I like mine, and I wouldn't trade it for anything else at the moment, it does what it's intended to do, I have mine overclocked at 3.6gz (E6600) and it sits at 28c and loads to 40c. at one point I had it overclocked to 4.0gz and it was sitting at 32-34 and load to 50c. what else could I ask for? to me this is more than fine, I have a good cooling solution.
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CoolIT Freezone Chilled Liquid CPU Cooler
- Thread starter FrgMstr
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theelectic
Limp Gawd
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You're using TAT or CoreTemp for reading temps, right? See this is what I don't get. Some users/reviewers are experiencing great temps, others lousy temps. It can't be that CoolIT is cherry picking the review samples either, since that Bjorn3D review was middling at best (compared to "good" Freezone reviews), despite their recommendation.
I'm going to dig out my old physics texts and try to work the numbers given the TEC cooling capability, amount of fluid, etc. Can someone measure the following dimensions for me (preferably in mm):
1) dimensions of the two fluid heat exchangers (blue rectangular things on either side of the heatsink)
2) length of tubing
3) dimensions of waterblock
it's really not that big of a deal for you to go to that extend, I have used TAT, as well as core temp, as I am writing this to you, I took a shot for you to see, it's sitting at 27 or something like that. and loads to 40c using the 100% load from TAT,
theelectic
Limp Gawd
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Yeah it's not that I don't believe you, I want to know why there's such variability among what people are getting using the Freezone. Read through this thread if you have the patience, it's all over the place.
LOCO LAPTOP
[H]F Junkie
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before some of you find out the hard way.
That was someone who posted on crazypc in the Customer Reviews area.
Darn.
That was someone who posted on crazypc in the Customer Reviews area.
Darn.
Remember that part of the variation is going to be how hot or not the setup is. This thing is, if you don't modify it, taking warm case air and blowing it through the air cooling portion of the unit, which means the pelts may not operate at best efficiency in every case.
This is much like many heatsink reviews if you think about it. Some folks can use a case that has an ambient at 35c and say "that's good!" and some cringe and wonder how anyone can let their case get so hot. Mine, so that you understand the temps I'm getting, has the cold air from the outside blowing into the unit, and it performs very, very well. Not everyone has this option. But that works much like many of the same rules for laying out a rad for a wc unit. You have to give your heat exchanger very cool air to work with for best effect. Hence wc rads are in the front pulling in, or outside the case entirely in some top performing rigs.
So you have to know more about how the test was run, sadly for the reader, on top of reading carefully for the overly rosy readings.
I've not had much time but am using Everest for temps (I'll get CT or TAT when I've got less work home with me) and I can run the 6800 @ 3.46 without cracking the low 20's doing surfing and running the stress test I get 35c +/-1 with an ambient of 21c or so. I'm operating at just the default setting "for now".
But that is only half an answer. I use a TJ07 case that has superb airflow with an added 120mm fan in the front (1600rpm S flex's on all 120mm points) and a 120x38mm panaflo M series that is blowing the air into the unit through an adapter. The case is very cool to begin with.
Properly done, these things are quiet (the unit is dead silent and almost hard to know it's working) when you factor out the fan. It's compact, takes up very little room compared to water cooling and I spent minutes rather than hours or days setting it up (comparing to water).
So I'm pleased
This is much like many heatsink reviews if you think about it. Some folks can use a case that has an ambient at 35c and say "that's good!" and some cringe and wonder how anyone can let their case get so hot. Mine, so that you understand the temps I'm getting, has the cold air from the outside blowing into the unit, and it performs very, very well. Not everyone has this option. But that works much like many of the same rules for laying out a rad for a wc unit. You have to give your heat exchanger very cool air to work with for best effect. Hence wc rads are in the front pulling in, or outside the case entirely in some top performing rigs.
So you have to know more about how the test was run, sadly for the reader, on top of reading carefully for the overly rosy readings.
I've not had much time but am using Everest for temps (I'll get CT or TAT when I've got less work home with me) and I can run the 6800 @ 3.46 without cracking the low 20's doing surfing and running the stress test I get 35c +/-1 with an ambient of 21c or so. I'm operating at just the default setting "for now".
But that is only half an answer. I use a TJ07 case that has superb airflow with an added 120mm fan in the front (1600rpm S flex's on all 120mm points) and a 120x38mm panaflo M series that is blowing the air into the unit through an adapter. The case is very cool to begin with.
Properly done, these things are quiet (the unit is dead silent and almost hard to know it's working) when you factor out the fan. It's compact, takes up very little room compared to water cooling and I spent minutes rather than hours or days setting it up (comparing to water).
So I'm pleased
theelectic
Limp Gawd
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IME, with an ambient of 20C, leaving the side panel of my case OFF only lowered temps by 2-3C (from an awful 48C load, worse than air cooling) so I know internal case temps and airflow was not a major issue. Right now, using air cooling and an Antec Tricool 120mm exhaust on high, I get internal case temps of 22C (ambient 18C) near the CPU fan intake using a calibrated thermal probe, so I know it wasn't (and isn't) that hot in my case with the side panel ON.
I'd like to believe I got a dud Freezone, but with all these other reports/reviews that are similar to my own experience with the unit, and a bunch of conflicting reports/reviews like yours, I don't know what to think. All I can go by is what I experienced which was BAD.
before some of you find out the hard way.
That was someone who posted on crazypc in the Customer Reviews area.
Darn.
mine is installed on an EVGA 680i board without any issues at all, i am not sure what you are saying?
theelectic
Limp Gawd
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Another Freezone review where it barely manages to outperform a high end, overclocked air cooled (Ultra-X) setup:
http://www.ocia.net/reviews/freezone/page4.shtml
http://www.ocia.net/reviews/freezone/page4.shtml
Just a thought. Don't be mad now.
how many are actually having bad results? Maybe the thing they got is deffective. Also I've read some said they don't hear or see a difference in the revs of the fan. So before voiting the warranty, better check if you just don't have a deffective one.
Either way, they sell the Freezone with a promise. If this promise isn't true, you can still give it back and ask for your money.
theelectic
Limp Gawd
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Well, here's the thing. I had a bad experience with the Freezone, and if you look through the first 3-4 pages of this thread, so have a few other people, so I'm not a lone crank with nothing better to do but bash CoolIT
If I was the lone dissenting voice out of a hundred, then maybe I had a defective unit. But when I see others getting the same results I did, then either there's a whole batch of defective ones out there, or my experience (with highly overclocked CPU) was typical of what the unit can do.For reference, here's my post in this thread w/results: http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1030553845&postcount=76
Basically, with air cooling it was idle/load of 27/43C; with Freezone (coldest setting), 20/48C. The fan spun up/down with the Freezone, so that part wasn't defective, but it only spun up when the computer was entirely shut off and turned on; i.e. soon after turning the computer on, it quickly went up to the highest fan speed and stayed there. That made it very noisy.
Well I finally managed to overpower mine @ 3.73 on a 6800. Well overpower isn't the most exact phrase but I got temps up into the high 40's low 50's @ about 95-100% useage on one core and about 90% on the second. Volts were only 1.425, so was pretty interesting to see the temps climb. It stopped. It didn't run amok or anything, but should honestly report what I found. Room temp is low around 20c or so. 120x38mm Panaflo M series blowing plenty of cool air through the exchanger. Setting is as high as it will go.
Idle @ 3.46 was 29, load was 38-39 or so.
Now this @ 3.73 begins to show the limits of the system.
I'm impressed enough that the whole thing is solid and stable and not really "super" hot. And it's FAR more compact than most watercooling solutions. But it definitely has it's limits in terms of heat load. It's to be expected and perhaps they'll come out with a more powerful version later. Certainly those who went with the Eliminator and the lower TEC power, may actually hit the heat ceiling faster than with the Freezone. That might make those owners quite annoyed. But it's quiet in my book, and does hit an easy 3.73 without turning into a furnace or sounding like a tornado.
Idle @ 3.46 was 29, load was 38-39 or so.
Now this @ 3.73 begins to show the limits of the system.
I'm impressed enough that the whole thing is solid and stable and not really "super" hot. And it's FAR more compact than most watercooling solutions. But it definitely has it's limits in terms of heat load. It's to be expected and perhaps they'll come out with a more powerful version later. Certainly those who went with the Eliminator and the lower TEC power, may actually hit the heat ceiling faster than with the Freezone. That might make those owners quite annoyed. But it's quiet in my book, and does hit an easy 3.73 without turning into a furnace or sounding like a tornado.
That isn't normal then I guess?
theelectic
Limp Gawd
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Well, I thought it was normal in the sense that the fan speed spun up when load was increased. However, even at max fan speed, cooling performance was mediocre at best.
Did you already made contact with CoolIt about this? Because you have to admit that it is strange no? some has absolute great performance and some terrible. And there has to be an explanation for that. There always is a cause. But that's off course the hardest part. Finding the cause.
theelectic
Limp Gawd
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I returned it to where I bought it for a refund and used the same $ to buy a regular water cooling setup, based around a PA120.3. Much happier overall, even if the installation was a pain.
Additional Eliminator review, showing it to be unsuitable for extreme overclocking (worse than air cooler):
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/473/6/
Well have to admit if the two new Thermalright models Ultra 120 extreme and IFX 14 manage to do better in temps, would be tempted to go to air...
But it would have to be better temps by several degrees, like 5 or so, because the 1-2 degree differences that work most people up don't do it for me. We'll see.
But it would have to be better temps by several degrees, like 5 or so, because the 1-2 degree differences that work most people up don't do it for me. We'll see.
I've got the Freezone in a Sugo mod that I'm working on. Although the CPU is just a slightly overclocked (2.8ghz) FX-60, the performance has been stellar. It's usually idling at about 9c, and around 21c under sustained full load on both cores. If I were running C2D, those numbers would most certainly change, but as of right now, I couldn't be happier.
Deathspine
Weaksauce
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I have been using the Freezone Cooler for several months now. I have personally experience variable results that my explain some of the variability in the results of others and the various reviews. I however an not an experienced water cooler builder so some experience opinons are needed. This is my one and only water cooler.
I have put the Freeezone Cooler in two cases, a Silverstone TJ06 and TJ07, and have used three difference CPUs. In another words I have install the Freezone cooler many of times. My results are not consistent. I can have excellent cooling and at other times just adequate cooling. I suspect the results may have to do with how well the block is in contact with the CPU. To improve my results I have to re-apply thermal compound usually putting it on thicker helps the most, simply trying to re-seat the cooler on the CPU by balancing the force of the four contact posts does not help much. I have read that too much thermal compound is not good but my results are better with more then less.
Right now I have a new CPU, an excellent overclocker but my temps are way too high. I will be trying to make adjustments again this weekend when I may try a new thermal compound.
I have put the Freeezone Cooler in two cases, a Silverstone TJ06 and TJ07, and have used three difference CPUs. In another words I have install the Freezone cooler many of times. My results are not consistent. I can have excellent cooling and at other times just adequate cooling. I suspect the results may have to do with how well the block is in contact with the CPU. To improve my results I have to re-apply thermal compound usually putting it on thicker helps the most, simply trying to re-seat the cooler on the CPU by balancing the force of the four contact posts does not help much. I have read that too much thermal compound is not good but my results are better with more then less.
Right now I have a new CPU, an excellent overclocker but my temps are way too high. I will be trying to make adjustments again this weekend when I may try a new thermal compound.