We continue to be impressed with the effectiveness of modern air coolers, particularly in lower-cost segments where AIOs are impractical and simply introduce an additional point of failure (i.e. the pump). That they’re also far more attractive than they used to be, and are available in many variations all clustered around the same keen price point, is another huge draw for a segment of the market that has often been underappreciated by enthusiasts.

In terms of cooling, the Arctic Freezer 36 posted fair numbers on par with the more expensive Deepcool AK400 and far better than the AG400 from the same brand. Comparisons to the twin-tower-style Noctua NH-D12L appear unfavourable until put into the context of it being less than one-quarter the price. This design is absolutely ample for its target performance segment of modern Core i5 and Ryzen 5 CPUs, but will also be enough for some Ryzen 7 and Core i7 models too.

The downside to this will be noise, but not necessarily in absolute terms. The two 120mm fans are pretty quiet at load with less audible hum than you’ll experience with similar roof-mounted 120mm fans attached to AIO radiators, generating noise roughly on par with the single 120mm fan on the AK400. That’s despite these fans not technically being optimised for silent operation.

Where the Freezer 36 trips up, as with many single-tower design coolers, is that they’re very sensitive to CPU temperature and can get overwhelmed. They take in heat readily and expel it just as quickly, leading to highly variable fan RPM as software ramps them up and down in response to CPU load according to aggressive fan curves. Larger coolers and AIOs with more thermal mass can afford to more gently ramp up and down fan speeds, making the noise profile more pleasant for the end-user.

Judicious tinkering with fan curves can alleviate this but they inevitably lead to operating at higher fan RPM minimums generally, losing some of the benefits of their PWM design. It’s for that reason that sticking to appropriate CPU performance/TDP bands is recommended, even if the cooler is technically capable of more.



Installation, even with the tricky replacement of Intel’s LGA1700 CPU retention mechanism, was pretty easy. Arctic have done a great job in making the directions easy to follow, complemented by a good Youtube video guide.

Finally, and highly subjectively, Arctic have aesthetically hit it out of the park with the Black model. It’s a minimalist design that will complement almost any system eschewing garish RGB (with often proprietary control systems), but can be modified with RGB 120mm fans at a later date if desired. The Freezer 36 is also available in multiple variants with different looks including all-white or with RGB straight out of the box if preferred.

At less than £20 including VAT in the UK the Arctic Freezer 36 Black is very hard to beat for those on tight budgets. It looks great, performs well, and will be a great companion for a mid-tier CPU from either Intel or AMD. It comfortably gets the Great Value award and is sure to be on the recommendation lists for low-cost home systems with style.



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