[nextpage title=”Introduction”]
Today we are testing the Freezer i30 CPU cooler from Arctic, which is targeted to Intel CPUs. It has a tower heatsink, one 120 mm fan, and four direct-touch 8 mm heatpipes. Check it out!
Arctic offers two coolers that are actually almost the same product: the Freezer i30 (that we are reviewing here) and the Freezer A30, which is the same cooler, but aimed at AMD CPUs.
The Freezer i30 comes in a compact white cardboard box, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 2 shows the contents of the box: the cooler itself, a syringe of thermal compound, manual, and installation hardware.
Figure 3 displays the Freezer i30.
Figure 3: The Arctic Freezer i30
This cooler is discussed in detail in the following pages.
[nextpage title=”The Arctic Freezer i30″]
Figure 4 illustrates the front of the cooler, which is covered by the 120 mm fan. The fan is mounted on a plastic frame that can be easily removed and reinstalled.
Figure 5 reveals the side of the cooler. The fins are folded, creating a closed surface.
Figure 6 shows the rear of the cooler.
In Figure 7, you can see the top of the cooler, where the tips of the heatpipes are visible.
[nextpage title=”The Arctic Freezer i30 (Cont’d)”]
Figure 8 illustrates the base of the cooler. The heatpipes touch the CPU directly, and there is no gap between them. The surface has no mirrored finishing.
Figure 9 reveals the Freezer i30 without the fan. The fins create a flat surface.
Figure 10 shows the 120 mm PWM fan that comes with the Freezer i30, as well as the plastic frame that holds it in place.
[nextpage title=”Installation”]
Figure 11 shows the backplate for installing the Freezer i30 on socket LGA1155/1156 CPUs. Socket LGA2011 systems don’t require a backplate.
In order to install the Freezer i30, you need to put the backplate on the solder side of the motherboard, and then install the holders shown in Figure 12, using four plastic spacers.
After that, install the heatsink, securing it with two screws.
The last step is to install the fan, as you can see in Figure 14.
Figure 14: Installation finished
[nextpage title=”How We Tested”]
We tested the cooler with a Core i5-2500K CPU (quad-core, 3.3 GHz), which is a socket LGA1155 processor with a 95 W TDP (Thermal Design Power). In order to get higher thermal dissipation, we overclocked it to 4.0 GHz (100 MHz base clock and x40 multiplier), with 1.3 V core voltage (Vcore). This CPU was able to reach 4.8 GHz with its default core voltage, but at this setting, the processor enters thermal throttling when using mainstream coolers, reducing the clock and thus the thermal dissipation. This could interfere with the temperature readings, so we chose to maintain a moderate overclocking.
We measured noise and temperature with the CPU under full load. In order to get 100% CPU usage in all cores, we ran Prime 95 25.11 with the “In-place Large FFTs” option. (In this version, the software uses all available threads.)
We compared the tested cooler to other coolers we already tested, and to the stock cooler that comes with the Core i5-2500K CPU. Note that the results cannot be compared to measures taken on a different hardware configuration, so we retested some “old” coolers with this new methodology. This means you can find different values in older reviews than the values you will read on the next page. Every cooler was tested with the thermal compound that comes with it.
Room temperature measurements were taken with a digital thermometer. The core temperature was read with the SpeedFan program (available from the CPU thermal sensors
), using an arithmetic average of the core temperature readings.
During the tests, the panels of the computer case were closed. The front and rear case fans were spinning at minimum speed in order to simulate the “normal” cooler use on a well-ventilated case. We assume that is the common setup used by a cooling enthusiast or overclocker.
The sound pressure level (SPL) was measured with a digital noise meter, with its sensor placed near the top opening of the case. This measurement is only for comparison purposes, because a precise SPL measurement needs to be made inside an acoustically insulated room with no other noise sources, which is not the case here.
Hardware Configuration
- Processor: Core i5-2500K
- Motherboard: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z
- Memory: 6 GB OCZ (DDR3-1600/PC3-12800), configured at 1,600 MHz and 8-8-8-18 timings
- Hard disk: Seagate Barracuda XT 2 TB
- Video card: Point of View GeForce GTX 460 1 GB
- Video resolution: 1920×1080
- Video monitor: Samsung SyncMaster P2470HN
- Power supply: Seventeam ST-550P-AM
- Case: Cooler Master HAF 922
Operating System Configuration
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit SP1
Software Used
Error Margin
We adopted a 2°C error margin, meaning temperature differences below 2°C are considered irrelevant.
[nextpage title=”Our Tests”]
The table below presents the results of our measurements. We repeated the same test on all coolers listed below. Each measurement was taken with the CPU at full load. In the models with a fan supporting PWM, the motherboard controlled the fan speed according to core load and temperature. On coolers with an integrated fan controller, the fan was set at the full speed.
Cooler | Room Temp. | Noise | Speed | Core Temp. | Temp. Diff. |
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 | 18 °C | 50 dBA | 2850 rpm | 69 °C | 51 °C |
Corsair A70 | 23 °C | 51 dBA | 2000 rpm | 66 °C | 43 °C |
Corsair H100 | 26 °C | 62 dBA | 2000 rpm | 64 °C | 38 °C |
EVGA Superclock | 26 °C | 57 dBA | 2550 rpm | 67 °C | 41 °C |
NZXT HAVIK 140 | 20 °C | 46 dBA | 1250 rpm | 65 °C | 45 °C |
Thermalright True Spirit 120 | 26 °C | 42 dBA | 1500 rpm | 82 °C | 56 °C |
Zalman CNPS12X | 26 °C | 43 dBA | 1200 rpm | 71 °C | 45 °C |
Zalman CNPS9900 Max | 20 °C | 51 dBA | 1700 rpm | 62 °C | 42 °C |
Titan Fenrir Siberia Edition | 22 °C | 50 dBA | 2400 rpm | 65 °C | 43 °C |
SilenX EFZ-120HA5 | 18 °C | 44 dBA | 1500 rpm | 70 °C | 52 °C |
Noctua NH-L12 | 20 °C | 44 dBA | 1450 rpm | 70 °C | 50 °C |
Zalman CNPS8900 Extreme | 21 °C | 53 dBA | 2550 rpm | 71 °C | 50 °C |
Gamer Storm Assassin | 15 °C | 48 dBA | 1450 rpm | 58 °C | 43 °C |
Deepcool Gammaxx 400 | 15 °C | 44 dBA | 1500 rpm | 60 °C | 45 °C |
Cooler Master TPC 812 | 23 °C | 51 dBA | 2350 rpm | 66 °C | 43 °C |
Deepcool Gammaxx 300 | 18 °C | 43 dBA | 1650 rpm | 74 °C | 56 °C |
Intel stock cooler | 18 °C | 41 dBA | 2000 rpm | 97 °C | 79 °C |
Xigmatek Praeton | 19 °C | 52 dBA | 2900 rpm | 83 °C | 64 °C |
Noctua NH-U12P SE2 | 18 °C | 42 dBA | 1300 rpm | 69 °C | 51 °C |
Deepcool Frostwin | 24 °C | 46 dBA | 1650 rpm | 78 °C | 54 °C |
Thermaltake Frio Advanced | 13 °C | 56 dBA | 2000 rpm | 62 °C | 49 °C |
Xigmatek Dark Knight Night Hawk Edition | 9 °C | 48 dBA | 2100 rpm | 53 °C | 44 °C |
Thermaltake Frio Extreme | 21 °C | 53 dBA | 1750 rpm | 59 °C | 38 °C |
Noctua NH-U9B SE2 | 12 °C | 44 dBA | 1700 rpm | 64 °C | 52 °C |
Thermaltake WATER2.0 Pro | 15 °C | 54 dBA | 2000 rpm | 52 °C | 37 °C |
Deepcool Fiend Shark | 18 °C | 45 dBA | 1500 rpm | 74 °C | 56 °C |
Arctic Freezer i30 | 13 °C | 42 dBA | 1350 rpm | 63 °C | 50 °C |
In the graph below, you can see how many degrees Celsius hotter the CPU core is than the air outside the case. The lower this difference, the better is the performance of the cooler.
In the graph below, you can see how many decibels of noise each cooler makes.
[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]
The main specifications for the Arctic Freezer i30 CPU cooler include:
- Application: Sockets 1155, 1156, and 2011 processors
- Dimensions: 5.5 x 3.9 x 6.3 inches (139 x 100 x 161 mm) (W x L x H)
- Fins: Aluminum
- Base: Direct-touch copper heatpipes
- Heat-pipes: Four 8-mm copper heatpipes
- Fan: 120 mm
- Nominal fan speed: 1,350 rpm
- Fan air flow: 74 cfm
- Maximum power consumption: 2.64 W
- Nominal noise level: Not informed
- Weight: 1.98 lb (900 g)
- More information: https://www.arctic.ac
- Average price in the U.S.*: USD 45.00
* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.
[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]
The Arctic Freezer i30 is a good CPU cooler with reasonable cooling performance and an almost inaudible fan. It will probably perform better if you change the stock fan for a more powerful one, which makes it a very versatile cooler. However, the new fan might not be as quiet as the fan that comes with the product.
This versatility, the good performance, low noise level, reasonable price tag, and great overall quality make the Arctic Freezer i30 a great choice, so we are giving it the Hardware Secrets Silver Award.
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