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
Alpine 7 (with PWM)
The Alpine 7 family consists of entry-level CPU coolers with street prices of $12 to $15. All the coolers use the same 92mm fan with a heatsink that is the same heatsink with slight modifications for different mount systems. The only exception is the small Alpine 7 GT that uses a smaller heatsink and 80mm fan. The tested Alpine 7 (with PWM) is a universal mount version. The version most readers will be familiar with is the Alpine 7 Pro, which is the same cooler with notched corners for the Intel pushpin mount.
Packaging for all the Arctic Cooling models uses a black background and the AC7 logo.
Inside the box, you will find the fully assembled Alpine 7 (with PWM). The basic heatsink in this version is the Alpine 64 designed with clips for AMD mounting. This version includes a custom cage and bottom plate to allow secure mounting on a Socket 775 motherboard. This gives you the choice on Socket 775 of the Alpine 7 (with PWM) for through the motherboard mount and the Alpine 7 Pro for quick pushpin mounting.
Accessories include the base plate and screws for mounting on Socket 775 and an Alpine Cooling sticker for your case and instructions. The heatsink has a very viscous thermal compound pre-applied to the bottom of the cooler. The base heatsink is ready to mount to current AMD sockets, including AM2.
Specifications
The frameless 92mm fan is used in all the 92mm Alpine 7 family coolers. The heatsinks in the family all use the same design and are within a few grams of each other in weight.
| Alpine 7 (with PWM) | |
| Heatsink Dimensions | 78(W) x 98(D) x 56mm(H) |
| Dimensions with Fan | 113(W) x 101(D) x 91.7mm(H) |
| Weight | 486g (17.1 ounces) |
| Material | Aluminum |
| Cooling Capacity | 90W |
| Configuration | Down-Facing Fan |
| Alpine Fan | |
| Fan Size | 92 mm |
| Fan Module Dimensions | 113mm x 101mm x 47.2mm |
| Fan Speed | 300-2000 rpm (controlled by pwm signal) |
| Connector | 4-pin (PWM) |
| Fan Bearing | Fluid Dynamic Bearing |
| Rated Life | 400,000 hours (MTTF@40C) |
| Maximum Airflow | 36 CFM |
The Arctic 7 (with PWM) fan is a high spec 92mm using a Fluid Dynamic Bearing for silence and long life. You may recall that one of the top fans we have tested, the Scythe S-FLEX, uses Sony Fluid Dynamic Bearings to minimize noise.
Installation
The Alpine 7 (with PWM) is easy to mount, but it will require the removal of the motherboard, since the mounting plate attaches to the bottom and the Socket 775 cage screws in from the top of the cage. This is a great deal more trouble than the Alpine 7 Pro, which does not require motherboard removal and is an easy pushpin mount. However, the universal Alpine 7 (with PWM) rewards you for the trouble with an extremely secure mount on your Socket 775 board. If you are a LAN party gamer this could be a good, secure, and easily transported cooler for your system.
The mounting cage for the universal model has mount clips inside the sides of the cage. This requires loosening the mount clip screws so the clips can drop down a bit. You then pop in the clips and tighten the screws until the clip is firmly seated. It's a bit of trouble but the final mount is exceptionally secure.
If you find these instructions intimidating buy the Alpine 7 Pro as the mount is as easy as it gets with that model. You just push the four clips down until they lock in the four holes around the CPU socket. It's easy, but many do not feel this mounting method is as secure as a through-board mount like the Alpine 7 (with PWM).
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vailr - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
The "photo gallery" from CES (Jan. 2008) included a photo of Arctic Cooling's "Freezer Xtreme". Any idea when that CPU cooler will be available?I have a screen capture of the photo, but can't locate it on Anandtech.com for posting the link.
It's an "8-pipe cooler that only weighs 600 grams".
vailr - Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - link
Found the link:http://www.anandtech.com/GalleryImage.aspx?id=521">http://www.anandtech.com/GalleryImage.aspx?id=521
Cardio - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
"In fact, they are so good at stock performance that it is easy to recommend one of these coolers as a way to extend your CPU life even if you have no intention of overclocking."Really, has anyone ever had to extend the like of a stock cpu?
I have never even seen a stock cpu that failed due to age. They last lots longer than their useful life.
teohhanhui - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
I've been using the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro for about half a year now. It's mostly quiet and cool, even with my Pentium D 830. Recently, the dust collecting in my Cooler Master Centurion 5 case has caused the CPU to overheat under 100% load(and that powered off the PC). Anyhow, I 'd definitely recommend it to anyone using a stock Intel HSF, especially for the extremely hot Pentium D's.I'm glad that AnandTech finally reviewed it. Why didn't you highlight the fact that the Freezer 7 Pro beats every other coolers tested so far at AnandTech at stock speed(at both idle and load, in both aspects of temp. and noise)?
Tuvoc - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
At long last you tested the Freezer 7 Pro !!These are simply outstanding coolers for the price.
My Q6600 at 3.0GHz stays under 60C on all cores at full load per Coretemp, in total silence with fan rpm barely breaking 1,000 rpm. There is simply no need for a cooler any better for this level of CPU performance.
My QX6700 is a different story - there the Freezer 7 Pro kept the cores at a within-spec 70C but with the fan at 2,600 rpm and with associated noise. I replaced that with a Thermalright 120 Extreme, and that CPU now runs at 3.0Ghz with core temps under 60C. At least a 10 degree drop compared to the Freezer 7 Pro.
So, Freezer 7 Pro does have it's limitations, but for all but extreme overclocking, or the B3 core quads, it is all 99% of people will ever need.
Glenn - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
I have a Freezer Pro over top of a E6750 at 3.3ghz. Runs very cool and quiet. I also have the alero on the vid card and use Artic fans to cool the case. Overall a very quiet system. The only noise I get is from the Earthwatts 380 power supply which is comparativly quiet to other PS's.Interestingly, I used the Artic Freezer on my other system with a Q6600 Quad Core running at 3.4 prior to replacing it with a Tuniq Tower! I really spent the extra $ for the tuniq for nothing! Although the temps were down by about 3C across the board, it didn't allow for any higher overclock! Plus I pick up more noise to get those lower temps!
My first experience with Artic came with the imported coolers for the original Slot A K7 CPUs and I have always been impressed with their engineering and quality. The keep a very high standard and I doubt I will venture far from them in the future as long as that continues!
imaheadcase - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
You should mention in article this is also good for OC. This is the cooler most get to overclock the 1.86ghz c2d over 3ghz.Not sure why you said it was good for just stock cooling..its great for OC.
Wesley Fink - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
We also tested and reported overclocking on page 8, and the coolers are fine for moderate overclocking. It is just that neither cooler comes close to the top overclockers we have tested. The Alpine 7 dissipates 90W, and the Freezer 7 Pro dissipates around 130W. The top Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme performance shows it is dissipating around 165W. Most of the top air coolers we have tested dissipate 150W or more.Polynikes - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
This is a pretty old product to be reviewing... I've had my Freezer 7 for well over a year, and I'm sure it had been around a bit before that.That said, it is by far the best bang for the buck HSF you can get. Those giant towers may cool better, but they're huge and are hard to get in even some fairly large cases, and are much more expensive.
Manch - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
I have the Antec 900 case with the giganto fan up top can it be mounted to blow upwards? I wonder if the freezer pro 7 would even better? Either way