ARCTIC Freezer 13 CPU Cooler Review

[siopao1984]

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Ever since 2001 ARCTIC (formerly known as Arctic Cooling) has been one of the favorite brands among (mostly European) enthusiasts when shopping for high grade cooling products. This is our first review of an ARCTIC CPU cooler in VR-Zone and it is not an article about a monstrous high performance cooler; instead, we are going to have a look at one of the most successful middle-range performance coolers ever made, the Freezer 13.Manufacturer features and specifications

Max. Cooling Capacity	200 Watts
Heatpipe	Ø 6 mm x 4
Heatsink Material	Aluminium fins x 45, thickness 0.5 mm
Fan (mm)	92
Bearing	Fluid Dynamic Bearing
Noise Level	0.4 Sone
Current, Voltage	0.18A, 12V
Dimensions (Product)	123 (L) x 96 (W) x 130 (H) mm
Dimensions (Packaging)	126 (L) x 103 (W) x 140 (H) mm
Limited Warranty	6 years
Rated Fan Speed	600 - 2,000 RPM, (PWM)
Product Net Weight	0.695 kg
itemnumber	UCACO-FZ130-BL
UPC	0872767003781
Gross Weight	0.8 kg

Read more: ARCTIC Freezer 13 CPU Cooler Review by VR-Zone.com

[siopao1984]

Now that is something we do not see every day. ARCTIC supplies the Freezer 13 inside clear plastic blister packaging, which tightly envelops the cooler. It will certainly draw the attention of show browsers more easily, yet we feel it may not be as secure as a cardboard box for transportation.



ARCTIC supplies the Freezer 13 cooler with the bare essentials. Besides the very basic installation manual, users will only receive the mounting hardware necessary for the installation of the cooler.

[siopao1984]

Considering this is a tower cooler, the Freezer 13 is actually very compact and should fit inside every ATX compliant case with ease. Being 130mm high, it should also fit inside the majority of desktop HTPC cases, with the exception of very slim designs. A 92mm white bladed fan is pre-installed on the cooling body; bad news is that the fan’s frame proprietary, engulfing the cooling fins and securing the fan onto the cooler, meaning that you cannot choose to install another fan or replace this one in case of failure.



The aluminum fins are large and wide, offering ample heat dissipation surface. They are also very thin and slightly flimsy but their overall quality is higher than standard. ARCTIC bended the edges of 80% of the fins, creating a wind tunnel of shorts, prohibiting the airflow from escaping towards the sides of the cooler.



Four 6mm copper heatpipes run though the base of the Freezer 13 and expand to both sides of the cooler. ARCTIC did not nickel plate the copper heatpipes or the base of the cooler but the copper has obviously been treated with a corrosion resistive layer.



The company supplies the Freezer 13 with their MX4 thermal paste pre-applied, which is one of the best thermal paste products the company currently produces. Because of that, we had to take the picture of the cooler’s base after we were done with our testing. Beneath the layer of the MX4 thermal compound we found a smooth copper base. Because the base comes covered with thermal grease, the company obviously did not bother machining the base of the cooler down to a mirror finish since the performance gains on a cooler of this range would be miniscule.

[siopao1984]

The installation of the Freezer 13 is nothing short of child’s play. The AMD socket (AM2/AM3/FM1) installation is demonstrated in this review. In order to prepare the cooler for installation, the user only has to pull off the cooler’s fan and attach the three-pronged clips at both sides of the cooler’s base by using the supplied screws. Do not tighten the clips before placing the cooler on the CPU.



Since the cooler comes with the thermal grease pre-applied, the user will then only have to place the cooler on the CPU core and tighten both clips until they both tightly grip the motherboard’s stock retention bracket. Throw the fan back on and the installation is complete. The dimensions of the cooler make it highly unlikely to block any of the RAM slots no matter how close to the CPU socket they might be, allowing the user to install RAM modules with heatsinks of any height.

[siopao1984]

In order to provide you with the most professional and accurate reviews, we are using the following equipment to test the performance of coolers. The system automatically calculates the Delta T temperature, which is the difference between the ambient temperature and the temperature at the top of the thermal core. We test each cooler with the included thermal grease.

Custom copper thermal core with automatic power controls
Watlow heat generation rods
PT100 temperature sensors
Lutron DW-6091 Power Analyzer
SL-5868P digital sound level meter
CompuLAB interface
MyPClab thermal interface
Custom calibration box
Custom software
More information about our testing equipment and methodology can be found in this article.



The thermal performance of the Freezer 13 CPU cooler was surprisingly good, keeping its class and size in mind. It looks like a first class update over a stock cooler, capable of much better thermal performance at much lower noise levels. Speaking of noise, the Freezer 13 is also remarkably quiet considering we kept the 92mm fan running at maximum speed. At 38.2dB(A) the 92mm fan obviously was audible, yet the figure was much lower than what we expected. Of course the fan of the Freezer 13 is PWM controlled; therefore the motherboard is capable of controlling the fan’s speed inside a real-world system.

[siopao1984]

Quality (30% of the total score)

Quality wise, ARCTIC has always kept the standards high and the Freezer 13 is no exception. Considering it is a low-cost product, designed primarily for users requiring better performance over the noisy stock coolers, the quality of the Freezer 13 cooler is excellent. Mechanically, the body of the cooler is very sturdy and well made, without any significant imperfections. The only thing which troubled us is the use of a proprietary fan, prohibiting users from installing their own fans for any given reason.

Quality Score 8.5/10



Performance (40% of the total score)

The thermal performance of the ARCTIC Freezer 13 is certainly not breathtaking; however we know that the cooler will easily please the user group it is targeted at. ARCTIC did not design this product to take on monstrous dual tower coolers or ready-to-run watercooling solutions but to offer a good alternative to value-conscious enthusiasts who require something significantly better than the basic and loud stock cooler. Keeping in mind that the Freezer 13 can vastly enhance the thermal performance of a system at much lower noise levels, we feel that ARCTIC certainly succeeded at that.

Performance Score 8.5/10



Aesthetics (20% of the total score)

While aesthetics is not usually of primary concern when manufacturers design value-range products, ARCTIC did a remarkable job at making the Freezer 13 standing out of the crowd without an overcomplicated design. The combination of the sharp fins shape and the contrasting black frame/white blades cooling fan create an aggressive appearance which will certainly give the Freezer 13 a distinct advantage over similarly priced products.

Aesthetics Score 9.5/10



Value (10% of the total score)

As we mentioned several times now, ARCTIC designed the Freezer 13 to be a satisfactory product for value-conscious enthusiasts. True enough, the very low retail price of the Freezer 13 is by far the strongest feature of this cooler. The Freezer 13 can be found retailing for as low as 18€ (23.5 USD/29.5 SGD) at the time of this review in Europe, a price which is nothing short of a steal considering the performance, features and quality of the product. Unfortunately, the retail prices beyond the Atlantic are higher, with the Freezer 13 retailing for about 35 USD, which is reasonable but is placing the cooler against considerably tougher competition.

Value Score 9.5/10

[harhar]

Paytir oi cute/gamay pero strong...

[ryan101@yahoo.com]

nindot ana oi barato pa jud

[AndyRazer]

wa lang ni baligya diri pinas. la nako kita reseller ug arctic products diri.

[Fafnir]

Duol2x ra iyang performance sa deepcool 400xt or CM TX3 evo.