Having already reviewed the Thermaltake Riing Trio 12, we went into the review with a certain degree of expectation and we weren’t let down.
The Riing Duo 12 has clearly been tuned by Thermaltake for quiet performance which our acoustics graphs show, though the thermal performance was less impressive, with it finding itself at, or near, the bottom of all of our temperature tests. Having said that, our tests do show that the differences are small, with only around 5°C separating the top and bottom in some graphs, so it’s not going to be the end of the world unless you’re trying to extract an impressive overclock.
The software really needs some work, it looks tacky, isn’t particularly intuitive and is laborious to use for simple tasks such as synchronising all 3 fans. It’s all well and good giving the option to control the lighting from your Amazon Alexa, or via your phone, but if the base software suite isn’t up to scratch, it lets down the entire experience.
RGB lighting, now there’s a show and a half. The illumination from the fans is excellent, definitely some of the best we’ve seen, but the Riing Trio 12 is the more impressive show overall; for the extra £10 they are a much better buy if RGB lighting is your aim.
Wiring in the fans is quite different to most other brands, using the single cable for both RGB and PWM fan speed control, going to a single controller that is monitored and acted upon by the Thermaltake software. However, one thing constantly bugs us about Thermaltake’s controller, the power delivery method – we really need to see the back of Molex power adaptors in 2019. They’re awkward to connect up and quite often require their own separate connection to the PSU, clogging up further space within the system. Please start using SATA power, Thermaltake.
The Riing Duo 12 fans are quiet with reasonable cooling performance but the RGB lighting is definitely its party piece, they’re bright, vibrant and offer plenty of beautiful effects.
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The Riing Duo 12 has clearly been tuned by Thermaltake for quiet performance which our acoustics graphs show, though the thermal performance was less impressive, with it finding itself at, or near, the bottom of all of our temperature tests. Having said that, our tests do show that the differences are small, with only around 5°C separating the top and bottom in some graphs, so it’s not going to be the end of the world unless you’re trying to extract an impressive overclock.
The software really needs some work, it looks tacky, isn’t particularly intuitive and is laborious to use for simple tasks such as synchronising all 3 fans. It’s all well and good giving the option to control the lighting from your Amazon Alexa, or via your phone, but if the base software suite isn’t up to scratch, it lets down the entire experience.
RGB lighting, now there’s a show and a half. The illumination from the fans is excellent, definitely some of the best we’ve seen, but the Riing Trio 12 is the more impressive show overall; for the extra £10 they are a much better buy if RGB lighting is your aim.
Wiring in the fans is quite different to most other brands, using the single cable for both RGB and PWM fan speed control, going to a single controller that is monitored and acted upon by the Thermaltake software. However, one thing constantly bugs us about Thermaltake’s controller, the power delivery method – we really need to see the back of Molex power adaptors in 2019. They’re awkward to connect up and quite often require their own separate connection to the PSU, clogging up further space within the system. Please start using SATA power, Thermaltake.
The Riing Duo 12 fans are quiet with reasonable cooling performance but the RGB lighting is definitely its party piece, they’re bright, vibrant and offer plenty of beautiful effects.
Pros
+ Awesome RGB lighting
+ Competitive pricing
+ Good build quality
+ The single cable for RGB and PWM control helps make a cleaner build
Neutral
+- Not the strongest airflow we’ve seen
Cons
- Still using Molex power connectors
- Poor software suite
+ Awesome RGB lighting
+ Competitive pricing
+ Good build quality
+ The single cable for RGB and PWM control helps make a cleaner build
Neutral
+- Not the strongest airflow we’ve seen
Cons
- Still using Molex power connectors
- Poor software suite
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
Stay connected with the Vortez Social Media pages:
