5 750 @2.66GHZ Gelid Solutions Tranquillo CPU cooler

Idle: 30 Average

Load:

50 Low

56 High

52 Average

Core i5 750 @3.20GHZ Gelid Solutions Tranquillo Silent CPU cooler

Idle: 39 Average

Load:

60 Low

71 High

66 Average

Conclusion

At first, I was not expecting much from this cooler because of its $39.99 USD price tag, but I can safely say that I was thinking the exact opposite during testing and while actually taking a look at the cooler and holding it in my hand, The cooler has a very nice design, both in packaging and the actual cooler/fan. During the Stress Testing, I was impressed throughout the whole 2 hours, I would not expect a $40 cooler to perform this well. The cooler is definitely a winner in my eyes, with the Great Design, 5 years warranty, and performance, Gelid Solutions has a clear winner on their hands. I would recommend the Cooler to anyone that wants to build a computer on the 775, 1366, and 1156 sockets, or if they already have one and would like to upgrade the stock Intel coolers, The Gelid Solutions Tranquillo Provides excellent performance and stunning design for a price that won’t break the bank, Just the way I like it!

Don’t Forget to Check out Gelid Solutions and their other products at: http://www.gelidsolutions.com/