Arctic Freezer 34 Esports Duo Review

Arctic has been around for a long time and their cooling products usually offer good value. Today we’re taking a look at the Freezer 34 Esports Duo, a dual-fan tower cooler similar to the well received Freezer 33.

Arctic Freezer 34 Esports Duo – Specs

Arctic Freezer 34 Esports DuoSpecs
SocketIntel 115X, 2011-3 *, 2066 *, AMD: AM4
Measurements 7.4 x 4.9 x 4.4 inches
MaterialsDirect contact copper heatpipes + aluminum heatsink
Heat pipes4x 6mm
FanBioniX F120 (4-pin PWM)
Fan speed200-2100 rpm
Silent modeYes, fans stop below 5% PWM
TDP320 W (Max) 210 W (recommended)
Warranty10 year limited
MSRP$40

The similarities between this Arctic Freezer 34 Esports Duo and the Freezer 33 are striking. Assembly is virtually identical, but the tower design is slightly different. Also with the 34 model you should get better performance by a few degrees. The warranty is basically for the lifetime of the PC, 10 years.

The radiator is a simple design with one fan mounted on each side. These use metal brackets that are clamped in the fan mounting holes closest to the tower. The hooks do not need to be removed, but stay in place when a fan is removed.

As for the arrangement of the heat pipes, Arctic claims to have done a lot of simulations to arrive at this design, but we’ll just have to find out for ourselves how it performs. In spite of the fact that it promises lower temperatures, the Freezer 34 actually weighs a little less than the Freezer 33. The pictures may hint at some LEDs at work, but this is unfortunately not the case here.

Again compared to the Freezer 33, there’s an improvement in the form of a totally silent mode, meaning that the fans turn off at a PWM duty cycle below five percent.

Test system 

  • CPU Intel Core i7-3770K
  • MB: Asrock Z77 Extreme4
  • Case: Corsair Carbide
  • PSU: Corsair RM1000x

Reference coolers

  • Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4
  • Cryorig H7 Plus

The Cryorig H7 Plus is a visually similar solution and Be Quiet’s Dark Rock Pro 4 is an other popular with a bigger price tag than the Arctic.

We use Prime95 to max out the CPU and HWMonitor to check temps once they’ve stabilized. 

Installation

The Arctic Freezer 34 is compatible with most Intel sockets and AM4. Installation on our Intel system was a breeze, but the cooler is quite large and heavy, so check the measurements before you jump in.

The radiator tower is mounted with screws through the top brackets, down through the motherboard and into the motherboard’s included mounting plate.

Results

The Arctic Freezer 34 Esports Duo performs well compared to the other two coolers. It is impressive that the Arctic keeps the pace with the more expensive be Quiet cooler, although the results are within the margin of error

Sound levels are, subjectively, perfectly acceptable. The fans will switch off at a low PWM signal, but this will not work with all motherboards. At low rotational speeds (CPU idle) the fans will be practically silent regardless.

Conclusion

There’s no question in my mind that the Arctic Freezer 34 is a well-balanced cooler, offering simple assembly, a sensible price tag – and perhaps most impressively – a very long warranty period.

It is a competent cooler, and a very clear improvement any boxed cooler or non-tower fan cooler on the market.

Pros
Good cooling performance
Easy installation
10 year warranty

Cons
Very large – will not fit in all cases