CoolIT Freezone Elite CPU Cooler
Conclusion
The temperatures seen on the previous page are fairly inconsistent with those seen from typical cooling devices. The Freezone Elite achieves fantastic idle temperatures, pulling the CPU down to just 16oC. This did, however require full power, which in turn created a huge amount of noise from the massive Panaflow fan and caused light condensation to form on the TEC covers and CPU block. The fact that these temperatures then swing in quite the opposite direction when introduced to load highlights what I would state as an inability to handle load.
The CPU used in this test was a simple, low powered, dual-core chip. After reading claims on the packaging that the unit is designed for todays high powered, quad-core CPU’s, I was anxious to see whether the test CPU would be of use. Having seen the results obtained with an overclock nearly 700 MHz shy of what the little chip is actually capable of, I would say the unit has been pushed well enough.
While set to a target temp of around 15 degrees, with stock settings, the cooler manages to hold temperatures at an acceptable level with a very comfortable amount of noise, and would be ideal for a low powered computer in constant use such as an HTPC or in-home server.
The cooler is certainly very well made and is a quality piece of kit. Taking up little more space than todays high end air cooling solutions, the Elite is certainly a good idea for those not willing, or not able to use watercooling. It just has to be realised that TEC technology is not an efficient method of cooling – the amount of power used and heat generated clearly does not justify the temperatures we have seen. The cooler certainly performs better than advanced air cooling, but with load handling worse than results I have seen using water on a similar setup, I’m really not sure how on-target a price tag of around £300 is.
Nevertheless, the unit certainly does have its place in the market and for those with deep pockets, the unit is available at Overclockers UK.
The Good
– Compact
– Very well made
– Capable of very low noise output
The Mediocre
– Power draw
– Load handling
– CPU block finish
– Fiddly installation and lots of wires
The Bad
– Price
