Arctic Cooling Duo: Alpine 7 & Freezer 7 Pro Attack Value
by Wesley Fink on January 29, 2008 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Freezer 7 Pro
The tested Freezer 7 Pro is an Intel Socket 775 mount. The cooler is also available for current AMD sockets as the Freezer 64 Pro.
Packaging for the Freezer 7 Pro follows the family image of the Arctic 7 with a similar black background and the AC7 logo.
The fully assembled Freezer 7 Pro comes packaged in a protective styrene shell. Everything is pre-assembled. Even the thermal compound is pre-applied.
The only accessory for the Freezer 7 Pro is the Installation Instructions and an Arctic Cooling label to stick somewhere if you want to use it. There is absolutely nothing that needs to be attached to the cooler. If you like simple this is as good as it gets for a heatpipe tower.
Specifications
The Freezer 7 Pro is a side-facing fan heatpipe tower, similar in concept to many of the top coolers tested recently at AnandTech. It originally entered the market at around $35, but the price has dropped since to the $22 to $25 range, making it very affordable for this type of cooler. The Freezer 7 Pro is still small compared to coolers like our top Thermalrights, or the Scythe Infinity or Tuniq Tower. All those top coolers use 120mm fans, where the Freezer 7 Pro uses a 92mm fan.
Freezer 7 Pro | |
Heatsink Dimensions | 104(W) x 58(D) x 126.5mm(H) |
Dimensions with Fan | 107(W) x 96.5(D) x 126.5mm(H) |
Weight | 520g (18.3 ounces) |
Material | Aluminum Fins with Copper Heatpipes |
Cooling Capacity | 130W |
Configuration | Heatpipe Tower with 3 U-Loop Heatpipes |
Freezer Fan | |
Fan Size | 92 mm |
Fan Module Dimensions | 107mm x 43.5mm x 96mm |
Fan Speed | 300-2500 rpm (controlled by pwm signal) |
Connector | 4-pin (PWM) |
Fan Bearing | Arctic Ceramic Bearing |
Rated Life | 137,000 hours (MTTF@40C); 274,000 hours (MTTF@30) |
Maximum Airflow | 46 CFM |
The Freezer 7 Pro fan itself is 92mm and frameless like the Alpine 7, but it is rated for higher output. Strangely, the higher output Freezer 7 Pro fan uses a lower life ceramic bearing instead of the long life Fluid Dynamic Bearing featured in the cheaper Alpine 7.
Installation
Even the thermal compound comes pre-applied so mounting is incredibly easy. Push the four pins in the holes until they click and the cooler is mounted. The pushpins are not our favorites for secure mounting, but they seem very adequate for this lighter weight heatpipe tower. Installation is the easiest we have ever seen, which should be welcome news for mechanically challenged cooler installers.
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spidey81 - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
I was looking into the Freezer 64 Pro for an AM2/AM2+ build and was wondering if anyone knew if the performance for the AMD version performed similarly. I noticed the specs seem to be slightly different as the 64 Pro fan maxes out at only 2200 rpm pushing 40 cfm where the 7 Pro maxes out at 2500 rpm pushing 45 cfm. They appear to be of the same design varied only by the mounting hardware. Any input would be greatly appreciated.Martimus - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
I have a Freezer 64 Pro. It dropped the temps on my CPU by 10C instantly from a Zalman 7000. It now runs 20C cooler after the Thermal compound cured. It is definitely a nice heatsink, although it is difficult to attach unless you remove the MB from the case.mixim - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
The design is exactly the same, only the fan circuits differ to reduce the max fan rpm, this because AMD has put out low-watt CPU's for a couple of years now , when the Intel version should still be able to cope with Pentium 5/D's and so on...The lower maximum RPM will help with the fans longevity, but actually in my C2D system it has never went up to full speed anyway...
dlock13 - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
I cannot find the Freezer 7 anywhere under $25. I can't find it anywhere under $30. I checked Newegg and their price is $32.I am really in need of a new heatsink, and this is just perfect.
Spanki - Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - link
It's $24.99 here: http://www.svc.com/acfzp7.html">http://www.svc.com/acfzp7.htmlor.. you can save some bucks and get the Cooler Master Hyper Tx 2 (same or better performance than the Freezer Pro 7 - slightly larger, quieter, slower spinning fan) for $9.99 at the same place: http://www.svc.com/rr-pch-s9u1-gp.html">http://www.svc.com/rr-pch-s9u1-gp.html
BladeVenom - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
Newegg has it on sale for $21.99 quite often. It can also usually be found for $21.86 on sale at eWiz.75below0 - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
I understand there's a new test bed and temp utility, but +7C for the Ultima 90 w/SFLex under load compared to last review seems inordinately steep...Anyone have any comparisons of CoreTemp vs. NVIDIA Monitor and/or Intel TAT (Thermal Analysis Tool) ?
whatthehey - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
The motherboard and BIOS change among other things so the fan speeds may not ramp up as soon but when they ramp up they might do so to a larger amount. Look at the Intel stock cooler which drops from 56C to 50C with the new testbed. They covered a lot of the changes here:http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.a...">http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.a...
If you look at the results you'll see that TAT and CoreTemp both register higher than the old EVGA board by several C. Meanwhile the Ultra 120 X goes from 36C to 42C idle and 47C to 59C load. Obviously there are lots of variables. I'm not sure what margin of error is with CoreTemp and such either but it may be several C.
The important thing IMO is to look at noise levels and max OC along with temps. Nothing exists in a vaccuum so don't focus on one metric.
phaxmohdem - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
I just ordered the Freezer 7 yesterday night... before this article came out. I feel WAY better now about my decision... though it is going onto a Pentium-D which may insult it :PRamarC - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
freezer 7 pros are great for pentium Ds. i've got a 3.4ghz pd945 that it keeps in the mid 50s. warm? yes, but quiet since the mobo only asks the freezer to spin at 500rpm.i can't believe it took anandtech this long to review the freezer pro 7 considering mine is pushing 2 years old now.