This heatsink has a single tower design, on which two fans will be installed that will be responsible for dissipating the heat generated by the processor. The fans included with this heatsink are two P12 PWM PST A-RGB fans with Fluid Dynamic Bearing that can operate from 200 RPM to 2000 RPM. Being controlled by PWM, the computer can easily adjust its speed depending on the temperature, and can even be stopped when not needed for much quieter use.
The base of the heatsink is made up of 4 directly sanded and polished copper heatpipes, so we avoid having other intermediate components and guarantee that heat transmission is perfect. These heatpipes are 6 mm in diameter, and reach from one side of the tower to the other. The tower has 59 0.4 mm thick aluminum sheets, which facilitates the passage of air to dissipate the heat accumulated in the copper tubes.
The entire kit has an A-RGB lighting system made up of 12 LEDs on each fan that connects to the 3-pin RGB socket on the motherboard.
This cooler is compatible with Intel sockets 1851 and 1700, as well as AMD AM4 and AM5. It includes, along with it, a new generation MX-6 thermal paste. And finally, the size of the entire block is 104 mm long, 126 mm wide and 159 mm high. And its weight, with the fans mounted, is 917 grams.
Unboxing and external analysis
This heatsink comes in a cubic-shaped cardboard box. Since the “White” model is the one we are analyzing, the heatsink box is white. On the front we can find a photo of the heatsink itself, as well as some of its characteristics (A-RGB, 0dB, MX-6 paste included, etc.). On the back of the box we will find the technical specifications, some more details, and the QR code to access the assembly manual.
We take out the contents of the box and find the heatsink itself, its fans and all the accessories necessary for its installation. As you can see, Arctic has sent us the white model, although it is also available in black.
On the one hand, we will have the heatsink tower, along with the two fans that are included, as well as a paper bag for mounting on the Intel socket 1851 and all other accessories for mounting from Intel and AMD.
We also have a syringe of Arctic’s new thermal paste, MX-6, which improves conductivity for better efficiency.
The two fans that come with this heatsink are Arctic’s P12 PWM PST A-RGB, specifically white.
These fans have a 5-blade translucent design to reflect A-RGB lighting. It has a screw hole in each corner, and a rubber insert to reduce vibrations that may occur during operation.
Regarding the wiring of the fans, we have two cables. The first of them is the PWM, which will be responsible for powering and controlling the fan, and the second is for the A-RGB lighting. These cables have two connectors, so we can connect the two fans in series instead of individually.
And now we enter the heatsink block. It is white (in our model), and has the Arctic logo printed in glossy at the top.
We can see all the sheets that make up this heatsink tower, as well as the heatpipes that go inside to the top.
Our attention is drawn to the 4 holes in the 4 corners of the tower. Later we will see what they are for.
The basis, as we have already said, are the polished copper tubes to offer us perfect conductivity.
We will also have the heatsink anchor, which we will have to use in its assembly.
Given what the heatsink is like, we are going to proceed to assemble it.
Assembly of the Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB
The assembly of this heatsink is quite simple. The first thing we have to do is place the appropriate support for our socket. We are going to do the tests on an AMD socket, so the first thing we will do is remove the anchoring system that comes by default on the motherboard to install the one that Arctic comes with among the accessories. We place the separators, the supports, and screw. Ready.
Next, we only have to pour the thermal paste on the processor, and place the heatsink.
We tighten the two screws (one on each side), and as soon as it is well anchored we will have the heatsink ready.
Now we only have the fans left. Unlike other similar coolers that have a metal clip to hold the fans, Arctic has created a new system that, in our opinion, is perfect. As we could see during the external analysis of the product, the tower had, in each corner, a hole. And the fans came with 4 screws already installed.
To anchor the fans, all we have to do is snap them into place and tighten a little. That’s it. We do not need anchoring, clamps, or anything else. It is, from our point of view, a perfect system to place the fans.
Now we only have to connect the cables to the motherboard. We have connected the 2 PWM to the CPU FAN port of the motherboard, and the lighting one to the RGB port.
We now have our heatsink ready. Now let’s see how it behaves.
Test of performance
To test this cooler, we have used the same computer that we used to measure the performance of the new Arctic AIO. We remember, our test PC is made up of AMD’s top-of-the-range (and hottest) processor, the Ryzen 9 7950Xwhich has a TDP of no more and no less than 170 W. The CPU does not have any type of overclock, since the only thing that has been activated has been the EXPO profile of the RAM memories, a Corsair DOMINATOR TITANIUM at 6000 MHz.
As always, once we have done the assembly, we have started the computer and left it running for two hours so that the thermal paste can finish settling. Then we left it off for another two hours, so that it cooled down, and we have already started the tests.
To put the processor at 100% and measure both the temperature and whether it goes into throttling at some point, we have used the AIDA64 program. We have started the test, and we have left it for a while to get a good look at the temperature at which we managed to stabilize.
Obviously, the temperature is higher than what we achieved with the AIO from this same manufacturer, but the truth is that it surprised us quite a bit. We have achieved “very good” temperatures (starting from an ambient temperature of 25 degrees) both during the test and, once finished, when recovering. It’s still a little short for a processor as high-end as this Ryzen 9 7950X, but for any Ryzen 7, Intel i7, or lower, it will work perfectly.
The lighting is simple, but it serves its purpose. As we see, the fans light up and give a very pleasant effect inside the tower. Of course, since they are perpendicular to the motherboard, they don’t look much if we look at them from the outside.
Conclusion and verdict
Without a doubt, Arctic has surpassed itself again. After seeing the excellent performance of the Liquid Freezer III, we can now see that, for those who do not need AIO, or who simply prefer air cooling, this Freezer 36 A-RGB is here to stay.
It is a heatsink that, apart from being affordable for all budgets, offers spectacular performance. It is capable of keeping one of the hottest processors on the market at bay (although very fair). And, furthermore, it works very quietly since, although you can hear it when it is working at full capacity, it has the possibility of stopping the fans when they are not necessary.
Another of the qualities that we liked the most about this heatsink is its revolutionary fan anchoring. If one of the things I liked least (on a personal level) is anchoring with clips, this new method has made me trust tower heatsinks again. The fans can be attached and removed very easily. And, although we feared there would be vibrations, thanks to the plastic and rubber inserts of the fan these are none.
The lighting, without more. It fulfills what it promises, but it won’t make our computer stand out precisely because of it.
For all this, we have decided to give the new Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB our award goldhighlighting, above all, its price quality.
