Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB – In the spirit of bold innovation

The German company Arctic celebrates 23 years of its founding this year and to mark the occasion, new Liquid Freezer III AIO coolers were recently introduced. Today also sees the launch of new Arctic Freezer 36 air coolers. These coolers come with a number of bold innovations and one of them has led to some changes to the format of today’s review. Today, we’re going to take a look at the top model in this series with the A-RGB Black moniker. Read more “Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB – In the spirit of bold innovation” »

New Liquid Freezer (III): Better contact and compressor from a plane

Arctic says that historically, it can’t recall a product receiving more user interest right out of the gate, just after release, than the Liquid Freezer III coolers. But no wonder. In addition to efficient fans, they bring several features to enhance cooling performance. The latter is not only high, but also very affordable. Arctic has put the coolers on sale with a rather large, still ongoing discount. A 360-millimeter variant for under 80 euros? Read more “New Liquid Freezer (III): Better contact and compressor from a plane” »

Return to FDB – the main new feature of the Arctic P12 Max White

Arctic has released a new, white version of the P12 Max fan. However, it is not only a choice between light (P12 Max White) and dark (P12 Max Black), but also between different types of bearings, fluid dynamic and ball ones. In any case, it is once again a 120 mm fan that will be taking the top ranks in comparison tests with its performance characteristics. It has all the prerequisites to do so. Read more “Return to FDB – the main new feature of the Arctic P12 Max White” »

Arctic’s “P” line of 80 mm fans now includes the Max model

A smaller fan format does not always have to mean low airflow. To achieve comparable results to larger cross-section models, there needs to be higher rpms and with them higher noise levels, but as long as you accept this, and you don’t really have much choice due to the size constraints, the new P8 Max fan seems like an attractive option. And most importantly, it’s one of the few of its kind. Read more “Arctic’s “P” line of 80 mm fans now includes the Max model” »

Psychoacoustic optimization of coolers… A gag? Physics

“Modifying” a cooler by replacing the fan with a relatively more efficient model may not always lead to the desired result. Sometimes you will get significantly less improvement than you would expect, other times you may even be worse off. This means that at equal noise levels, you will achieve lower cooling performance, and it doesn’t really matter what fan you use. Sometimes the design of the heatsink has the final say. Read more “Psychoacoustic optimization of coolers… A gag? Physics” »

Arctic tweaked the P14 Slim PWM PST fan, but didn’t mention it

If you bought the P14 Slim PWM PST some time ago (and by that I mean earlier this year), its design differs from its current form. And quite significantly so. It is in fact that it has quietly advanced to the second revision. But it did so so quietly that many, including us, missed it. What are the changes and how do you identify the new version so that you don’t order the older, inferior one? Read more “Arctic tweaked the P14 Slim PWM PST fan, but didn’t mention it” »

Arctic P12 PWM PST: The most famous rumbling fan

There are a lot of droning or downright rumbling fans out there, but none have been as popularized by this sound profile as the Arctic P12. Probably also because this acoustic deficiency is really pronounced here and has pushed the manufacturer to make design changes in newer models that are aimed at suppressing critical tonal peaks. But even so, the base model P12 PWM PST is a remarkable fan and is unbeatable in its price range. Read more “Arctic P12 PWM PST: The most famous rumbling fan” »

Top price/performance in 15 mm – Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST

Low-profile fans are often seen as compromise solutions that will not achieve the efficiency of thicker models. This may or may not be true. In practice, the Arctic P12 Slim beats a number of full-size fans. Sure, Arctic’s 15mm fan has many shortcomings, but these are vindicated by the very low price. In the 120mm format, it is one of the cheapest, but definitely not the “weakest” slim fans. Read more “Top price/performance in 15 mm – Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST” »

Stiffer and more efficient, improvements of the Arctic P12 (Max)

Arctic has released a successor to the P12 fan, or perhaps more likely a higher-end model of it, as the P12 Max is a bit more expensive. That’s because it has a significantly more sophisticated design that addresses the shortcomings of the P12. In particular, the P12 Max has stiffened blades to counteract the high vibration of Arctic’s 5-blade rotors, and also, it will be one of the most powerful 120mm fans due to its significantly increased speed. Read more “Stiffer and more efficient, improvements of the Arctic P12 (Max)” »

The lowered Alpine 17 (LP) CPU cooler is 43 mm tall

Arctic now has a smaller version of the Alpine 17. The model of this top-flow cooler with the LP (low profile) end tag is one fan lower. This opens doors side panels to tighter cases where taller designs won’t fit, and Intel Laminar RM1 (from Core i3/5/7 packages) or RS1 (from Celerons and Pentiums) coolers tend to be too tall as well. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the Arctic Alpine 17 LP cooler is designed for very low-power processors. Read more “The lowered Alpine 17 (LP) CPU cooler is 43 mm tall” »

Arctic MX-6 thermal paste is out, a quick replacement for the MX-5

Arctic is renumbering the MX thermal pastes (from 5 to 6) faster than ever before. The MX-5 arrived just last year, but earlier this year there was a report that some batches were drying up prematurely. As a result of such a shortcoming, customer confidence in these thermal pastes may have been so lowered that a new model is the best route to take from a business perspective. And here it is, unfortunately again without the basic parameters. Read more “Arctic MX-6 thermal paste is out, a quick replacement for the MX-5” »

Liquid Freezer II may have faulty sealing, Arctic admits

In Arctic, critical errors are not covered up. At least recently. In the span of a few months, the company has already disclosed a second possible flaw in its product design.After the MX-5’s thermal paste drying up, it’s now about the crumbling seals of some Liquid Freezer II AIO coolers for a change. The pro-consumer behavior is commendable, with Arctic doing everything it can to make things right. Read more “Liquid Freezer II may have faulty sealing, Arctic admits” »

Low profile in a larger, 140 mm body. Arctic’s P14 Slim

As the cross section of fans increases, the thickness usually grows. For cases where the opposite is desired, i.e. a large yet thin fan, Arctic has “squeezed” the P14 down to 16mm. This is one of the few fans with such proportions and this one has ambitions to be a cut above the rest of the range. Compared to the one number smaller P12 Slim model, the increase in airflow at the same noise level should be almost 24 %. Read more “Low profile in a larger, 140 mm body. Arctic’s P14 Slim” »

Arctic BioniX P120 A-RGB: The lit specialist for filters and grilles

Now that’s what we call a turnaround. Remember how the BioniX F120 failed on obstacles? The newer BioniX P120 (A-RGB) no longer has such a fundamental limitation. On the contrary, it is significantly less stifled by obstacles than many competing fans. Just tame those vibrations, fine-tune the acoustics, where there are some flaws, and it’ll be great. The basis (the rotor) is better in practice than the label parameters suggest. Read more “Arctic BioniX P120 A-RGB: The lit specialist for filters and grilles” »

Arctic Freezer 7 X rev. 3: The cooling legend that missed the boat

How many generations of processors could the Freezer 7 cool? The most. No other brand of coolers has been around for so long. That’s worthy of respect, but the fact remains that the progression in efficiency is rapid from revision to revision. Some improvements do come, but at a slower rate than competing solutions that are way more cost-effective. Thus, Freezer 7 often reaches the shelves of brick-and-mortar stores and PC builds only by inertia. Read more “Arctic Freezer 7 X rev. 3: The cooling legend that missed the boat” »

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