ARCTIC Freezer i30 CPU Cooler Review

[siopao1984]

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A few weeks ago we tested and reviewed one of the most basic CPU coolers ARCTIC offers at this point of time, the Alpine 11 PLUS, which proved capable of satisfying basic user needs. Today however we are going to have a look at the nemesis of the Alpine 11 PLUS; the large tower CPU cooler we have for review today listens to the name Freezer i30 and is the largest and most expensive Intel CPU cooler ARCTIC currently produces.Manufacturer features and specifications

Max. Cooling Capacity	320 Watts
Heatpipe	Direct-Touch Ø 8 mm x 4 (double-sided)
Heatsink Material	Aluminum fins x 48, thickness: 0.5 mm
Fan (mm)	ARCTIC F12 PWM: 120 mm, 400 – 1,350 RPM (PWM controlled)
Airflow	74 CFM / 125.7 m³/h
Bearing	Fluid Dynamic Bearing
Noise Level	0.3 Sone (@1,350 RPM)
Current, Voltage	0.22A / 3.5 - 12V
Dimensions (Product)	100 (L) x 139 (W) x 161 (H) mm
Net Weight	0.9 kg
Limited Warranty	6 years
Dimensions (Packaging)	123 (L) x 161 (W) x 187 (H) mm
itemnumber	UCACO-FI30001-GB
UPC	0872767005051
Gross Weight	1.4 kg

Read more: ARCTIC Freezer i30 CPU Cooler Review by VR-Zone.com

[siopao1984]

ARCTIC supplies the i30 in a large, bright cardboard box. The all-white theme matches the “snowy” profile of the company and, although the artwork is minimal and essentially reduced to a picture of the cooler itself, the packaging is rather eye-catching.



Inside the cardboard box, the large i30 cooler is held in place and protected by a plastic frame enveloping the top and bottom parts of the cooler.



Even though this is their best Intel CPU cooler, ARCTIC supplies the Freezer i30 cooler with the bare essentials required to install and use it. Besides the very basic installation manual, users will also receive the mounting hardware necessary for the installation of the cooler and a syringe of MX-4 thermal compound.

[siopao1984]

The ARCTIC Freezer i30 is very much alike the Freezer 13 cooler which we reviewed some time ago; only significantly larger. The i30 is now 161mm tall, 31mm more than the Freezer 13 was and this excludes the installation of this cooler in HTPC systems or even in cheap, narrow desktop cases. The cooler comes with the 120mm pre-installed on the cooling body which, as we will discover later, needs to be removed during the installation of the cooler.



The aluminum fins of the Freezer i30 cooler are very large, thus offering ample heat dissipation surface. ARCTIC also bent the sides of the fins, creating a wind tunnel of shorts, prohibiting the airflow from escaping towards the sides of the cooler. This also improves the mechanical strength of the fins, which are now very difficult to be bent; however, we found minor imperfections regarding the tightness of the fin’s fit on the heatpipes, a few of which appear to be a little loose and are creating gaps, as seen in the above picture.



Four large copper heatpipes run though the base of the Freezer i30 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 Freezer i30 is a direct-touch type of cooler, meaning that the heatpipes have been machined in order to come into direct contact with the CPU core and the aluminum parts of the base serve as nothing more than the necessary structure for the mechanical cohesion of the cooler. The four heatpipes are very well machined and packed together tightly, essentially minimizing the gap between them. ARCTIC holds a patent on the design of “gap-less” direct touch heatpipe coolers, therefore the aforementioned formation can only be found on their coolers at this point of time.



Unlike the Freezer 13, the fan of the Freezer i30 is a standard interchangeable 120mm cooling fan. The white bladed fan supplied by ARCTIC is a high quality fluid bearing 1350RPM fan with PWM control. Switching to another fan would be pointless, as a faster fan would increase noise dramatically without improving thermal performance by a significant amount; unless of course if there is another motivator than performance, such as LED lighting.

[siopao1984]

The difficulty of the installation of the ARCTIC Freezer i30 cooler is on par with the majority of the tower coolers currently available. It is not a very easy but not a troublesome process either. The Intel 775/1155/1156/1366 socket installation is demonstrated in this review. In order to begin with the installation of the cooler, the user needs to place the backplate at the rear part of the motherboard. This can be performed with the motherboard still installed inside a case, provided that the motherboard tray is cut open behind the CPU.



Once the backplate is in place, the user needs to install the metallic retention brackets using the provided screws and plastic spacers. This part of the installation will require a bit of finesse, especially if the motherboard is still inside a case.



When the metallic retention brackets are installed in place and a thin layer of thermal grease has been placed on the CPU core, the cooler needs to be firmly tightened onto the CPU by using the provided screws. The fan will have to be removed prior to this step. A very long Philips screwdriver, or at least one with a very narrow handle, is essential for this step.



While the Freezer i30 appears enormous when installed on the CPU core, it is not larger than most typical high performance tower coolers. It is very tall and of significant mass; however, it will not go anywhere near the RAM module slots and will not obstruct the installation of any components.

[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 overall performance of the ARCTIC Freezer i30 is astounding, considering the class and capabilities of the cooler. While the thermal performance alone is not the greatest we have ever seen, the cooler manages to achieve it with its fan rotating at “only” 1400RPM, thus generating considerably less noise than other solutions. Furthermore, the 1400RPM fan of the Freezer i30 generates less noise than slower fans on other solutions, probably due to its fluid bearing and the anti-vibration rubber mounts.

[siopao1984]

Quality (30% of the total score)

The quality standards of ARCTIC have always been high and the Freezer i30 bears no exception to that rule. The large tower cooler is generally well designed and manufactured, while it is complemented by a very good cooling fan as well. The mounting mechanism is very firm but we feel that it could be improved, at least to offer the ability to remove the CPU without disassembling the entire retention mechanism. However, even though the Freezer i30 currently is the best Intel CPU cooler the company offers, it is not immaculate. Although our complaints might seem focused on insignificant points, such as the lack of plating on the copper heatpipes and minor imperfections regarding the contact of the fins to the heatpipes, yet they are enough for us not to be able to call the quality of the Freezer i30 “flawless”.

Quality Score 8.5/10





Performance (40% of the total score)

Considering the class and retail price of the Freezer i30, the overall performance of the cooler is exceptional. The Freezer i30 did not provide either the best thermal performance or the lowest operating noise we have ever seen, yet it manages to combine both with extraordinary efficiency. The result is a low-noise cooler with exceptional thermal capabilities offered at a very competitive price. Enthusiasts will be hard pressed to find many other products balancing all aspects of performance as well as the Freezer i30 does.

Performance Score 9.5/10





Aesthetics (20% of the total score)

Aesthetically, the Freezer i30 is “just another” large tower cooler. Although the design is not dull, with engravings decorating the top aluminum fin, a sleeved power cable and a futuristic fin design, the major attraction of the cooler is just the white bladed fan and its glossy black frame. There is nothing wrong regarding the design of the Freezer i30 but nothing spectacular either. Aesthetically, we would simply rate the Freezer i30 as slightly above average.

Aesthetics Score 7.0/10





Value (10% of the total score)

Value is certainly the strongest selling point of the Freezer i30. The cooler is currently available for less than 50 USD (65 SGD) at the time of this review, a rather good price for the overall performance and features of this cooler. The price in Europe is far more competitive, with the Freezer i30 retailing for less than 25€ (40 SGD) in some stores, making it an insanely good bargain for anyone who would like a high performance, low noise CPU cooler. The fact that ARCTIC backs up their product with a 6 year long warranty enhances the long term value of their product even further. Especially for consumers capable of finding this cooler at or near the price it currently retails for in Europe, we sincerely believe that they will have a hard time finding anything better anywhere near this price range.

Value Score 10/10

[solaire]

Nindota sa design ani, I need to change my CPU cooler dako ra kaayo, matabunan ang GPU slot. So, I switched the position para masigo lng.

[harhar]

Naay baligya ani diri sa cebu?

[Conrad]

Hmm mura nindot lagi sad ni ug performance, naa bani baligya diri? Cge ko huwat sad sa coolermaster v8gts wala pman jud naabot sa pinas.

[GruMpY]

nndot ug porma ni dah, cge ko pangita ug be quite! dark rock 2 or dark rock pro 2 dri sa pinas murag wala mn jd available na be quite products cguro?