Though not usually mentioned in the same league as Thermalright and Noctua, Arctic cooling has been selling after market processor coolers for a very long time. The freezer 7 (and freezer 64) series is most well known of their products. In the hay days of AMD Athlon64 their coolers provided the best performance for price at amazingly low noise levels. While other companies worked on the principal that bigger is better, Arctic Cooling has pretty much retained the design of the original Freezer cooler. The advantage is the relatively low cost of the cooler (about 2500 Rupees). Are Arctic cooling living the past? Or is their design still able to compete today? Read on to find out.
ABOUT ARCTIC COOLING
Arctic cooling is a Swiss company with offices in USA and Hong Kong. Apart from processor coolers they make one of the best known thermal pastes -the MX series. They also make the very popular “Accelero” series of video card coolers. They also sell case fans, computer cases, power supplies and other computer accessories.
INTRODUCING FREEZER 7 PRO Rev 2.0
As the name suggests the Freezer 7 pro is a revised version of the Freezer 7 processor cooler. A single cooling tower paired to a 92mm and 6 heat pipes (arranged in as a pair of 3) makes up the cooler. Noise dampening system adds a cherry to the cake.
PACKAGING
The cooler comes in an all plastic cover. This is something that has been seen before (e.g. Xigmatek’s Achilles’ cooler). There is little or no protection provided to the cooler or the fan in the plastic shell. Perhaps 99% of the time the end product will reach its user unharmed. But there is always that 1% that might receive a damaged article. This is what happened to the review unit. The fan’s grill had two of its supports broken. Many readers would simply ignore or even get annoyed with description of packaging of a product in a review. The mention of a good and “safe” packaging in a review is only of significance to those who have been “stung” by a case of poor packing and the subsequent damage it causes to the product. Addition of some protective foam shroud around the fan might have prevented it from getting damaged.
The plastic case has a paper inlay that lists the features (cooling performance and noise generated) and the specs of the cooler at the back of the packing.
The base lists the features in languages other than English.
As I have already mentioned, the packing is mostly to prevent the contents from falling out. It serves little or no protective function. Even though this is cooler is not exactly a bank breaker, a little protection will probably result in fewer RMAs.
THE COOLER IN PERSPECTIVE
The Freezer 7 pro rev 2 is a single tower design cooler that is compatible with almost all Intel and AMD processor that currently exist. This includes all Intel LGA 775, 1156 and 1366 and AMD S754, S939, AM2, AM2+ and AM3 socket based processor. This means that this cooler can be used with processors as old as the original Athlon64 and the Intel Pentium 4 (beyond Northwood). That is certainly an exhaustive list. An even greater achievement is that the cooler supports all these processors this with a single mounting frame (for Intel processors; for AMD processors it uses the default mounting mechanism already installed on the motherboard) which can be installed on the motherboard without removing it from the case. This is due to the cooler being extremely light weight (520 grams with the fan) and hence does not require installation of a back plate to support its weight.
The single tower is pierced by 6 heat pipes (arranged in pairs of 3). The fan is mounted on the front of the cooler using a patented noise dampening system. The heat sink base, made of pure copper comes pre-applied with Arctic Cooling’s own MX-2 thermal paste.
The cooler is petite and measures 104x 58x126.5mm (LxWxH). It should fit in almost all mid tower enclosures.
THE COOLING TOWER
The cooling tower comprises of 42 Aluminum plates which have a “D” shaped design.
The flat side of the “D” is the front of the cooler onto which the fan is mounted. There are no surface modifications to the heat plates to improve air flow or reduce noise. The latter is not needed as the fan and its mount takes care of virtually all the noise generated. The cooler unlike its elder does not cater to main-board components (around the processor socket) cooling. Each heat plate measures about 60.3mm2 in area and thus provides a heat dissipation area of about 5065mm2
THE HEAT PIPES
The unit has 6 heat pipes arranged in pair of 3s. Strictly speaking there are thus only 3 heat pipes. Each heat pipe has a diameter of 4mm. They are made of Copper and are not Nickel plated. They are soldered to the heat sink base and run in line through the heat sink. They are not staggered as they pass through the heat plates, which might have improved heat dissipation.
HEAT SINK BASE
The base is comes pre-applied with Arctic Cooling’s MX-2 thermal compound. The base is made of pure copper and again is not Nickel plated.
Removing the compound reveals a super flat, “sanded” base. Though it doesn’t have a mirror finish it is relatively shiny. At the top of the base the clips for mounting are the cooler to the motherboard are screwed on.
FAN
The highlight of the cooler is its fan and specifically the fan mount which reduces noise to virtually zero. The unit comes with a 92mm PWM fan. The unit is listed as 900-2500 rpm fan with a rated air flow of 45 cfm. The fan is mounted on the cooler using a plastic frame.
The frame is equipped with vibration dampeners that reduce noise generated. Think of these like mini shock absorbers.
The other feature of the fan that reduces noise is the patented impeller design. The fan’s rotor is white in color and contrasts nicely against the black frame. The fan has a 4 pin connector with PWM control for fan speed.
The fan fixes to the cooler by its frame. There are two clips that lock in on the groove carved in the side of the cooling tower.
It is possible to remove the standard fan and mount another 92mm fan in its place.
Rather than specifying the noise generated by the fan and the subsequent airflow in the traditional dBA units, Arctic cooling chose to use the lesser known “sone” unit. At its maximal rotational speed of 2500 rpm the fan generates about .8 sone according to Arctic cooling. The stock Intel fan generates about 1.8 sone at 2850 rpm. .8 sone correspond to about 37 dBA.
COOLER IMPRESSIONS
The fan has a very basic construction like its main competitor the Cooler Master Hyper 212plus. No Nickel plating, no fin edge design modifications either. Unlike the hyper 212plus this is not a heat pipe direct touch cooler. Also unlike the 212plus the unit has a 92mm fan (as compared to hyper’s 120mm fan). The construction quality is what you would expect for a budget product. The heat plates have “soft” rounded edges, so one doesn’t get abraded fingers during installation. The solder points between the heat sink base and the heat pipes are visible.
ACCESSORIES
The cooler ships with a standard accessory package, which allows installation onto virtually all available Intel and AMD processors.
For Intel processors a mounting plate is included. For AMD processors pair of lugs are provided which latch on the standard AMD mounting mechanism and then screwed onto the cooler. Simple yet effective.
The mounting plate for Intel processors is installed onto the motherboard from the front rather the usual back of the board. This is definitely welcome as it is not necessary to remove the board from the case to install the fan.
The plate fixes to the board by using a system of push pins. A rubber push pin is inserted first which is then supported by a plastic unit.
The fan needs to be removed for to mount the cooler on the base. A set of screws is used to fix the cooler onto the base. Once that is done the fan can be reattached to the heat sink.
As the unit comes pre-applied with thermal paste, one is not included in the accessories bundle.
There is also a nifty Arctic Cooling sticker in the package.
The accessories bundle is “sparse”, but that does not take anything away from the cooler. It gets the job done and gets it done well. The mounting system is definitely a welcome change from the usual remove the board before installation that is common place for most after market coolers.
INSTRUCTIONS
The unit ships with an instruction leaflet with large diagrams and minimal text. The diagrams are self explanatory. Most users, even novices will find that the cooler can installed by following the visual instructions provided by the diagram. For a second installation the instruction advocate the use of Arctic Cooling’s MX series of compound. A little advertising doesn’t hurt!
ONLINE RESOURCES
The web pages for this cooler follows the traditional Arctic Cooling website design lay out. There are 5 pages dedicated to this cooler. They are for the main features, specs, support, picture gallery and reviews/ rewards.
I can’t fault the web pages for their content, layout, grammar or comprehension. They are properly written and get the message across. Since the cooler will have minimal issues during installation I do not see many turning to online resource for help regarding installation. The support tab does list a series of spare parts including the fan and the entire accessory package. These can be bought from Arctic Cooling’s web-shop. This is a very good addition. Not only is Arctic Cooling cutting the middle man out thus increasing their margins, they are also providing a one stop shop for their customers.
OFFICIAL SPECS AND FEATURES
These are taken from Arctic Cooling’s Website
- • Compatible with Intel Core i7 and Core i5, as well as AMD sockets
• Excellent cooling performance - 130 Watts
• Ultra quiet 92mm PWM fan
• 6 heatpipes and 42 fins for efficient heat dissipation
• Patented vibration absorption to eliminate buzzing sounds
• Pre-applied ARCTIC MX-2
• Easy installation
Heat Sink 104 L x 58 W x 126.5 H mm
Fan 92 mm
Fan Speed 900 - 2500 RPM (controlled by PWM)
Air Flow 45 CFM / 77 m3/h
Max. Cooling Capacity 130 Watts
Bearing Fluid Dynamic Bearing
Weight 520 g
INSTALLATION
The cooler will be installed in a LGA 1156 based board and will be tested using an Intel Core i7-860 and a Core i3-530 processor.
*The images taken are from an installation on a Core i3-530 processor. Since the motherboard used in both the test systems the same, the installation process is similar as well.
THE MOUNTING MECHANISM
It is very easy to fix the mounting plate on the motherboard. After installing the processor, the mounting plate is placed over the mounting holes.
The mounting plate has pre-cut holes for all 3 contemporary Intel platforms: LGA 775, 1156 and 1366.
Once that is done the rubber pushpins are inserted in the holes. Finally the plastic pushpins are used to fix the mounting plate to the motherboard.
HEAT SINK INSTALLATION
The fan is taken off the heat sink and is screwed onto the mounting plate.
Finally the fan is reinstalled and plugged into the motherboard PWM or 3 pin fan connector.
TEST SYSTEMS
The cooler was tested at default frequencies in addition to over clocked settings.. Arctic Cooling advertises this cooler as a “silent” replacement for the stock cooler, rather than a unit for high speed over clocking. Rather than running the heat churning Linpack test the standard OCCT test was run.
†There was 1C difference between testing with pre-applied MX-2 thermal paste and Arctic Silver 5 (AS5). As the AS5 result was better, it was used to benchmark this cooler.
RESULTS
Core i3-530
At stock speed the Freezer 7 Pro Rev2 (F 7P R2) performance is at the rear of the pack. This is not really surprising as the cooler is meant as a replacement for the stock solution rather than an enthusiast grade cooler.
At 3.60GHz the cooler is again at the rear. It is able to complete the test though.
Core i7-860
The results pretty much follow those of the Core i3. Remember that the results are from the standard test, rather than the Linpack test. All the coolers are able to keep the cooler within thermal specifications.
CONCLUSIONS
The coolers strong points are its ease of installation and near silent operation. It is not audible at all over the default case fans in both builds. If the case fans are disconnected, the fan is still hardly audible, even if you sit right next to the case.
You won’t be breaking any over-clocking records with this cooler and neither is the product designed to do this. It is meant to be a near silent replacement for the stock solution while providing some room for maneuverability. And it does this job admirably well!
PROS
- Compact Design
- Very, very silent operation
- Extremely easy to install
- Pre-applied Arctic Cooling MX-2
- Excellent for HTPC
CONS
- Packaging could be better
- Not a cooler for those looking for a significant over clock
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