Impact
Site Admin Joined: 01 May 2004 Posts: 3258 Location: Pinecrest, FL	Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 11:32 pm    Post subject: Arctic Cooling Frezer 64 Pro   Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro AMD 64 CPU Cooler MSRP: $34 USD Introduction: With so many different coolers on the market, it is important to perform thorough research and weigh the options before deciding which one to install on your expensive CPU. All retail boxed AMD 64 CPUs are packaged with an AMD certified "stock" cooler, but these bundled coolers are loud and offer minimal performance. Arctic Cooling has undertaken the challenge of combining superior performance and reduced noise while keeping the price lower than water cooling counterparts. The Freezer 64 Pro does just that. At a modest $34 USD MSRP, it offers increased cooling performance (more than 10oC cooler than stock) while decreasing the obnoxious sound of whirring fans coming from the computer. Official Product Specifications: Heat Sink: 104 x 58 x 126.5 mm Fan: 107 x 43.5 x 96 mm Overall Dimensions: 107 x 96.5 x 126.5 mm Rated Fan Speed: 2200 RPM Power Consumption: 0.16 Amp. Air Flow: 40 CFM / 68 m3/h Weight: 528 g Noise Level: 0.8 Sone Thermal Resistance: 0.18°C/Watt Thermal Interface Material: Pre-applied MX-1 Paste Warranty: 6 Years Comments on the Product Specifications: Noise Level According to Arctic Cooling, "The noise level is measured in Sone (loudness) instead of dB (sound intensity). The loudness depends upon ears response curves and tells you exactly, how bothering a certain noise is." Absolute Insight does not have an instrument to measure Sone, but the Freezer 64 is incredibly quiet. Howver, the Freezer 64 Pro does have a lower sound intensity. According to tests, the dB rating for the Freezer 64 Pro is significantly lower (~8dB) than the stock cooler. Thermal Compound The Freezer 64 Pro ships with the ARCTIC MX-1 thermal compound pre-applied. Arctic Cooling claims that the compound hardens during the first 20 hours while the performance improves steadily. However, don't worry because the performance is more than good enough to cool the CPU reliably from the moment the new cooler is installed. Absolute Insight's tests revealed that even before the hardening process, CPU temperatures were consistently well below stock cooling. We didn't see much change after the 20 hour burn in period, but instead held temperatures consistently well below the stock counterpart. Size: We'll make no effort to sugarcoat the truth here. The Freezer 64 Pro is gigantic. It is easily 2-3x the size of the stock cooler. Although the size was not a problem in our tests, when you open the box, you will most likely question how it will fit. How the Freezer 64 Pro Works: The Freezer 64 Pro operates using 6 heat pipes (three used double sided) are that able to transfer up to 200 Watts of heat energy. A large 92mm fan blows cooler air over the heat exchanger which transfers the heat from the exchanger to the ambient air. The Freezer 64 Pro's heat exchanger consists of 42 fins which creates over 4,700 square centimeters of surface area. The heat pipes and large surface area of the heat exchanger allows the cooler to maximize heat transfer. Since the fan is larger than most of the competition, it is can be spun slower speeds and thus it's much quieter than other air coolers. Installation: Due to the design of the Socket 754, most coolers are quite easy to install, and the Freezer 64 Pro is no exception. No more time spent with a screwdriver pushing far too much pressure towards an awaiting motherboard (remember the good old days of Socket A?). Just like most other Socket 754 coolers (stock included), the installation process was quite painless. Set the cooler on the chip, line up a set of clips, and push the locking lever down. The Freezer 64 Pro comes with pre-applied thermal compound, so you won't need to take the time to spread any thermal paste. Aesthetics: While Arctic Cooling makes great coolers (all of the coolers we have tested thus far have exceeded expectations), the Freezer 64 Pro could use a bit of polishing. On the top of the cooler, the 6 heat pipes are sealed off. However, they look like they were just crunched on by a giant machine. Although once in your case, you will hardly ever have to look at the cooler, unless you have a window and frequently peer inside. It would be far more appealing to the eye to have some sort of small plastic caps on the pipes to make them look cleaner-cut. Other than the pipes on the top, the cooler looks amazing. The heatsink fins are quite nice, and the design is an eye-catcher for sure! Performance: Idle was tested by simulating normal use conditions (light use). Firefox was used to browse, gaim for instant messaging, xmms for MP3 playback, and gkrellm to monitor system stats - nothing strenuous. For stress testing (trying to get the temperature up), we performed a few different tests. First, we checked the temperatures over an hour of playing World of Warcraft (run through a Windows emulator). This showed a 90-100% CPU usage while playing. We then tested by compiling a large program and testing the temperatures while doing so. We used gcc to compile KDE 3.4.3 (large enough of a program to give us heavy CPU usage over a long period of time, 99-100% CPU Usage). We put it through a tough day. Test Bed: CPU: AMD64 3200+ Motherboard: Asus K8V SE Deluxe Ram: 768mb PC3200 (3x256 Kingston) Hard Drives: 4x80gb Western Digital Graphics: Geforce 6200 PSU: Ultra X-Finity 600w Stock Ambient Temp: 33c Idle: 7.5-8c Above Ambient (40.5c-41.0c) 5 min WoW (90-100% CPU): 18.5-19c Above Ambient (51.5-52c) 15 min WoW (90-100% CPU): 20c Above Ambient (53c) 30 min WoW (90-100% CPU): 20.5c Above Ambient (53.5c) 60 min WoW (90-100% CPU): 20c Above Ambient (53c) Compiling KDE (20 minutes): 21c Above Ambient (54c) AC Freezer 64 Pro Ambient: 31c Idle: 2-2.5c Above Ambient (33.0-33.5c) 5 min WoW (90-100% CPU): 8c Above Ambient (39.0c) 15 min WoW (90-100% CPU): 10c Above Ambient (41.0c) 30 min WoW (90-100% CPU): 10c Above Ambient (41.0c) 60 min WoW (90-100% CPU): 11c Above Ambient (42.0c) Compiling KDE (20 minutes): 12.5c Above Ambient (43.5c) AC Freezer 64 Pro after 1 week burn-in Ambient: 35c Idle: 3c Above Ambient (38c) 5 min WoW (90-100% CPU): 8c Above Ambient (39.0c) 15 min WoW (90-100% CPU): 10c Above Ambient (41.0c) 30 min WoW (90-100% CPU): 10c Above Ambient (41.0c) 60 min WoW (90-100% CPU): 11c Above Ambient (42.0c) Compiling KDE (20 minutes): 12.5c Above Ambient (43.5c) Other Notes: What would a review be without a few criticisms? While the Freezer 64 Pro is an amazing cooler, there are a few things Absolute Insight would recommend to AC for their next edition (should they make one). If you scroll up a bit and look at the two shots of the Freezer 64 Pro installed in my case, you'll notice how much extra (empty) space there is between the cooler and the back of the case, and how little space is available on the front side of the cooler (facing the hard drives). After installing, I had to push around a few cables (ATX Power, IDE Cables) to get the optimal airflow. This could be avoided if Arctic Cooling turned the fan around (which would cause it "pulls" air through the cooler) so that it is connected to the other side of the heatsink. This suggestion however, may minimize its ability to keep things cool, but we feel it is something to take into consideration. Conclusion: Arctic Cooling's Freezer 64 Pro offers PC enthusiasts an alternative to stock cooling that offers excellent performance while keeping the sound output to a minimum. While the cooler is bulky, it provides cooling about 10oC better than the bundled stock air coolers. This extra overhead can be used for overclocking or to merely increase overall system stability. If you've got room in your case and are looking to quiet your system while maximizing cooling without paying $100+ for a water cooler, then look no further than the Freezer 64 Pro. After thoroughly examining, testing, and reviewing Arctic Cooling's Freezer 64 Pro cooler, the Absolute Insight staff would like to give it our "We'd Buy It! Ooooh yeah!" award.
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