Extreme overclockers are always looking for bleeding-edge ways to get every once from their hardware. They use powerful fans, extensive water-cooling setups, and even thermoelectric plates to make sure their rigs run reliably, even when pushed beyond the intended performance envelope. Recently, hardware manufacturers have been producing “all-in-one” watercooling devices, which are easy to install, and don’t require the extensive hassle of traditional modular watercooling systems.
Now, CoolIT has entered the fray with a new type of water-cooling unit with their Freezone CPU Cooler. Unlike traditional systems, the Freezone does not use a radiator, but uses a proprietary “chiller”, which uses multiple TECs (peltier plates) to cool the liquid coolant, essentially refrigerating the liquid without a compressor (as expensive phase-change coolers use). This system provides greater thermal efficiency and increased reliability, and is easier to install than full-sized water-cooling kits.
Freezone is a CoolIT Systems Inc. patented product that removes heat from individual components and transfers the heat outside the computer case. It combines facets of air-cooling and liquid chilling through purpose-designed internally installed components. It can aggressively remove heat from a computer quietly, efficiently, and reliably. This system alleviates any risk of condensation, is highly effective, and is easy to install.
To provide concentrated cooling of a small surface area, Freezone uses environmentally friendly liquid coolant as the primary dissipating medium, which absorbs heat much more efficiently than air. The patented system configuration includes multiple TECs (thermoelectric coolers) that provide unique liquid chilling for superior thermal performance.
CoolIT Freezone CPU Cooler Specifications
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In addition to keeping the CPU cool, Freezone actually provides cooling for other vital components while improving system level acoustics. By removing heat from the source and transferring it outside of the chassis, internal PC temperatures are held low. This removes the need for multiple case fans, which eliminates unwanted noise and improves the reliability of other peripheral hardware such as the hard drive.
The Freezone CPU Cooler includes: a Chiller / Pump Module, a Thermal Control Module (TCM), and a CPU Fluid Heat Exchanger (FHE). This universal sealed closed-loop maintenance free system is pre-plumbed and charged for simple bolt-in installation.
Instead of using mechanical cooling (such as a heatsink and fan) or traditional water cooling technology, the Freezone uses several Thermoelectic Coolers (TECs or peltiers). A peltier is a ceramic substrate with two sides; a hot side and a cool side. The underlying concept is that heat is related to the difference in the voltage potential between the two sides, and heat is transferred from one side of the plate to the other when energy is applied. The cold side gets below room temperature, and the hot side gets very hot, which is usually cooled with a fan.
The CoolIT Freezone is an all-in-one liquid cooling system. All the tubes, pumps, fan, and heatsink are pre-assembled, and the unit is built like a brick. The pump and reservoir is attached to a the copper water block via vapor-resistant hoses. The copper block is then attached to the heatsink/peltier unit block. The heatsink is flanked by two blue peltier units, and each peltier unit contains 3 individual TECs, for a total of six. Strong wire is wrapped around the tubing to prevent kinking or inadvertant damage to the tubing. The tubes are also clamped off very securely with brass fittings, where the protective wire is neatly tucked.
The unit is also pre-filled with the proper amount of coolant, and the plastic tubing are a high-quality vapor resistant type so there is no need to worry about potential leaks or having to re-fill the unit. The tubes are ¼ inches, and are filled with an “environmentally friendly liquid coolant, which is a mixture of polyproplene glycol and distilled water. Thanks to the PPG, no organisms can grow or propogate in the solution, meaning that the tubes will remain clean and free of fungus or bacteria. Furthermore, since the tubing is vapor resistant, the liquid will not evaporate over time, so the unit never needs filling.
The Fluid Heat Exchanger (FHE) is a single-channel, multi-cell monolithic copper block with nickel plating. This water block is what actually transfers the heat from the CPU to the liquid coolant, and comes with silver thermal compound pre-applied. The block’s dimensions are 42x42x17mm, so it can cover even today’s large processors.
The attached pump is a 12 volt coreless outrunner type with an integrated expansion vessel, and features dual fluid-in sapphire bearings. The pump’s dimensions are 50x50x75mm, is practically noiseless at 15dBA, and has a life cycle of 50,000 hours (5.7 years). The pump is powered by a small black fan cable that is attached to the motherboard’s CPU fan lead.
The pump is mounted to a black block of anodized alloy that functions as a heatsink to cool the hot side of the attached TEC units. The TEC units are attached directly to the heatsink. The mounted 92mm fan then draws the heat from the heatsink block outside the case.
The exhaust fan is made by Young Lin Tech, and is a 12 volt, 92mm fan, rated at 26dBA – 37dBA and has 50,000 hours of life. The bearing is enhanced life ceramic. The 92mm fan is an unusual choice, as most cases today either have an 80mm or 120mm exhaust fans. Since the unit is about as tall and wide as a 120mm fan, your case should have enough clearance to accomodate it, anyway. You could modify the unit to utilize a 120mm fan, but the Freezone includes an adapter plate to allow for mounting to a larger port.
The Freezone includes a full-color paper manual with many detailed pictures of all parts and a step-by-step installation. Also included are several sets of retention bars, so the kit can be used on the latest Intel CPUs (socket 478 and 775), and AMD processors (socket 754, 939, 940, and AM2). The Freezone CPU Cooler can be mounted on all ATX motherboards, most BTX and mATX motherboards (assuming you have enough room in your case).
The Freezone also includes a Thermal Control Module (TCM), which is basically a thermostat used to adjust the peltier / fan control. This unit also monitors the ambient temperature, and will not allow the peltiers to cool to the point where water condenses on them. Because of this temperature monitoring, the maximum cooling achieved is still dependant on ambient air temperature.
On the left of the TCM is a port for the temperature sensor cable from the Chiller. On the right there is a standard 4-pin molex connector for power, and on the bottom are three 3-pin fan connectors, one of which you will attach the 92mm fan lead. You can use the remaining fan connectors to power the other blowers in your case, so the TCM also doubles as a fan bus.
Temperature is adjusted on the TCM with a small white potentiometer. Turning this know clockwise (to the right) reduces the fan / lowers the peltiers (reduces cooling), and turning the knob counter-clockwise (to the left) increases the peltiers / increases fan speed (increases cooling). It takes a minute or so for the unit to “rev up” after you adjust the knob, and you will notice a steady increase or decrease in noise. It is rather difficult to fine-tune the knob, and is not dynamic. It would be nice if the TCM had a digital input, and were dynamic (doesn’t work as hard when the CPU is idle, and revs up under load).
Depending on what type of motherboard you have determines how much additional effort installation will take. Installation on a Socket 478 is rather simple, as you just
You probably should remove any existing exhaust fan to prepare for the Freezone for its new home. The Freezone unit is huge, so you’ll need to check that your case can accomodate it. You should also check how much clearance you have above the CPU, which could determine how you position the waterblock (you don’t want to kink any hoses if you can avoid it.
For most motherboards, you install screws from the underside of the motherboard through retention holes. Silicone washers are included so you don’t strip any contacts or short out any motherboard components. Once the standoffs are screwed in tightly you can place the waterblock down and attach the mounting bars (the bars you use will depend on which motherboard socket you have). Thumbscrews are then inserted into the holes at the end of the bars, and screwed into the metal offsets.
Once the block is installed, you can mount the main Freezone unit. If you have a 120mm exhaust port, go ahead and mount the included adapter to the 92mm fan. You can then mount this plate to the back of your case, and the main unit should hover over the waterblock (or FHE, whatever you want to call it).
Once the hardware is mounted you can route the wiring to the appropriate places. The Thermal Control Module can be mounted anywhere in the case, but CoolIT suggests the drive cage. The back of the TCM has two strips of double-sided tape, and easily adheres the unit just about anywhere. The Freezone has rather long wires, so they can easily be routed anywhere, even in the largest of cases. The black fan lead connects to the motherboard’s CPU fan socket, and the rest of the wires connect to the Thermal Control Module. Make sure you have a spare molex connector to supply the power.
Double-check your work, and then turn your PC on.
The Freezone will consume an additional 70W of power, so you should make sure that your power supply can handle that load. Typical computers today consume an average of 300 Watts, so a good 500W power supply should do the trick. Be forewarned, the light-weight 500W power supply that come pre-installed in a $30 case is probably not up to the task. Use a good, name-brand power supply like Ultra, Antec, or OCZ.
The unit steadily got louder as it “warmed up”. At the lowest setting (~3000rpm), the unit is almost silent, but at the highest setting (~7000rpm), the Freezone sounds like a jet engine taking off, and will probably be the loudest thing in your case. Noise might be reduced if using an efficient 120mm fan, but you can try to balance the noise and performance using the TCM’s adjustment knob. Since the TCM is placed inside the sytem, minor tweaks require opening the case.
Test system
The Freezone was tested against our top-performing air-cooled heatsink, the Zalman CNPS-9700NT. We used an Intel E6600 Core 2 Duo processor, which has great overclocking ability.
- Intel E6600 Core 2 Duo @ 2.4Ghz
- Asus P5W Deluxe (Intel 975 chipset)
- 2GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR-800
- XFX 7800 GT PCI-e video card
- CoolIT Freezone CPU Cooler
- Zalman CNPS-9700 NT Heatsink
CoolIT Freezone CPU Cooler Performance
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The CoolIT Freezone is the only CPU Cooler I’ve used that actually cooled the CPU signficiantly below room temperature! At 15 degrees celcius (59 degrees F), our E6600 had much better overclocking potential. We were able to overclock our E6600 from 2.4Ghz to 3.2Ghz, with high stability. In contrast, using the Zalman we could only overclock to 2.8Ghz stably, and the CPU was still hotter than I would like.
The copper waterblock was literally cool to the touch, as were the tubes and peltier. Because the TCM adjusts the peltiers to prevent condensation, the unit only achieved these results at night, when the room temperature was lower. During the day, the Freezone was able to chill the CPU to 20 degrees C, still way below room temperature.
There’s no denying the extreme performance that the Freezone delivers. It cools your processor down below room temperature, something that even watercooling can’t do.
This extreme performance does come at a price, and not just the four Franklins you fork out. The unit is extremely noisy at its highest setting, sounding much like a jet engine. At the other extreme (the lowest setting), the Freezone performs worse than air-cooling! There isn’t really much point trying to find a happy medium between cooling and noise, because that happy medium is the same performance you get with a good air-cooled heatsink (like the Zalman CNPS-9700 NT). Why would you spend $400 on a unit only to throttle it to the same performance as a $50 heatsink?
Also, the Freezone is “expensive” in that it consumes energy to dissipate heat. The Freezone can cool up to 175W of heat, but adds another 60W of heat to do the job: that’s 235W of heat that you’re spewing into your room. Our test lab was noticably warmer than usual with the Freezone installed, so that is another thing to keep in mind.
In reality, you either leave the Freezone on full-blast, or don’t bother installing it. If you’re a gamer and live at LAN parties, then you won’t notice the noise, as you always have headphones on, or have speakers blasting away, but you’ll be the envy of all your geek friends. If you run an overclocked workstation, then you most likely have other computers polluting the room, anyway. You really have to make the choice if the extra noise will bother you. If noise is of no concern, then the CoolIT Freezone is the best-performing CPU cooler you can buy without a compressor or a bottle of liquid nitrogen.
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