Despite the rise in AIO liquid cooling solutions, air cooling is as relevant as ever. After releasing their high-end Freezer 33 series earlier in the month, Artic Cooling is releasing their new lower end compact Freezer 12 series of coolers. The Freezer 12 and Freezer 12 CO replaces the previous Freezer 11 with updates to efficiency, noise levels, cooling capacity and mounting versatility.
Just like the recently updated Freezer 33 series, Arctic Cooling has made the Freezer 12 coolers semi-passive. The fans only spin up at 40% PWM which means they can be tuned to stay off till a certain temperature is reached. To further reduce noise, the fans are mounted with rubber vibration absorption pads. The Freezer 12 and Freezer 12 CO are largely the same but the CO is rated for continuous operation and a longer lifespan.
As more compact coolers, the Freezer 12 feature just a 92mm fan. The heatsink itself features 45 aluminium fins along with 3 direct contact copper heatpipes. Despite this, they are rated for the same 150W TDP as their larger siblings. The CO reaches its 24/7 rating by using double ball bearings. Compatible with AM4 and Intel sockets, the coolers cost $39.99 and comes with MX-4 thermal paste.
