Arctic Freezer 34 eSports DUO – CPU Air Cooler Review

1. Introduction2. Unboxing and First Look3. installation Process4. Testing Methodology5. Performance and Comparisons6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

Arctic seems to have pulled out all the stops with the Freezer 34 eSports DUO and created possibly one of the best performing budget CPU air coolers on sale right now. In a market with such fierce competition, you have to take your hat off to them for this.

First impressions of the Freezer 34 are very positive. A great balance of sleek minimalist looks, compact design and black and white theme should allow it to fit in with almost any system build. If you want to add a splash of colour, there are a further three configurations the fans can be supplied in.

Arctic has tweaked the installation process over the previous generation. Sometimes this can be detrimental, but not this time. An already easy installation with the Freezer 33 has become even more simple with the small changes, that have been implemented for the Freezer 34.

What is even more pleasing is the thermal performance – for under £30 you will struggle to find anything better. It is quite remarkable that such a low cost solution can perform as well as it did – not only out performing it's close rivals such as the Cooler Master Hyper 212, but also showing a clean pair of heels to some higher priced All-In-One liquid coolers.

The two BioniX P-series fans included with the cooler are obviously a contributing factor to the great cooling performance of the Freezer 34 eSports DUO. Under full load, noise levels were noticeable but not overly distracting. At idle, when the fans are in there low speed operating mode, they are inaudible on our test bench. In a typical case installation, noise levels should be even better.

Anyone looking for a solid performing budget CPU air cooler should look no further. We often find the term “bang for buck” over used but we think the Freezer 34 eSports DUO is the definition of this.

It is really difficult to find fault with the Freezer 34 eSports DUO – the only minor gripe we had was the slight thinning of the black coating on the heat pipes at the base plate. There were small amounts of the bare copper visible, which can be seen at one or two angles. Although once installed in the system, they were barely noticeable.

Overall, the Arctic freezer 34 eSports Duo would be a great buy for anyone looking to build a budget system. Yes we agree it would suit eSports and even systems with a moderate overclock. Obviously, it is not the best performing CPU cooler we have tested, but for its sub £30 price tag it offers excellent performance and value.

The Arctic freezer 34 eSports DUO is available for £29.95 from Overclockers UK Here

Pros:

• Excellent thermal dissipation performance.
• Clean and smart looking compact design.
• Compatible with both AMD and Intel platforms.
• Low price.

Cons:

• Slightly uneven black coating in places.
• Fans could be slightly distracting at full speed.

KitGuru says: Right now the Freezer 34 eSports Duo offers the best price to performance ratio of all budget air coolers. Definitely a new class leader for a budget gaming build.

 

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