Customer Reviews

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 - Processor cooler - ( Socket 775, Socket 939, Socket 1156, Socket AM2, Socket AM2+, Socket 1366, Socket AM3 ) - 92 mm

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Pros:
+ Amazing cooling ability
+ Inexpensive (as of the date of my review)
+ There is little to no fan noise
+ Removing the motherboard is not required to install
+ Includes mounting hardware for the supported Intel or AMD processors
+ 6 Year Warranty
+ One of the easiest heatsinks I've ever installed (which includes Intel, AMD, and some other after-market heatsinks)

Cons:
- May not fit in thin cases
- The instructions are poorly written/illustrated

Detailed review:

I did my research and decided to buy this to replace the stock heatsink/fan that came with my Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz processor.

It was relatively easy to install, much easier than the stock heatsink. I did not have to remove the motherboard, which was the main reason I bought this particular CPU cooler. The four little black nubs were a little painful on my fingers as I pushed them into my motherboard to install the mounting bracket. It is necessary to remove the fan to screw the heatsink into the mounting bracket (for Intel CPUs, not sure for AMD CPUs). The fan comes off and goes back on fairly easily. After using the two screws to mount the heatsink to the mounting bracket, I put the fan back on and connected the 4-pin power connector to the mobo.

I used the thermal compound that was already applied to the heatsink. Some people clean it off and apply Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound, but I don't think it's necessary and mostly a waste of time. I did need to clean the previous thermal compound from the top of the CPU by wiping it with some rubbing alcohol on pieces of cotton. I have the Antec 900 case which has a 200mm fan on top of it. I pointed the fan on this CPU cooler directly at that huge fan.

The cooling is fantastic. My CPU runs approximately an average of 20 degrees Celsius cooler than it ran with the stock heatsink. I also noticed it was much quieter than the stock CPU cooler. With my case, I can see the internal components and I noticed something unexpected (and a bit alarming at first). The fan on the heatsink wasn't even running! I had to double check, but found it is connected properly to the mobo. The heatsink does such a good job, the fan doesn't even need to run under idle conditions. When it does run, it is very quiet. It would be a great CPU cooler for overclocking the processor.

On another site, this CPU cooler has received over 3600 reviews. Of those, 74% are the equivalent 5 stars, 15% gave 4 stars. I definitely recommend it if you have a supported CPU!

This product gets high marks from me.

Installation:
- Took less than 15 minutes. It's as simple as this: remove the stock heat sink and fan, use appropriate mounting hardware for Intel or AMD products (both are included in package), seat the heat sink onto the processor, tighten TWO screws, attach the fan and plug it in, close the case and get back to work/games.
- Important thing: When you are seating the heat sink onto the processor there are two things to be sure of. First: wipe off any bonding residue from the processor that might have been there from the previous heat sink. Make sure it's absolutely clean. Second: when you seat the new heat sink the bonding material will immediately connect so be absolutely sure you are setting it onto the processor correctly so you don't have to move it around. You can do this by lining up the screw holes.
- Installation requires exactly ONE tool - a phillips screwdriver. There are only two screws to tighten (if you use the Intel set). The rest of the mounting hardware is done with the included snaps and you won't need anything more than your fingers to install it.

Performance:
- Here is the highlight. With the stock fan I was getting an average core temperature on an Intel Core i7-920 of around 52C. With this heat sink that temp immediately dropped to 39C-41C on average. That's 10 degrees cooler for 15 minutes of your time and not a lot of money. If you are planning to overclock or do high performance computing, those 10 degrees make a big difference.
- I have already been able to overclock the system, put it through hard performance testing with BOINC, and the temperature has never gone above 72C (with the stock heat sink this same test sent the temperature to 85C-91C).
- Quiet. Very, very quiet. Even when the fan kicks into high gear I can't hear it as compared to the stock fan which was noticeably loud when it got faster. This is important if you have an open style case, or if your case isn't on the floor under your desk. I have mine about 3 feet away from my ears and it was whisper soft.

What you get in the box: Heat sink, Fan, Intel attachments, AMD attachments, instruction guide.

Time to install: Approximately 15 minutes. No motherboard removal required.

Overall Rating: 5 stars.

I was looking to replace the Intel stock cooler on a new i7-860 build. The stock cooler had some whine especially as the CPU loading increased and the fan revved up.

This cooler was much quieter, in fact I really can't hear that it makes any noise unless you're running stress test like Prime95. Even then it's a low whooshing sound. While running this stress test with the stock cooler my core temps got to within 9C of their temp limit. With this fan I haven't seen them get any closer than 35C and are typically 42C in a cool room. That's a huge difference!

One more thing: The installation is really easy and does NOT require you to remove the motherboard which is a big plus. Other have complained about the plastic push pins to secure the mounting frame to the motherboard but I found that it's easy (use needle nose pliers) and secure.

When you factor in the low cost this cooler is hard to beat.

This is a great heatsink. When I got it and looked at the installation instructions I was amazed at how well thought out the design is. If Gateway hadn't mounted the original Intel socket 775 heatsink in a bad way this would have been a 15 minute job. Once installed, the heatsink moves an incredible amount of heat out of the case and the fan is really quiet. I'm glad I selected this model.

Note: This heatsink comes with thermal paste on the heat sink, so DON'T buy it.

It doesn't fit my amd bracket, it is not flexible enough for all
design. Waste of money. Had to use the stock fan.

Packaging

When it arrived, the topmost and bottommost fins of the heatsink were a little bent. Not in a way that would cripple performance but slightly noticeable. It left enough room for air to get through it and the neighboring fin.

Cooling

Currently cooling a Core i3 2100 at 26C idle and 37C under a 3 hour load. It is sitting inside an old VAIO desktop computer that was salvaged to build a new computer. It only contains an 80mm exhaust fan. The fact that it came with pre-applied thermal paste was a nice touch for me.

Noise

Primary reason for buying the product was that the included stock heatsink found inside the Core i3 was very loud and so this was a cheap fix in my opinion. The end result was more than I wished for and I am very happy with it. The cooling is so good that it never goes higher than its lowest rpm setting. In other words... EXTREMELY QUIET!!!!

BTW, I'm not overclocking at all (Not sure if its even possible on this model) but would still recommend people buy it for its quiet factor. Also, by far one of the easiest heatsinks to apply in the current market.

This cooler could be a 5 star all around winner except for the cheap (and VERY easy to break) mounting pins that it comes with. I am no novice to installing CPUs and fans (I teach computer repair), but I broke one off trying to get the cooler mounted for the first time. I was able to fashion a home-made replacement out of the plastic top to a ball point pen which did the job until I decided to upgrade my motherboard. Then I broke two more installing it on the new motherboard (yes, I used needlenose pliers), and had to revert to an AC 7 built for socket 775 temporarily (luckily the ASUS mobo had holes for the Socket 775 type).

I noticed that Artic sells replacement pins and the white sockets on their website... that takes the cake. Their support site states: "If your Intel Pushpins got worn through multiple installation or even broken, you can replace it by any other Intel pushpin, for example one of your stock-cooler." So they want you to cannibalize your stock Intel cooler to fix their problem. What if you didn't buy the boxed cooler/CPU? Buy more of their pins? No way.

Since these pins don't really 'lock' like Intel pins means that you better not try to ship a computer without bracing the fan inside first. It sure seems they could work themselves loose or break off in shipping.

This brought my idle temp on Intel C2D E8400 from 60C to 37C (I'm thinking the stock heatsink wasn't properly mounted.. by me). It was actually easier to install than the stock cooler but it's very big, and one of the screws is inconveniently close to the heatsink so I had to remove parts of my case to get it in. All in all it only took about 5 minutes though and it's working really well.

I recently purchased the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro (Rev2) and I have to say that it was actually a joy to install. Cooling is ultimate, not only in the price range, but in general. For years I have always stuck with Arctic, but this one if by far the most functional. Noise is considerably lower than stock. I installed this on a Core i7 950 and it rules. For those who are still indecisive about it, you will be taking no chance with this cooler. It will treat you good if not great.

I broke my other cpu fan when I was trying to swap motherboards in my computer. The reason why it broke is because I threw the stupid thing at the wall a few times after becoming so frustrated with trying to install it. Not very smart but it was so satisfying. Well, I got this cpu fan to replace it. I dreaded having to install it. I read the directions and it was wonderful. No issues whatsoever. Yay for easy installations!!!