Intel Thermal Solution RTS2011LC Review

Performance Analysis

The Core i7-3960X Extreme edition is a toasty customer when it comes to cooling, however the RTS2011LC put in a respectable performance, comfortably outperforming the Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro with a load delta T of 57°C.

The Thermaltake Frio Advanced was able to better it by 4°C, however this involved a considerable amount more noise compared to the RTS2011LC's noticeable, but not intrusive, fan noise. Unfortunately, the Corsair H100 was able to beat the RTS2011LC hands down, even at its lowest fan speed setting where it was nearly silent. Here it was 5°C cooler under load and 11°C cooler at its maximum fan speed.

The Corsair H80 wasn't quite as dominating, with the RTS2011LC managing a slightly better result than the Corsair cooler at its lowest fan speed setting, where the latter managed a load delta T of 59°C compared to the RTS2011LC's 57°C. Ramp the H80 up to it's medium speed, though and it's a good 5°C cooler than the Intel all-in-one.


Conclusion
Despite sharing much of its design with one of our favourite coolers, the Antec Kühler H2O 920 (our model wasn't compatible with LGA2011 so wasn't able to take part in testing), the Intel Thermal Solution RTS2011LC offers no fan control and inferior cooling compared with the Corsair H80 at medium fan speed.

The H80 was also around £5 cheaper at time of writing, and suffers none of the radiator mounting issues we experienced with the Intel cooler. Given it's better at cooling, can cater fairly well to your particular ears thanks to its 3-step fan controller, it's clearly a better buy if you're in the market for an LGA2011 system.