Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro

Introduction

Right now were have seen some of the new arrivals at CES 2006 but one that has already entered the market before the show was the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro. AC has been producing some of the latest reference coolers for video cards, mainly for ASUS. But AC doesn’t just do video card coolers; they make fans, and thermal conductive pastes. We have already seen one of the coolers from AC, it was both silent and deadly, it’s currently in use in my VCR mod and it packs a punch. But today we have with us a master piece from the ever going AC Freezer Range.

Packaging

AC normally just packages it in a box and ships it, and guess what. They did the same here, not that that’s ultra bad or anything, but it would be sort of nice to see the box having a little bit more protection then just some plastic.

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

Amazingly AC has built all the heat pipes in as well as the 50 fins, and kept it below 600g, at an astonishing 528grams!

Compatibility

This cooler is a AMD 64 cooler, built for the K8 retention module. It easily fits onto the DFI Lanparty NF4 series motherboard. Check the Arctic Cooling website for more compatibility details.

What’s In The Box

• The Freezer 64 Pro
• AC Sticker for your case
• Manual
• Pre-Applied AC MX-1 Thermal Paste
• Everything Required to mount the cooler to a K8 Retention Module

The Freezer 64 Pro

It all starts with the build, AC has started with a copper base to improve the Heat transmission and copper heat pipes to dissipate the heat over all 50 fins. The Freezer also has its own fan which blows onto the fins instead of sucking down to the fins, Which increases flow. Here is a few shots of the cooler.


What impressed me was the rubber silencers which hold the fan, they also dampen the sound which can be useful for all those silence people. It helps the cooler sound like a dead fly.


Here is a sound recording of the fan at full speed. The microphone was about 5cm away from the fan.

Sound Recording

Installation

Installing this is easier then installing any other cooler I have had or reviewed. You simply place it on the CPU and lock the clip on the retention module, thanks to AC for pre-applying the thermal paste.

Test Setup

• AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (Winchester Core)
• DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra-D
• OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Dual Channel Gold VX ( 2-3-3-8 )
• Gigabyte x600 pro 128MB
• Sunbeam Nuuo 550 Watt Power Supply
• Sunbeam Theta Fan Controller
• 80GB Seagate SATA HDD
• Cooler Master Praetorian 731
• Microsoft Windows XP Pro

Testing

To test this cooler I will be running it on the above test setup, with the fan at full speed.

• Ambient Temperature at 17°C
• Setup was out of case
• CPU Core was rated at 67 Watts (According to www.amdboard.com)
• SiSoftware Sandra was used to load the CPU
• The tests were done, 40 minutes Load, 40 minutes Idle
• All Fans at highest Speed.

Results



To work out how effective this cooler will be with your CPU, get the wattage rating for your CPU (for AMD's www.amdboard.com) the “wattage * °C/W = CPU temp - Ambient Temp”
* User many experience Differences between °C/W and real life *

Conclusion

This is one mad-tastic cooler. Its one of the best cooler I have yet seen. But its not just the cooling performance that stands out its it usability, their was only one other CPU cooler I have ever owned that was similar to this, and that was the Evercool Sharks; but the Sharks lacked high performance cooling and had a little fan. This cooler is definitely one of the best. Weighing it at 528grams its so usable I took it to a LAN before to get it working up to speed (get the thermal paste to harden properly). If your in the look and need of a kick ass cooler that you can use for a everyday computer or a LAN/Gamers machine, or even for a Air cooled over clocked beast. This cooler has it covered and it will only set you back $34 USD. Don’t bother at looking for another cooler, I already have, and I can tell you this is the best one you can get for its price and quality. Not to mention it has a 6 year warranty.

Pros (+):

• Light Weight at 528grams
• Easy to mount (Holds onto the K8 Retention Module)
• Dampers on the fan to reduce sound and or rattling from the fan
• Cable Sleeved Wires
• Massive Blowing Fan

Cons (-):

• Little Bit tall (just touch’s my cases side panel)
• No Speed Control (I don’t want one, but it would be nice to have one)