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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yacoub - Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - link
It's a shame it took this long for you guys to review the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro, which is a staple of the cheap-but-effective heatsink setups for overclockers. Glad to see it performed rather well. =)Archon29 - Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - link
I just built a new PC with 2 front intake fans, one rear exhaust fan, and the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro. My E4500 hits 40c at idle, 59c at load, and 63c with a 600 Mhz overclock. Not sure if my CPU reports the temp high (I've heard of this), I got a dud with the Freezer 7, or I applied my thermal paste wrong, but it sucks seeing other people get these kinds of results. I'm almost tempted to see what I would get with the stock fan but that would be a lot of trouble.orenlevy - Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - link
is closed by dust.the alpine 7 resist and keep working long after many other stop dissapating heat.
i will be glad that when you benching somthing you will chek it for the long run. as im living in israel (dusty) i have lot of experience. oren
swaaye - Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - link
I had a Freezer 64 Pro on an Opteron Dual Core about 2 years ago. It was pretty good and cheap, but the fan gets loud when it's at full speed. When I got my Core 2 Duo, I switched to Scythe Ninja Plus because it cools a lot better while being basically silent and only a bit more expensive.I'm all about effective + quiet these days and I wouldn't go back to that Freezer unless it was a CPU that didn't need much cooling power.
9nails - Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - link
I've had a Freezer-7 on a Core 2 Duo 3.0 Ghz E6850. I bought it based on good feedback at NewEgg in November. I wanted a cooler that was quiet, better at cooling than stock, and one that could extend the life of my CPU. I'm glad to say that the Freezer-7 has met all my expectations. It's been rock solid and something which I could easily recommend.limo wreck - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
What did you use to control the speed of the fan during the tests? Asus' QFan? Speedfan?Would you know what the speed was during idle and under load? The reason I ask is because I have an AC Freezer 7 Pro and although it is somewhat quiet, I definitely wouldn't call it "near silent" like you did in the article.
gorobei - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
while the fan may not be equivalent to the AC, the design is roughly the same. Given the new testbed and temp monitor, the hyperTX2 should be worth a second look.poohbear - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
gotta give credit to arctic cooling. Their vga coolers are top notch: reasonably priced (compared to the $50 option from Thermalright and zalman) and virtually silent. seems they replicated this for their cpu coolers. hope to see more products from these guys in the future.Etern205 - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
Is there by any chance in a future article that you guys do a test to see how well are the new Intel stock coolers?And excellent review.
Etern205 - Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - link
I mean the stock cooler for the Extreme edition cpus.Like this one