CoolIT Freezone Elite CPU Cooler
Packaging & Cooler
Published: 21st May 2008 | Source: CoolIT | Price: £250.00 |
Packaging
The box for the Freezone Elite is certainly pretty hefty. Measuring in at 20 x 24 x 35 cm it is safe to assume the inside of the box will be well padded with protection for the product.
Most of the boxes surfaces are printed with specifications or quotes from product reviews:
Once the internal package has been slid from the cardboard sleeve we can see that the unit is indeed well protected with a thick layer of medium density polystyrene.
Inside this polystyrene box, new owners of the Freezone Elite will find:
1 x Freezone Elite Cooler
1 x MTEC Control Center
1 x 12v adapter
1 x USB input cable
1 x 775 mounting kit
1 x AM2 mounting kit
User guide and software
Unfortunately the cooler had picked up some superficial damage to the heatsink. Looking at the damage, however, I would say the damage was done during or before assembly of the unit:
The Cooler
Usually with mass produced atypical cooling solutions (ie - ThermalTake) a lot of care goes into the looks of the product, with build quality and attention to detail falling by the wayside. I will say now that I really did expect the Freezone Elite to be somewhat the same; a crudely assembled chiller unit with a slick looking brushed aluminium cover. Once the cooler is out of its box however, you are able to really get a good look at every part of the system and quickly establish that this couldn't be further from the truth.
The cooler, while actually fairly basic in design, looks very solid and neatly assembled. Each hose end is well sealed with crimped O-Rings; all the wires are well sealed with heatshrink, and every single bolt is done up tightly and the anti-kink coils are well secured at each end. The Coolit logo you can see cut in the faceplate is backed with a light emitting sheet and lights up a cool blue when in operation.
The main feature of this cooler is the rows of TEC blocks, across which the coolant is pumped to lower its temperatures. As you can see the blocks are well secured to both the waterblocks and heat dissipating HSF with what looks to be a thermally conductive adhesive.
One small let down I have to point out is the finish on the CPU block. Now it is usual for some CPU blocks to show signs of grinding in an effort to create a flat surface, leaving them with a slight surface grain in one direction. The block on the Freezone Elite however, appears to have been attacked from more than one direction with a grinder in what indeed looks like a method of flattening (small patches have escaped abrasion). Perhaps the unit will produce temperatures low enough for this not to matter but it would be nice to see a clean and polished surface here as it is after all, the 'business end'.
The extras listed above are all of fair quality. All of the mounting equipment looks substantial, the MTEC control unit, while feeling a bit 'plasticy' (it is plastic) is equipped with good quality connectors and the wires included are nicely braided and sealed with heatshrink.
The fan attached to the bulky heatsink is a Panaflow NMB-MAT with the model number FBA12G12H.
Most Recent Comments
[email protected]; they can barely handle a low end dual core oc'd and they cost a fortune.
Thumbs down.Quote
Thumbs down.Quote
£250 = ouch.
If it was competitively priced I think people would drum up even curious interest, I probably would.Quote
If it was competitively priced I think people would drum up even curious interest, I probably would.Quote
What a horrible horrible finish on the block... That's unacceptable at £250.Quote
Yea I dont really get whats going on there, low performance is one thing and there certainly is a market for it (although its probably priced itself out of that market) but a decent finish on the CPU block is the least you can hope for at that price. £5 Akasa coolers manage a better surface
It's an odd one because it really is fantastically well put together and has a lot of potential, just falls short in one too many important areas. I was speaking to Jim about it pre-publish and we both thought it was odd that the pelt is used to cool the water rather than to cool the CPU directly and the coolant / heatsink system used to cool the TEC
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It's an odd one because it really is fantastically well put together and has a lot of potential, just falls short in one too many important areas. I was speaking to Jim about it pre-publish and we both thought it was odd that the pelt is used to cool the water rather than to cool the CPU directly and the coolant / heatsink system used to cool the TEC
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From some other reviews i read, that thing sounds like a rocket taking off on full load, and that price tag?!?!? DAMN!!! no thanks.Quote