Drunkentig3r
Member
Alright folks, I'm thinking of purchasing the very nice, Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro, after seeing the great reviews its received on Newegg as well as the positive "professional" reviews it has received on enthusiast review websites, such as Tom's Hardware.
Now, I have two concerns. First and foremost, although it is merely $22.99 (before things like shipping charges and taxes), I am a bit pressed for money at the moment. And so, I'm debating whether it is even worth the investment. With the settings I'm running (see below), even though I'm using the stock AMD heatsink/fan that came with my processor, the CPU temperature when idling is at 37 C, while the overall PC temperature when idling is 34 C. When I load up something intensive, such as a game, it doesn't even jump all that much, always staying beneath 45 C. Judging by my temperature readings, is it really worth it to get it?
My second and last concern deals with the weight of the aftermarket heatsink/fan. I know motherboard manufacturers place maximum weight limits on how heavy a heatsink/fan can be, and to me, the Freezer 64 Pro looks quite bulky and heavy. I'm not worried about space clearance, as I have plenty of space all-around, but if it is as heavy as it looks, wouldn't I be running the risk of putting unnecessary and risky "stress" on my motherboard? I've heard stories of motherboards slowly bending in half due to the sheer weight of their cooling solutions. Any input will be much appreciated, especially by those who have the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro. Thanks.
My rig's essentials:
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (939) @ 2.6 Ghz
MSI K8N-Neo4/SLI motherboard
Stock AMD CPU Heatsink/Fan
MSI Geforce 7800GT (PCI-Express) w/Arctic Cooling NV Silencer
Antec 120mm Case fans x2 (one in rear, one in front)
Antec SmartPower 2.0 500W Power Supply
Western Digital Caviar 250GB Hard Drive
Generic DVD Drive
Lite-On 8X Dual Format DVD Burner
Now, I have two concerns. First and foremost, although it is merely $22.99 (before things like shipping charges and taxes), I am a bit pressed for money at the moment. And so, I'm debating whether it is even worth the investment. With the settings I'm running (see below), even though I'm using the stock AMD heatsink/fan that came with my processor, the CPU temperature when idling is at 37 C, while the overall PC temperature when idling is 34 C. When I load up something intensive, such as a game, it doesn't even jump all that much, always staying beneath 45 C. Judging by my temperature readings, is it really worth it to get it?
My second and last concern deals with the weight of the aftermarket heatsink/fan. I know motherboard manufacturers place maximum weight limits on how heavy a heatsink/fan can be, and to me, the Freezer 64 Pro looks quite bulky and heavy. I'm not worried about space clearance, as I have plenty of space all-around, but if it is as heavy as it looks, wouldn't I be running the risk of putting unnecessary and risky "stress" on my motherboard? I've heard stories of motherboards slowly bending in half due to the sheer weight of their cooling solutions. Any input will be much appreciated, especially by those who have the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro. Thanks.
My rig's essentials:
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (939) @ 2.6 Ghz
MSI K8N-Neo4/SLI motherboard
Stock AMD CPU Heatsink/Fan
MSI Geforce 7800GT (PCI-Express) w/Arctic Cooling NV Silencer
Antec 120mm Case fans x2 (one in rear, one in front)
Antec SmartPower 2.0 500W Power Supply
Western Digital Caviar 250GB Hard Drive
Generic DVD Drive
Lite-On 8X Dual Format DVD Burner
