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The Arctic Freezer i30 is a well designed product which has been created from the ground up to deliver excellent cooling proficiency in an overclocked environment. We didn't take it easy on the cooler today either, pairing it up with the hot running Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition flagship processor, running on an Asus Rampage IV Extreme motherboard.
At reference clocks, the cooler coped admirably with the 3960X, and when pushed to 4.6ghz with increased voltage, it maintained temperatures around 78c under load. This is very impressive, especially when considering it was closely matched to the excellent Corsair H70 liquid cooler, at around half the asking price.
When Arctic get this product into the channel, they aim to sell it for £32 inc vat in the UK, and around $50 in the US. At these prices we have no hesitation recommending the product to our readers, especially when considering the excellent build quality.
The installation procedure on both Socket 1155/1156 and Socket 2011 is very similar and didn't cause us any noticeable problems. The only slightly fiddly part would be getting the adhesive tape attached to the plastic spacers. Arctic have included this during the install phase to ensure that the plastic spacers don't move slightly as you bolt the mounting clips into the holes, but they could only be used once before losing their stickiness. Socket 2011 is actually a slightly easier install as we don't need the backplate, or the adhesive tape, opting for metal spacers during the install phase instead.
Arctic are world renowned for releasing some high value for money cooling solutions, and the i30 is a success in this regard. The engineering quality is without reproach and as good as we have seen in this price bracket. For £32 it should certainly be one of your first choices for a new system build.
Pros:
- 120mm fan is a good default option
- fan can be replaced without a problem.
- good performance in overclocked situations.
- engineering quality is great.
- cost effective solution on a budget.
Cons:
- Only a single fan can be used unless you get creative.
- fan can get a little noisy when pushed hard.
- we don't like the plastic spacers with adhesive tape section of the install.
Kitguru says: Another winner for Arctic.
32 quid is a good deal, most of those are 45 quid in UK, at this performance level. shame about the single fan, I think adding another would help it a lot.
I like the fact you can easily replace the fan but aren’t pissing around with those friggin metal clips anymore.
No thanks! Not buying anything from a company making money by sueing AMD!