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 Xtreme just edges out the Freezer 7 Pro Rev2 (F 7P R2). Considering that the cooler is not really meant to compete against the big guns its performance is just okay. The almost similarly priced Hyper 212+ performs better, but is relatively more difficult to install.
At 3.60GHz the cooler is again at the back of the pack. 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. The cooler costs about a 3500 PKR.
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.
PROS
- Compact Design
- Silent operation
- Extremely easy to install
- Pre-applied Arctic Cooling MX-2
- Excellent for HTPC
CONS
- Not a cooler for those looking for a significant over clock
- Not very competitive on price performance with the Freezer 7 pro rev 2.
WCCF would like to thank PC Xtremist for sending in the review unit. For those who are not unaware, PC Xtremist is a hardware accessories on-line store operating out of Pakistan. They are local distributors for many well known brand names including Arctic cooling, Xigmatek, Lamptron and Antec to name a few. If you are looking to jazz up your PC with CCFLs, LED lights, fan controllers, fans etc be sure to look em up pcxtremists.
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