Arctic has long been a well-known manufacturer of CPU coolers, GPU coolers and case fans. The CPU coolers of the Freezer series and GPU coolers of the Accelero series in particular have made this brand famous worldwide. In spring 2024, Arctic introduced numerous new products, including a new series of air coolers in addition to the Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB, which we have already tested. Today we have the Arctic Freezer 36 Black from this series for you to test.
Arctic offers a total of five different variants in the Freezer 36 product series. In addition to an unpainted entry-level version with two different fan variants (HDB or double ball bearing), there is also a black painted version and a black or white version with two ARGB fans. The cooling tower always remains the same, with typical dimensions, four 6 mm heatpipes and 59 aluminum fins. A special contact frame for Intel sockets is also included in the scope of delivery. Read on to find out how the Arctic Freezer 36 Black performs overall.
Arctic Freezer 36 Black review: Technical details
General specifications |
|
| Dimensions (with fan) | 126 x 159 x 104 mm (W x H x D) |
| Weight (with fan) | 890 g |
| Material | Copper (heatpipes), aluminum (cooling fins) |
| Heatpipes | 4x Ø 6 mm |
| Cooling capacity | 220W |
| Compatibility AMD | AM5, AM4 |
| Compatibility Intel | LGA1851, LGA1700 |
| Warranty period | 6 years warranty |
| Price | € 23.86 * |
Fan specifications |
|
| Number of fans | 2 |
| Fan designation | Arctic P12 PWM PST |
| Bearing type | Hydrodynamic sleeve bearing |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 120 x 120 x 25 mm |
| Fan speed | 200 (±100) ~ 1800 (±10%) rpm |
| Max. Noise level | 35,8 |
| Max. Volume flow | 95.65 m³/h |
| Max. Air pressure | 2.20 mmH2O |
| Rated voltage (fan) | 12 V |
| Rated current (fan) | 0,1 A |
| Rated power (fan) | 1,2 W |
| Fan connection | 4-pin PWM + splitter |
| Fan cable length | 200 mm + 80 mm (splitter) |
| Special features | Vibration damper, 0 rpm under 5 % PWM |
Packaging & scope of delivery
Arctic packs the Freezer 36 in a compact cardboard box dominated by the main colors black and white. In addition to the manufacturer’s logo, we also find the product name and a schematic drawing of the CPU cooler on the packaging. A table with all the technical data and a list of the package contents can also be seen on the back.
As always, Arctic uses a lot of cardboard inside and, unusually, the CPU cooler has been placed upside down in the packaging. The mounting accessories are separated from the cooler at the sides by two cardboard dividers. In addition to the heat sink and the fans, the scope of delivery also includes a bag with all mounting materials for the AM4/AM5/LGA1700/LGA1851 sockets, a tube of MX-6 thermal paste, a small wrench and a special mounting frame for the Intel sockets. The assembly instructions are only available digitally via a QR code.
Design & processing
The heatsink of the Arctic Freezer 36 consists of a total of 59 aluminum fins with a thickness of 0.4 millimeters. In the “Black” version, all fins including the heatpipes are anodized black and the cover plate is also made of aluminium and not just plastic. The front and rear of the heat sink are also designed differently to optimize the airflow of the fans. Heat is transferred to the fins via four 6 mm copper heatpipes, which rest directly on the heatspreader of the CPU using Heatpipe Direct Touch technology. Both the base and the top fin are protected from scratches by a protective film.
The two P12 PWM PST fans supplied are well known and tried and tested. In the version of the Freezer 36 that we tested, both fans consist of a black 120 mm frame and a black rotor with five fan blades. This clearly underlines the sleek overall look of the Freezer 36 Black. Both fans are connected via a 4-pin PWM connector with integrated Y-switch.
Four screws with round heads are used to attach the fans to the heat sink. These screws are used to press the fans into the corresponding plastic holders on the heat sink, where they hold very well. However, time will tell whether the plastic elements will remain functional over a longer period of time. At least Arctic has confidence in its product and provides the Freezer 36 with a six-year warranty.
Including the fans, the Arctic Freezer 36 Black weighs 890 grams, which is a decent but not unusual weight. The general workmanship of the heatsink and the fans is of a very high standard despite the low purchase price. There were no scratches or bent fins and the base of the socket has also been properly finished and is very smooth. Thanks to its simple overall appearance, it should look very good in both black and black and white systems.
Arctic Freezer 36 Black Test: Assembly
A test system is used for the review, which is mounted on a benchtable. This allows us to rule out factors such as heat build-up in the case. The test system consists of the following components.
- AMD Ryzen 5 1400 @ 3.8 GHz at 1.175V*
- ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-Plus*
- Crucial Ballistix Sport LT gray 32 GB DDR4-3000*
- TeamGroup T-Create Classic PCIe 4.0 DL*
- Gigabyte AORUS GTX 1060 6G*
- LC-Power LC550 V2.31 Platinum Series 550W*
The mounting system used is very similar to that of the Arctic Liquid Freezer III, except that the Freezer 36 does not have the offset mounting for AMD systems. But here too, the overall compatibility has been reduced to the AM4/ AM5 and LGA1700 or LGA1851 sockets. This means that owners of older mainboards are left out in the cold with the Freezer 36 and will have to resort to another CPU cooler.
For AMD sockets AM4 and AM5, a classic mounting with spacers and a bracket construction at the front is used. The brackets and spacers are screwed into the existing backplate of the retention module on AMD boards and then serve as a holding point for the actual heat sink. The mounting system is uncomplicated and the Freezer 36 is therefore very easy to mount on an AMD socket.
For mounting on Intel systems with socket LGA1700 or LGA1851, Arctic includes a special contact frame with the Freezer 36, which replaces the classic retention module with clips and brackets on Intel mainboards. The aim of this contact frame is to straighten the heatspreader of the CPU in order to enable even contact pressure and contact. However, this also means that the original socket holder must be removed when using the contact frame. This removal will, at least in theory, invalidate the mainboard’s warranty.
As we are used to from Arctic, the mounting system used is well thought out and the Freezer 36 is mounted very quickly and easily, at least for AMD. However, the contact frame system chosen for Intel could be off-putting for newcomers due to the unusual conversion measures. As the instructions are only available on the website, an internet-enabled device must be available for assembly. In addition to animated drawings, there is also a complete installation video and the instructions are always up to date.
Cooling capacity and volume
As already shown in the previous chapter, we use an AM4 system based on the Ryzen 5 1400 and the ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-Plus as test hardware. The Ryzen runs at 3.8 GHz at 1.175 V. To heat up the processor, it was loaded with Prime95 for 30 minutes. The temperature of the CPU was then read out with the CPUID hardware monitor. The room temperature was always around 20 °C during the measurements.
| wdt_ID | CPU-Kühler | Temperatur 50% PWM (in °C) | Temperatur 100% PWM (in °C) | Minimale Lüftergeschwindigkeit (in U/min) | Lüftergeschwindigkeit bei 50% PWM (in U/min) | Lüftergeschwindigkeit bei 100% PWM (in U/min) | Minimale Pumpengeschwindigkeit (in U/min) | Pumpengeschwindigkeit bei 50% PWM (in U/min) | Pumpengeschwindigkeit bei 100% PWM (in U/min) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 123 | Thermaltake TH280 V2 ARGB | 46,60 | 45,90 | 550 | 1.200 | 1.800 | 680 | 2.100 | 3.200 |
| 124 | Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240 Atmos ARGB | 50,40 | 46,50 | 560 | 1.340 | 2.270 | 1.965 | 6.620 | 10.230 |
| 125 | be quiet! Pure Loop 2 240mm | 50,70 | 46,70 | 800 | 1.070 | 2.080 | 4.150 | 4.700 | 5.530 |
| 126 | Alpenföhn Panorama 2 | 76,00 | 66,80 | 450 | 1.450 | 2.720 | |||
| 127 | Alpenföhn Brocken 4 | 53,60 | 49,60 | 410 | 870 | 1.610 | |||
| 128 | AMD Wraith Stealth | 95,00 | 76,00 | 800 | 1.430 | 2.630 | |||
| 129 | Corsair A115 | 49,40 | 46,90 | 190 | 920 | 1.560 | |||
| 130 | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE | 49,50 | 47,50 | 350 | 1.050 | 1.680 | |||
| 131 | Thermalright Assassin X 120 SE | 53,60 | 50,60 | 340 | 1.070 | 1.690 | |||
| 132 | DeepCool Assassin IV (Silent) | 51,40 | 48,70 | 500 | 860 | 1.330 | |||
| CPU-Kühler | Temperatur 50% PWM (in °C) | Temperatur 100% PWM (in °C) | Minimale Lüftergeschwindigkeit (in U/min) | Lüftergeschwindigkeit bei 50% PWM (in U/min) | Lüftergeschwindigkeit bei 100% PWM (in U/min) | Minimale Pumpengeschwindigkeit (in U/min) | Pumpengeschwindigkeit bei 50% PWM (in U/min) | Pumpengeschwindigkeit bei 100% PWM (in U/min) |
As can be seen from the table and the diagram, the CPU of our test system reaches a maximum of 50.5 °C (at 50% PWM or 1100 rpm) and 48.3 °C (at 100% PWM or 1800 rpm) under full load. These are excellent values for such an inexpensive CPU cooler. In addition, the Arctic Freezer 36 remains relatively restrained in terms of noise. Below 1000 rpm, the fans are barely audible and even at maximum speed they are quieter than many competitor products. Finally, the minimum speed of 300 rpm and the zero fan mode enable particularly quiet operation. However, the maximum cooling performance of the Freezer 36 then drops sharply.
Conclusion of the Arctic Freezer 36 Black test
Competition stimulates business and with the Freezer 36, Arctic has developed a powerful CPU cooler that can easily keep up with more expensive air coolers. In addition to the simple but stylish design, we were particularly impressed by the cooling performance and ease of installation for AMD systems. The mounting system for the two fans is also innovative and has never been seen before. Added to this is the very good workmanship, considering the low purchase price, and the low cost of the CPU cooler itself.
We couldn’t really find many negative aspects of the Arctic Freezer Black. Only the mandatory use of the contact frame for Intel LGA1700/ LGA1851 and the resulting need to remove the pre-installed ILM would be rated as negative overall. Arctic does not provide for normal assembly and the removal of the ILM could have a deterrent effect, especially for newcomers, as this procedure, at least theoretically, voids the mainboard’s warranty. The fact that the instructions are only available in digital, but animated form, should be a negative aspect for very few people.
All in all, the Arctic Freezer 36 Black is completely convincing. Of course, it is not a high-end air cooler, but compared to the top dogs from Noctua, be quiet! or Deep Cool, it only costs a fraction of € 23.86 * and still offers a very good overall package of looks, cooling performance, workmanship and assembly. However, owners of an Intel socket should be aware of the need for the special mounting frame before buying.
Arctic Freezer 36 Black
Design
Processing
Assembly
Performance
Price-performance ratio
92/100
The Arctic Freezer 36 Black offers a very good overall package of looks, cooling performance, workmanship and installation. However, owners of an Intel socket should be aware of the need for the special mounting frame before purchasing.
