Performance
We have an array of high-end coolers in our line-up and it's satisfying to see the Arctic Freezer i32 slot in within reach of much pricier units. You do lose a little in terms of cooling performance, but the Freezer i32 has no problem keeping our overclocked Core i7-4770K suitably cool under load and, as expected, represents a marked improvement over reference.
CPU cooler noise output, obviously, is nonexistent when the system is idle. Arctic's 120mm fan turns off at low load and the 33.3dB reading is representative of our test platform's base noise level.
Applying full load to all cores sees the PWM fan spin-up (it can reach a maximum speed of 1,350 RPM) and, while it can be heard, the noise is a steady hum and not particularly intrusive. Our immediate reaction to real-world performance was one of "not at all bad for 25 quid."
