Installation …
The Arctic Freezer 34 eSports is compatible with the current Intel sockets up to LGA 1200 and LGA 2066 as well as the AMD AM4 socket. Many previous Intel sockets are also supported.
Now we come to the cooler installation on AMD systems and on Intel systems.
Intel Installation …
We have mounted the new Arctic Freezer 34 eSports for testing on several motherboards, including on this current ASRock Z490 Steel Legend Intel LGA 1200 motherboard. For the Intel LGA 1200 installation we need the included retention module. This is held under the mainboard so that it matches the four holes on the CPU socket. Then you stick the small stickers on. We did not stick them on the mainboard, but directly on the corresponding Intel LGA 1200 spacer screws, so that you can use them multiple times without problems. The distance screws are now screwed through the mainboard holes onto the retention module. Thanks to the Thumbscrew design, they can be screwed on without any additional tools.
Now mount the two retaining clips on the cooler, remove the protective foil from the cooler bottom and then apply a little MX4 thermal paste on the CPU or on the cooler bottom. With the Arctic MX-4 (supplied as a small bag), Arctic provides an above-average thermal compound with 8.5 W/(mK), which ensures optimal contact between the cooler and the CPU. There are several ways how to apply thermal paste best – we choose an appropriate amount from our slightly larger MX4 storage bag in the middle of the CPU without prior spreading and thus reach all spots of the small heatspreader of the Intel LGA1200 CPU when pressing it on. Depending on the type and size of the CPU you should vary a bit.
And the cooler can already be mounted using the four thumbscrews. It’s up to you if you want to remove the fan from the heatsink or not. Meanwhile we are so used to the mounting that we can screw on the cooler with the fan mounted without problems, but at least the memory should be installed later.
And this is what the finished test system looks like.
Tip: Whether the cooler with the fan points better to the front or the back is not only a question of appearance. It depends on the used PC case and its fan or airflow. If the airflow is led into the front of the case and out of the case at the back, the fan of the CPU cooler should also be mounted at the front to lead the warm air to the back. If there is only one fan at the back of the case, the cooler fan should be mounted at the back of the case to direct the cold air from there into the case. Depending on the used mainboard and RAM assembly, you have to vary the fan a bit and could even mount the fan a bit higher thanks to the flexible design of the fan holder.
AMD Installation …
The AMD installation is as fast as the Intel installation explained above. You don’t use the supplied retention module, but unscrew the two brackets from the original AMD retention module, then mount the brackets on the cooler, apply the supplied MX4 thermal compound and then mount the whole thing with the screws supplied for AMD mounting.
All in all, the mounting is fast and easy even without the manual, but a look at the current online manual is of course as always advisable and before buying the cooler, you should also take a look at the mainboard compatibility list on the Arctic Support page.
Arctic Freezer 34 eSports test setup and results …