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
The Arctic Coolers
Both the Alpine 7 and the Freezer 7 Pro use a frameless 92mm fan, but the output and bearing design differ by model. The frameless fan is a design feature that distinguishes Arctic Cooling designs.
The fan mount is also a trademark feature. AC coolers use elastomeric mounts to isolate the fan and reduce noise levels. This is true even on the $12 entry-level Alpine 7 (with PWM) cooler. The frameless fan with elastomeric mounts is a similar design on both coolers, but there little else is the same. The Alpine 7 is a one-piece aluminum block; it uses a traditional down-facing fan, much like the Intel retail cooler and other entry-level coolers.
The Alpine 7 consists of several models. Our test unit is the Alpine 7 (with PWM), which is basically an Alpine 64 with a custom cage for mounting on Socket 775. This model will mount on any current AMD or Intel socket. Other models are the Alpine 64 Pro for Intel 775 only and the Alpine 64/Alpine 64 (with PWM) for AMD only. All these variations use a heatsink that is basically the same and a down-facing fan with the same fan specifications. Performance should be the same across these coolers. Arctic Cooling also has a smaller cooler with a smaller 80mm fan where small size is important, the Alpine 7 GT.
The midrange Freezer 7 Pro is a side-mounted heatpipe tower. Three vertical heatpipes are looped through a heavy base and support horizontal aluminum cooling fins. Airflow exhausts toward the rear fans in the case. All the top performing coolers tested in recent months at AnandTech use a heatpipe tower design.
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Spyvie - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
I've only had my Freezer 7 Pro for about 9 months, but the equally excellent Freezer 64 Pro on my NF3-250 rig is 3 or 4 years old.the AC CPU coolers seem to be ignored on most of the hardware sites.
kristof007 - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
So I see that you guys used this with a Core 2 Duo processor. I went on Newegg and I cannot find the sub-$15 model (Alpine 7) that matches with a LGA 775 layout motherboard. Am I missing something?Here is the search that I found:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Sub...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...x?Submit...
Wesley Fink - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
Alpine 7 Pro for Socket 775 is $43.99 at http://www.xoxide.com/arctic-cooling-alpine-7-hsf....">http://www.xoxide.com/arctic-cooling-alpine-7-hsf..... The Alpine 64 for AMD is $12.99 at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8.... The Alpine 7 models are widely available in the $12 to $15 price range.Freezer 7 Pro is $22.99 at http://www.priceguidenetwork.com/computer-componen...">http://www.priceguidenetwork.com/comput...r-pentiu... and $24.99 at http://www.xoxide.com/arctic-cooling-freezer-7-pro...">http://www.xoxide.com/arctic-cooling-freezer-7-pro... based on a quick search. New Egg is selling the Freezer 64 for $24.99
Martimus - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
I bought a Freezer 64 Pro for 19.99 about a month ago. I just checked NewEgg, and it went up $5 in price since yesterday.Wesley Fink - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
CORRECTION: The Alpine 7 Pro for Socket 775 is $14.99 at http://www.xoxide.com/arctic-cooling-alpine-7-hsf....">http://www.xoxide.com/arctic-cooling-alpine-7-hsf.....Stas - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
I'm so glad to see an affordable yet quality cooling solution. I was tired of seeing products like TT BT for the same price as it was when the cooler came out 2+ years ago. Same for Zalman HSFs. Now compete with this, you price gougers :)jkostans - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
Two more coolers with amazing bang for your buck:KINGWIN Revolution RVT-12025 - $24 (after $10 rebate at newegg.com)
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 - $37
They are actually the same heatsink as far as I've been told (kingwin may have a poorer quality fan but I'm not sure). Both are on par with the Ultra-120 if the frostytech review is to be believed and include a fan for a much lower price. Maybe these should be the next coolers up for review?
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articlei...">http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articlei...
mixim - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
Yeah bought the freezer pro for my 2 Ghz Core 2 Duo, with a chassis fan it turns out 22 degrees celsius! Amazing, this with half the stock fan speed, beeing practicly silent. And here in sweden we get theese for $20!After i bought the CPU fan, i actually swaped my system for the entire experience :D. Using their silentium case and with the inredible AND cheap Accelero S1 GPU cooler! Beeing cool has never been easier or cheaper haha...
Anandtech should test their Accelero S1 cooler with and without a fan, here in sweden it also sells for $20.