Arctic's new Freezer i11 HS/F, any good ?

[crockman]

Arctic (Arctic Cooling) has launched a new Heat Sink/ Fan, the Freezer i11 for Intel & the A11 for AMD. Has anyone had any experience or heard anything about them ?

i11: http://www.arctic.ac/us_en/products/cooling/cpu/freezer-i11.html
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186093

Arctic's Website say's the i11 is based off of/ and an Improvement to their Freezer 7 Pro.

I've been running an Arctic Freezer 64 Pro on my PC for 5+ years now, it still runs without a flaw and I've never had any trouble with it. Being I've had such good luck with the Freezer 64 I figure I'll purchase another Arctic HS/F for the Intel CPU I'm about to buy.

The i11 is for an i5-4670k coupled to an MSI Z87-G41 Motherboard (It's a Budget-Gaming PC I'm building, thread can be found here http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2378553 ) . OC'ing will be done, but I've never OC'd before so the OC'ing will be nothing Major.

I've heard of the CM Hyper 212EVO, but have read thru a number of it's reviews on Newegg, and have seen enough complaints to raise concern of it's 'cheap' short-life Fan.

Any opinions of the new Freezer i11 ?

Thanks

 

[dma0991]

Are you constrained by the case's maximum heatsink height? I wouldn't say that it is a terrible choice but a 92mm fan is louder than a 120mm at the same speed. Another problem is that the fan is only suited for this heatsink. If it goes kaput, there won't be any replacement.

In contrast with CM Hyper212 Evo, you can use any variety of 120mm fans that are available in the market. It also comes with an additional fan bracket to do a push pull, which the AC Freezer i11 lacks.

 

[crockman]

Thanks for the reply dma0991

If it goes kaput, there won't be any replacement.

I hadn't thought of that, Good point.

In contrast with CM Hyper212 Evo, you can use any variety of 120mm fans that are available in the market. It also comes with an additional fan bracket to do a push pull, which the AC Freezer i11 lacks.

Another good point, I did not know any 120mm would fit.

Glad I asked, I'll get the 212EVO instead.

I did see a few reviews on Newegg of the 212EVO that suggested putting a new Fan on it from the start, any recommendations on a 120mm Fan for it ?

Thanks

 

[dma0991]

I did see a few reviews on Newegg of the 212EVO that suggested putting a new Fan on it from the start, any recommendations on a 120mm Fan for it ?

I've never actually tried the CM Hyper212 Evo but I have tried its predecessor, CM Hyper212+ (came with CM Blademaster, similar fan but not translucent). You should at least give the stock fan a try for a month or more as it isn't too loud at maximum speed.

If stock fans doesn't suit your level of silence, get fans from Arctic Cooling, Noiseblocker, Silverstone Air Penetrator or Noctua (ordered in increasing price).

 

[crockman]

If stock fans doesn't suit your level of silence, get fans from Arctic Cooling, Noiseblocker, Silverstone Air Penetrator or Noctua (ordered in increasing price).

Thanks for the Manufacturer Advice. It wasn't exactly the noise level I was worried about on the Fan, Newegg Reviews do show it's quiet enough, I'm more concerned in the Fan's early failure Reviews. Guess I could always just buy a back-up Fan and keep it in storage just in case.

 

[dma0991]

Thanks for the Manufacturer Advice. It wasn't exactly the noise level I was worried about on the Fan, Newegg Reviews do show it's quiet enough, I'm more concerned in the Fan's early failure Reviews. Guess I could always just buy a back-up Fan and keep it in storage just in case.

I've never had a fan die on me. Even the cheap looking clear Corsair fans at the front of my Corsair 400R has not failed me yet. Defect is present in any product, fans are no exception but I think you're more likely to have problems related with bearing wearing out (after years of abuse) and making irritating noises than to have a fan that stops spinning.

There's no need for a spare fan as the danger of a dead fan isn't that big of a deal these days. Modern processors will go into thermal throttling or auto shutdown before any permanent damage happens.

 

[Kenmitch]

Thanks for the reply dma0991



I hadn't thought of that, Good point.



Another good point, I did not know any 120mm would fit.

Glad I asked, I'll get the 212EVO instead.

I did see a few reviews on Newegg of the 212EVO that suggested putting a new Fan on it from the start, any recommendations on a 120mm Fan for it ?

Thanks

The stock fan on my 212 EVO was to loud for me.

I switched to this Arctic Cooling one which was a night and day diff in sound.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186033

 

[crockman]

The stock fan on my 212 EVO was to loud for me.

I switched to this Arctic Cooling one which was a night and day diff in sound.

That inexpensive $8 Arctic Fan is quieter then the EVO's Stock Fan ?

 

[Bearmann]

....but a 92mm fan is louder than a 120mm at the same speed.

Is that true? I know that a 120mm could spin slower and still move the same amount of air as a 92mm fan running faster (and thus louder), but would the 120mm fan be quiter at the same RPM as a 92mm fan? So each time you move up in size, the fan gets quieter, even at the same RPM?

 

[Kenmitch]

That inexpensive $8 Arctic Fan is quieter then the EVO's Stock Fan ?

Yep....Similar airflow, better bearings, lower dba ratings.The ones I got thru Amazon had the daisey chain connectors which can be useful. No cable sleeving which kind of sucks. They move a lot of air so they are audible at full speed.

Don't rate fans by price

I'm using a single fan on my i5-4570 mITX rig. Not too much room on the MB so it's blowing towards my TriX 290. Another 120mm exhaust case fan next to it helping suck air thru it sideways. I'm using the HAF stacker 915F not so mITX case.

 

[dma0991]

That inexpensive $8 Arctic Fan is quieter then the EVO's Stock Fan ?

Its quieter because it spins slower (1.35kRPM vs 2kRPM) and thus will not perform as well but the difference is that faster fans is almost negligible compared to having a larger heatsink.

Is that true? I know that a 120mm could spin slower and still move the same amount of air as a 92mm fan running faster (and thus louder), but would the 120mm fan be quiter at the same RPM as a 92mm fan? So each time you move up in size, the fan gets quieter, even at the same RPM?

That statement is slightly flawed as they would actually sound the same, assuming that they have the same quality. 92mm fans are rare these days, so their build quality is mostly subpar and you'll get more noise from its bearings. These days, you get more choice with 120mm fans and better 120mm fans come with better blade design and better bearings.

Typically the larger the fans, the slower they spin. The amount of air they intend to move could be the same. Usually you'll find that the speed of the fan is inversely proportional to its size. I've never had a 92mm fan that wasn't audible at its maximum speed but I have enough 120mm fans that move a decent amount of air and is reasonably quiet.

 

[crockman]

Thanks for all the Replies so far.

Let's say for sake of argument I go with the i11 instead of the 212EVO. Reason being the i11 is smaller in size.

Question is: Is the CPU contact point on the i11 Base too small ? Pictures of the i11 on the Arctic website do show the base as rather small: http://www.arctic.ac/us_en/products/cooling/cpu/freezer-i11.html
Plus I've read this Con about it on Newegg "Cons: Base plate is a little small for my i7-4820k and contacts a little more than half of the processor backing, literally covers just the center chunk of the processor, sitting on top of the cores, so the temp zones of the processor cores can vary wildly from time to time."

Is the Base size of the i11 in fact a design flaw ? another option of a smaller HS/F would be the Silverstone AR02: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835220061

 

[Kenmitch]

Judging by the base design of the i11 and AR02 I'd lean more towards the i11 being more effective. The 3 heat pipes are in the sweet spot no matter what orientation you choose for mounting. The heat pipes will be carrying the heat away from the cores. The size of the base won't really effect the efficiency of the unit. Spreading the heat pipes out and increasing the base size on the AR02 I wouldn't consider being of any benefit. I'd think that it would actually be worse.

The downside of the i11 I guess would be the fan more than the base. If you need to change the fan for some reason you'd have to be creative or order one from AC.

Haswell tends to run hot dependent on silicone/heat spreader gap lotto. I guess it would also depend on how high you want to overclock your chip. Mild overclocking shouldn't be too bad....Unless you loose the lotto of course.

 

[Tristor]

If you get the Hyper 212, my fan recommendation is to get the PWM 120mm Cougar Vortex FDB fans. Noctua fans are nice too but usually more expensive. If you keep an eye out you can pick them up for around $9-$10 each and they're almost always available for $15 or less. Why? Well, they have pretty decent, although not amazing, static pressure. They have pretty decent CFM as well. What's more important though is that they will last for a very very very long time due to their fluid bearing design and be exceptionally quiet. I swear by fluid bearing fans and have ever since my original introduction to them with the Panasonic Panaflos back in the late 90s.

Why are the Cougar's so expensive? Well, basically they have to pay license fees because the particular type of fluid bearing they use is patented by Panasonic and they charge licensing fees to the companies using them. For a long time Scythe made S-Flexes which were incredible, but they stopped making them and shortly thereafter I started seeing Cougar makes fans. This is an article worth reading http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/The-Truth-About-Fluid-Dynamic-Bearing-FDB-Fans/1807

Anyway, there's several people who make good fluid bearing based fans, I find the Cougars to be some of the better ones, but I also like the be quiet! ones as well, although I don't see them as often in the US. Noctua's SSO bearing is also a fluid bearing although of a different design than the Panasonic-derived one used by Cougars and be quiet! Good luck with your build.

 

[lehtv]

If you get the Hyper 212, my fan recommendation is to get the PWM 120mm Cougar Vortex FDB fans.

The Hyper 212 already comes with a fan. You don't need to buy fans for it.

If you're going to pay $20 on top of what the 212 costs, you would be better off buying a better heat sink to begin with. For $50 you can get a Thermalright HR-02 Macho or True Spirit 140, both of which outclass the 212 Evo no matter what high quality fans you buy for it

 

[Tristor]

The Hyper 212 already comes with a fan. You don't need to buy fans for it.

If you're going to pay $20 on top of what the 212 costs, you would be better off buying a better heat sink to begin with. For $50 you can get a Thermalright HR-02 Macho or True Spirit 140, both of which outclass the 212 Evo no matter what high quality fans you buy for it

I would tend to agree, but that's not what he asked. Personally for the money if you're trying to fit in a relatively tight space (the HR-02 Macho is /huge/) I'd say the Xigmatek Gaia + 2xCougars is a good pick over the Hyper 212 for minimal increase in cost (they're actually both the same price and on sale on Newegg right now). Otherwise both the HR-02 Macho and the True Spirit are great picks, as is the Noctua NH-D14.

Honestly though, if you're going to spend that much money on a cooler you might as well get an AIO watercooler and put your fans on it. An H80i with the default fans in "quiet" mode is on par with an NH-D14 while being quieter, and in "balanced" mode is louder but one of the best performing CPU coolers. It's also the same exact price as the NH-D14 (cheaper if on sale).

What he asked though was what fans could he get for the Hyper 212 and he specifically mentioned lifespan as a concern. For that purpose a FDB 120mm fan is your best bet.

 

[lehtv]

H80i is in a completely different price bracket than the Thermalright coolers I mentioned. As in, $95 versus $50