Introduction

This time we've tested a low profile CPU cooler from Arctic Cooling: the Freezer 11 LP. It has two heatpipes and a 92 mm fan. Let's check its performance!

Like most Arctic Cooling products, the Freezer 11 LP package is actually a plastic blister, as you can see in Figure 1.

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Figure 1: Package

In Figure 2, you can check the accessories that come in the box: the cooler, installation parts, a case sticker, and a manual.

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Figure 2: Accessories

In Figure 3, you can see the Freezer 11 LP.

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Figure 3: The Freezer 11 LP

In the next pages, you will see this cooler in detail.

The Freezer 11 LP

In Figure 4, you see the front of the cooler. The copper heatpipes are visible here, connecting the base to the top of the heatsink.

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Figure 4: Front view

In Figure 5, you have a side view of the cooler. Note how this is a low profile cooler (hence the "LP" on its name), being only 2.1" (53 mm) high.

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Figure 5: Side view

In Figure 6, you check the rear side of the cooler, where the tips of the heatpipes are visible.

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Figure 6: Rear view

The Freezer 11 LP (Cont’d)

In Figure 7, you see the top of the cooler and, in Figure 8, the fan that comes installed. It has a four-pin connector, so it is PWM-compatible. The is no suspension or anti-vibration mechanism.

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Figure 7: Top view

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Figure 8: Fan

The base of the Freezer 11 LP is made of copper, and makes direct contact to the heatpipes. The thermal compound comes preapplied on the base.

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Figure 9: Base

Installation

To install the Freezer 11 LP, first you need to attach two supporting pieces on the motherboard, as shown in Figure 10.

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Figure 10: Frame installed

After that, put the cooler over the CPU, and then fasten the four available screws, attaching the fan frame to the supports on the heatsink.

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Figure 11: The Freezer 11 LP instaled in our case

How We Tested

We tested the cooler with a Core i7-860 CPU (quad-core, 2.8 GHz), which is a socket LGA1156 processor with a 95 W TDP (Thermal Design Power). In order to get higher thermal dissipation, we overclocked it to 3.3 GHz (150 MHz base clock and 22x multiplier), keeping the standard core voltage (Vcore), which was the maximum stable overclock we could make with the stock cooler. Keep in mind that we could have raised the CPU clock more, but to include the stock cooler in our comparison, we needed to use this moderate overclock.

We measured noise and temperature with the CPU idle and under full load. In order to get 100% CPU usage in all threads, we ran Prime 95 25.11 (in this version, the software uses all available threads) with the "In-place Large FFTs" option.

We compared the tested cooler to the Intel stock cooler with a copper base (included with the CPU), as well as with other coolers. Note that in the past, we tested coolers with a socket LGA775 CPU, and 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 in the next page. Every cooler was tested with the thermal compound that accompanies 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 left panel of the case was open.

The sound pressure level (SPL) was measured with a digital noise meter, with its sensor placed 4" (10 cm) from the fan. We turned off the case and video board cooler fans so they wouldn't interfere with the results. 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 i7-860
• Motherboard: Gigabyte P55A-UD6
• Memory: 2 GB Markvision (DDR3-1333/PC3-10700 with 9-9-9-22 timings), configured at 1,200 MHz
• Hard disk: Seagate Barracuda XT 2 TB
• Video card: Zotac GeForce GTS 250
• Video resolution: 1680x1050
• Video monitor: Samsung Syncmaster 2232BW Plus
• Power supply: Seventeam ST-550P-AM
• Case: 3RSystem L-1100 T.REX Cool

Operating System Configuration

• Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

Software Used

• Prime95
• SpeedFan

Error Margin

We adopted a 2 ^oC error margin, meaning temperature differences below 2 ^oC are considered irrelevant.

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 idle and 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 minimum speed on the idle test and at full speed on the full load test.

		Idle Processor			Processor at Full Load
Cooler	Room Temp.	Noise	Speed	Core Temp.	Noise	Speed	Core Temp.
Intel stock (socket LGA1156)	14 °C	44 dBA	1700 rpm	46 °C	54 dBA	2500 rpm	90 °C
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 G1	14 °C	47 dBA	2050 rpm	33 °C	56 dBA	2900 rpm	62 °C
Zalman CNPS10X Extreme	14 °C	45 dBA	1400 rpm	27 °C	53 dBA	1950 rpm	51 °C
Thermaltake Silent 1156	14 °C	44 dBA	1200 rpm	38 °C	49 dBA	1750 rpm	69 °C
Noctua NH-D14	14 °C	49 dBA	1250 rpm	27 °C	49 dBA	1250 rpm	53 °C
Zalman CNPS10X Performa	14 °C	46 dBA	1500 rpm	28 °C	52 dBA	1950 rpm	54 °C
Prolimatech Megahalems	14 °C	40 dBA	750 rpm	27 °C	60 dBA	2550 rpm	50 °C
Thermaltake Frio	14 °C	46 dBA	1450 rpm	27 °C	60 dBA	2500 rpm	50 °C
Prolimatech Samuel 17	14 °C	40 dBA	750 rpm	40 °C	60 dBA	2550 rpm	63 °C
Zalman CNPS8000A	18 °C	43 dBA	1400 rpm	39 °C	54 dBA	2500 rpm	70 °C
Spire TherMax Eclipse II	14 °C	55 dBA	2200 rpm	28 °C	55 dBA	2200 rpm	53 °C
Scythe Ninja3	17 °C	39 dBA	700 rpm	32 °C	55 dBA	1800 rpm	57 °C
Corsair A50	18 °C	52 dBA	1900 rpm	33 °C	52 dBA	1900 rpm	60 °C
Thermaltake Jing	18 °C	44 dBA	850/1150 rpm	34 °C	49 dBA	1300 rpm	60 °C
GlacialTech Alaska	18 °C	43 dBA	1150 rpm	36 °C	51 dBA	1600 rpm	60 °C
Deepcool Gamer Storm	18 °C	43 dBA	1100 rpm	35 °C	48 dBA	1600 rpm	62 °C
Corsair A70	26 °C	56 dBA	1900 rpm	40 °C	56 dBA	1900 rpm	65 °C
Deepcool Ice Blade Pro	23 °C	45 dBA	1200 rpm	38 °C	52 dBA	1500 rpm	64 °C
AC Freezer 7 Pro Rev. 2	23 °C	47 dBA	1750 rpm	44 °C	51 dBA	2100 rpm	77 °C
Corsair H70	27 °C	60 dBA	1900 rpm	37 °C	60 dBA	1900 rpm	61 °C
Zalman CNPS9900 Max	27 °C	55 dBA	1600 rpm	38 °C	58 dBA	1750 rpm	63 °C
Arctic Cooling Freezer 11 LP	25 °C	45 dBA	1700 rpm	51 °C	49 dBA	1950 rpm	91 °C

In the graph below, at full load 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.

Main Specifications

The main features of the Arctic Cooling Freezer 11 LP CPU cooler include:

• Application: Socket LGA775, 1155 and 1156 processors
• Fins: Aluminum
• Base: Copper
• Heat-pipes: Two 6-mm copper heatpipes
• Fan: 92 mm
• Nominal fan speed: 2,000 rpm
• Fan air flow: 27 cfm
• Maximum power consumption: Not informed
• Nominal noise level: Not informed
• Weight: 10.5 oz (300 g)
• More information: http://www.arctic.ac
• MSRP in the US: USD 21.00

Conclusions

The Arctic Cooling Freezer 11 LP has a cheap aspect from the start, beginning with its package. This situation isn't helped by the preapplied thermal compound or by the installation procedure without using a backplate.

The main problem, however, is that the Freezer 11 LP doesn't provide a good performance. It kept our CPU about 10° C cooler than the Intel stock cooler, which is not too much considering this stock cooler is very "weak". On the other hand, the good news is that the Freezer 11 LP is a very quiet CPU cooler.

The only situation where the Freezer 11 LP can be a good choice is for near-silent HTPCs with low-profile cases and low-consuption CPUs. If this is not your case, you must look for a different product.