As is going to be a reoccurring theme throughout this review Arctic does not do things by half measures. Instead, they make the German’s and their ‘world famous’ engineers look like underachieving. For example, the shipping containers the various Freezer 34 eSports DUO comes in are not all the same. Instead there are five variants. One for each color option (gray, green, yellow, red, white). To be precise the dimensions and internal protection is the exact same but the exterior colors do change.
For instance, as our sample is the neon green variant… the exterior is black with neon green accents. If it had been the red it would be black with red accents… etc. etc. This is how you not only offer multiple color options but also eliminate consumer confusion. With just a glance you can see that our box is the (zombie or neon) green variant. Mix in a decent list of specifications and blurbs on three sides, with a full color image of the cooler on the front and this is one of best shipping containers we have seen to date.
The one downside to such OCD level of detail planning is that sometimes such narrow focus can result in missing the bigger picture. A great example of this is the fact that while Arctic goes above and beyond in performance, aesthetics, value, and even information this cooler has to offer, they did make a misstep in the accessories department. Yes, the Freezer 34 eSports DUO comes with excellent mounting equipment. Yes, they even pre-mount both fans for you… but if you are an older AMD AM3 or AMD TR4 based system user you will not be able to mount this excellent cooling solution to your motherboard. Instead only AMD’s AM4 compatible mounting hardware is included… even though they include mounting equipment for everything from Intel LGA 115x all the way to LGA 2066.
We understand not including TR4 socket mounting hardware, as this is ‘only’ a 210TDP cooling solution. We understand not including older Intel LGA775 and 1366 mounting hardware, as they are ancient sockets. What we have a hard time understanding is why no AM3/AM3+ equipment is not included. Yes, AM4 has been around for three years now, but there are plenty of AM3+ systems still kicking… and in dire need of a new CPU cooler.
The only possible explanation is that lower tier Arctic models are expected to be used on lower tier / older systems… and their Freezer 34 eSports DUO is meant for only new and/or higher-end systems. This would explain why the less expensive Arctic Alpine 64 Pro (for example) supports AM3 but the eSports 34 Duo does not. It is also pretty much in keeping with Swiss logic which has been accused of being a touch… myopic / ‘right is right, and wrong is wrong’ when it comes to ‘compromises’.
Moving on. The heat sink itself is rather interesting and features numerous tweaks / upgrades from the typical mid-sized tower cooling array. The most obvious is the paintjob. Though calling it a paint job is not doing it justice. This special coating may indeed make the fin array look like a much, much more expensive device but it actually serves a more practical purpose.
You really cannot see it in pictures but this coating is thick and has an unusual texture. The easiest way to explain this texture is that it is similar to anti-slip coatings (of if you have never worked with anti-slip ‘paint’… imagine taking ultra-fine playground sand and mixing it in to the paint before applying it). While close, the texture is even more tactile in feel. These micro sized ‘bumps’ in the paint cause air turbulence, and when you have countless number of them they not only slow down the air flowing over the coated fins, they also create micro eddies and currents in said airflow.
This is a good thing. The longer it takes air from the front fan to reach the back fan, the longer it is in contact with the aluminum cooling fins. The longer it is in contact the more heat can be transferred to the air. In this vein, Arctic has ensured that the air cannot escape out the sides of the cooling fins and instead once in the array it must travel the full width of the cooling tower. They have done this by folding down the edges of each of the fins in the fin array. The end result is basically a box with only the front and back open.
The downside to this is the static pressure required to properly push air through this fin array is dramatically increased. This is why most inexpensive cooler do not do it. To overcome this Arctic has done two things. The first is use the included fans are extremely robust with 2.75mm of static pressure at peak speeds of 2100RPM. However, these fans do not rely on sheer speed to get the job done. Instead, even at lower speeds they still have well above average static pressure to overcome the inherently high pressure requirements of the fin array. This is because they only have five blades, with each blade being not only wide but curved in all three dimensions. This keeps a constant air flow with constant pressure across a wider range of speeds than typical 6 or more bladed designs. When you add in the default push/pull nature of this cooler, owners can really keep the speeds down low and yet keep temperatures in check. Mix in fluid dynamic bearings, with dual headed 4-pin cabling and these $15 BioniX P120 fans are some of the best 120x25mm fans you can find for CPU and even Radiator cooling duties. The fact that Arctic includes two in a CPU cooling solution that costs less than $40 is amazing.
In typical obsessive-compulsive fashion that Swiss engineers are famous for, the Freezer 34 eSports DUO does not just rely upon the fans to get the job done. Instead the fin array also has an aggressive ‘face’ on each end which consists of numerous ridges and an integrated fan shroud (aka raised edges on each side to keep the fan from directly coming in contact with the fin array). The end result is much like a serrated knife which cuts the wind and forces it into the fin array instead of letting it bounce of a ‘brick wall’ as happens in typical ‘flat sided’ fin arrays. This combination is not unique to Arctic but it is one of the few CPU cooling solutions to do so and not cost as much as a Noctua cooler.
What is however darn near unicorn levels of unique is the finishing on this HDT cooler. Heat pipe Direct Touch coolers are known for many things… one which is there rather poor base finishes. Thin wall copper is rather delicate and it is incredibly easy to polish right through the side of a heat pipe. It takes precision, attention to details… and ‘toilet trained with a shotgun’ levels of OCD to get production level quantities of highly polished HDT bases. Arctic obviously has all this in spades as the Freezer 34 eSports DUO’s base is darn near mirror shine perfect. So perfect experienced HDT users should treat it more like a typical solid base and not use nearly as much TIM as usual. There are simply not enough micro-pores to need all that much TIM. Now that is impressive attention to detail.
Taken as a whole the Freezer 34 eSports DUO is one impressive cooling solution. So impressive that if you tell others you spent 60 dollars for it… even experienced system builders would believe you. It really does feel like a premium product, just one that does not come with a premium price tag.
