Refine search for Peripherals

  Leave a comment      Email this to a friend TrustedReviews Newsletters

Although the main features of the cooler remain the same as those of the Freezer 7 Pro there are some differences between the two. The Freezer 64 Pro still utilises three heatpipes and the aluminium fins remain pretty much the same. So does the fan, as the Freezer 64 Pro is using the same type of 92mm fan as the Freezer 7 Pro.

Arctic Cooling has followed the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” methodology here. The only real change is the fastening mechanism, which to be honest isn’t as easy to use as the one on the Freezer 7 Pro. I have to give Arctic Cooling credit for actually using the cooler fastening bracket rather than using one of the annoying solutions that most larger AMD coolers use.

However, the problem with the design that the Freezer 64 Pro has is the fact that if you have a motherboard with large heatsinks or heatpipes around the CPU socket it will be quite hard to fit. This is due to the latching mechanism being very tight. On top of this Artic Cooling has fitted a small plastic square on the base of the cooler, which has two plastic tips into which two holes in the latch need to fit. The reason for this is to even out the pressure and to make sure that the cooler is centred properly, but it does make it harder than it should be to fit the cooler.

Once you’ve hooked the ends of the latch around the heatsink retention bracket you have to flick a leaver over to lock it in place. For most people this would be a one off installation and something that shouldn’t cause too much of a problem. It sure beats having to remove the heatsink retention bracket in favour for some custom back plate and a bunch of screws.

The cooling performance of the Freezer 64 Pro is good, but it’s not the best at idle. However, this is of less importance than how efficient a cooler is during full load. At idle the Freezer 64 Pro kept the CPU at 37 degrees Celsius which increased to 44 degrees at full load. This is very impressive and considering that the Freezer 64 Pro costs £17.04 you can’t really go wrong.

Verdict

The Freezer 64 Pro isn’t as easy to fit as its Pentium 4 sibling, but it performs brilliantly and doesn’t cost a fortune.

Add your comment