Installation Issues:

   Sometimes while installing something new in your computer, you miss the obvious right in front of your eyes. This was the case with the Freezer 64 Pro and me. I had the Freezer 64 Pro installed on the motherboard and ONLY it when I made the brilliant decision to go ahead and install it in the chassis.

   Woops! After I installed the motherboard with the Freezer 64 Pro already installed on it, which in itself isn't unusual, I went ahead and began the system rebuilding process as I normally would.

   Right off the bat....a seemingly major problem: I can't get one of my sticks of Corsair PC3500LLPRO installed! The floating fan cage on the Freezer 64 Pro was literally so large (or set so far out) it was over hanging my first DDR slot on my ASUS A8N-ALI Premium. My very first thoughts were "oh man, I gotta take this whole thing apart, backplate and all, and reinstall my Zalman...UGH."

   However I was not so quick to give in. After some very careful examination of the scenario I was facing (along with some pushing, shoving, grunting and hair pulling!#$), I had a plan! And, I didn't even have to remove the motherboard from the chassis or the heatsink from the motherboard.

   It turns out that a couple quick snips with a wire cutter to remove the lowest portion of the fan cage right between the support brackets worked perfectly and also did not reduce the structural integrity of the fan cage. After the quick 2 second mod, everything fell in to place just fine. It's close, no doubt, but there is no pressure being applied by the fan cage onto the ram. It's literally just sitting on it without pressing on it.

   All in all, it was a quick mod and not all of you would have to perform this mod. If you have an Asus A8N-SLI premium and 2GB of Corsair PC3500PROLL, you will. You can't get a fan any closer to the Ram, so that should help suck any hot air off the Ram, and notice the overall position nicely in front of the rear 120mm chassis fan on my Antec PlusView II...perfect.

Testing:

   I've been using the Freezer 64 Pro in my Antec PlusView II for a couple of weeks now thru everyday use and abuse including hours of long gaming sessions of Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Quake 4, and Call of Duty 2.

   I leave my PC on 24/7 and go 4-5 days between reboots usually so the Freezer 64 Pro is getting it's workout for sure thru both normal and extreme cooling situations.

Test Hardware:

• Antec PlusView II Chassis

• Asus A8N-SLI Premium

• AMD X2 4400+

• 2GB Corsair PC3500LLPRO

• Dual XFX 7800GT's (SLI)

• Creative Audigy2 ZS Gamers

Test Results:

Conclusion:

   The sheer size of the Freezer 64 Pro versus something like say, the Zalman V7000B-Cu or even the stock AMD cooler I got when I purchased my AMD X2 4400+ is shockingly bulky and considering the very close temps in all 3 coolers, it makes me wonder exactly who this heatsink is for. It's certainly not ideal for my hardware setup. I can't work it like it's meant to be worked apparently.

   It's a great design with the heatpipes, the patented fan vibration absorption system and the easy installation replacing a stock cooler setup. However so was the stock cooler with it's heatpipes and great temps. Though not all AMD stock coolers have heatpipes, but my X2 4400+ came with a beauty. The thermal compound that was pre-applied to the Freezer 64 Pro has been working just fine helping to keep the X2 4400+ very cool...just like the stock cooler did.

  The Freezer 64 Pro is also very quiet with no noticeable noise over the other system components in my particular setup...just like my stock cooler. Get the drift? It depends on what you're looking to do with this cooler.

   If you're heavily overclocking a 3000+ and need more cooling without resorting to watercooling, this should be a very good choice. There is a ton of heat dissipating surface area and the large 92mm fan cools plenty. The new AMD cpu's, including my X2 run very cool inheritably as it is.

   Another note to point out is that this cooler is not so big it will not fit into your case. Quite the contrary, there is a good 2" of clearance between the top of the Freezer 64 Pro and the windowed side panel on my Antec PlusView II with the side panel closed. Here's a peek..

How much is that cooler... in the window?

My Current Setup

   With a very respectable street price of around $35 USD, it's certainly worth a strong look for a solid cooler. I personally really like the cooler and I can rest easy that my CPU is getting it's proper airflow. It's not as "pretty" as the Zalman V7000B-Cu was with it's blue led fan, but I have alittle story about that...

Cooling Story 101

   After using the Zalman for about 1 month, I noticed my temps began to slowly rise week by week until finally I was at the point of confusion. It turns out that burning scented candles in your office where your PC is, is a bad idea. The Zalman was completely clogged up with a black silt residue from the candles. It's in part due to the fact that the fins on the Zalman are so close together that it allowed it to completely clog the space between the fins due to the overall design of it. Although I've since stopped burning candles in the house, I really don't feel like that would be a problem with the Freezer 64 Pro cooler because of it's overall design and the larger space between the fins, not to mention the direction of airflow is straight thru it and not straight into it...much different.

   Since my discovery of the black silt culprit, I broke down my PC, removed the silt covered Zalman, thoroughly cleaned my motherboard and chassis and then had to install the Freezer 64 Pro for review. Obviously the temperature difference was astounding as apparently my Zalman wasn't cooling anything at all there at the end.

   What's my point in all this? Using a good heatsink cooler is critical, but keeping your system clean and utilizing a good airflow theme is just as critical. Cooling in general has it's variables that if you skip out on one or two of the requirements, you will not receive the results you're looking for.

   I'll be the first to say that the CPU HSF is the single most important factor in keeping your CPU running cool. Running a close second however is the overall airflow and heat dissipation of the chassis itself. One without the other is definately going to hamper your potential.

  So to wrap this review up I think the Freezer 64 Pro is a great cooling heatsink and if you're having cooling problems on your AMD socket 939 cpu, it's worth the cash. However be aware of the issues I've raised in this review concerning the installation issue where I had to mod it to fit with my hardware. That design flaw in and of itself would warrant that this cooler, although designed for a direct replacement of the stock cooler, is in fact NOT quite that for some people.

   Do you want to spend $35 on a new cooler only to get it home and have to snip it's wings? Probably not. Will the mod to it that I've shown you in this review diminish it's cooling abilities? Not at all and it only took a second to do. However the real question is "Should I have to mod it right out of the box?" and the answer to that is "No".

   So I've tried to think of everything in this review and lay it all out on the line for you guys so you can make your own decisions on the product. Overall I like it alot and the small mod I had to do to it doesn't really bother me. However I've been doing this sort of thing for over 6yrs now so it takes alittle more than that for me to raise the red flag on the a product.

   Bottom Line: I like it, it's worth the money, but be aware of your installation.