Arctic Freezer 34 eSports DUO - Tower CPU Cooler with BioniX P-Series case fan in push-pull, 120 mm PWM fan, for Intel and AMD socket - Grey

It is now Saturday 15/05/21 at 11.40am. This is now the seventh time I have submitted my review to Amazon. The previous six times, my review was blocked. Useless Amazon got back to me (every time they have a different excuse). Now they are saying my review did not comply with their guidelines and was blocked because my benchmark photos contained watermarks. Images with logos and/or watermarks are not allowed with product reviews on the Amazon site (which is stupid because I have seen hundreds of cpu and gpu reviews with photos of benchmarks containing logos and watermarks). Anyways, I have removed my benchmark photos and I am trying to re-post my (watered down) review yet again.Here is my original review -My current rig is housing the awesome AMD 5800X. Prior to this upgrade I was using the 3700X. I received my AF34-esport duo 5 weeks ago. Before installing this air cooler, I was using the awesome Cryorig R1 Ultimate air cooler (dual fans at 76cfm each). The dual tower Cryorig R1 Ultimate debuted back in May 2014 and it was tested by Hitech Legion and found to be on par with the Noctua NHD-15.The only issue I found with the CR1U is that the front fan conflicts with my tall RAM module, so I had to offset the height of the front fan by mounting it about 1.5cm higher (which looked weird and probably affected cooling performance).The AF34-esport duo comes with two bionix fans (67.5cfm each, so total 135cfm). However, out of curiosity I decided to forego the bionix fans and instead opted to use my spare Noctua NF12 industrial fans (3k-rpm and 110cfm each so total of 220cfm).The first step was to see if my Noctua fans would fit on the AF heatsink. Lo and behold it does and it is compatible with the fan mounting springs supplied by AF.Step two. Read through the installation guide. TBH, it was vague and did not clarify which screws/bolts you need to use for an AM4 platform. Interestingly, AF supply an intel mounting backplate but not an AM4 backplate, but AF instruct buyers to use the AM4 backplate that comes with your mobo.If you do not have one or it is broken, then worry not as you can request a free AM4 backplate from AF customer support. You just need to show them your AF34 purchase invoice and they will send an AM4 backplate out for free. I also asked for spare fan mounting springs and the customer service dude also included two pairs. My replacement set arrived in 5 days. BTW, I do have an AM4 backplate which came with my Cryorig R1 ultimate air cooler but it is not universal (only specific to Cryorig).Step three. I tried a mock assembly by placing the AF34-esport duo components on my desk with the AM4 backplate and working things out. You need to use the four short bolts (the end with the thicker threads screw into the AM4 backplate. The thinner threads are used to secure the air cooler via nuts to the AM4 backplate. You do not need to remove the fan clips as they have a wing type movement. Just remove the bionix fans and keep the mounting springs in place.Step 4. Now that I worked out how to install the air cooler, it was a breeze installing it in my pc case (Phanteks Enthoo Primo). A lot of folks said you need to take your mobo out of the case when installing this air cooler, otherwise it is a massive headache. In my experience, this was not true because I did a dry run installation and my pc case has huge internal space.I use Shinetsu X-23 TIM and once applied to the heatsink (one line on each heat pipe), it was installed. I then fitted my pair of Noctua NF12 fans (hassle free). TBH, the end result is not the prettiest sight but in this case, I care more about cooling performance rather than aesthetics (as this cooler utilises a single heatsink and not two).Step 5. Turn on pc, go into BIOS and set fan speed parameters. BTW, I had to disable PBO and overclock in BIOS because my current BIOS version 3302 (for Asus Crosshair Hero wifi X570) will not allow me to manually adjust EDC, PPT and TDC (to decrease voltage to cpu). My cpu is juiced up, hence producing greater idle and work load temps. With PBO and overclocking features enabled, my 5800X is sitting at 65c idle (with both air coolers). I will have to wait for next BIOS update that will allow me to manually adjust voltage settings. Right now, I am using a restrained 5800X to keep temperatures down. Reboot.Step 6. Use my pc as normal. See idle and gaming temps. Tings get interesting!. In this warm weather, the single heatsink AF34ESD gives the same cooling performance as my Cryorig R1 Ultimate (dual heatsink) air cooler at idle (38c to 43c). During 4K gaming, this AF34ESD actually beats my CR1U by circa 3c and my 5800X does not go above 46c. My Noctua NF12 fans are powerful and together produce 220cfm but on the downside they can get a bit noisy, but IMO the cooling performance versus audio levels is a good trade off.I just stress tested my modified air cooler using cinebench R23 and this is where it left me speechless. I thought buying this cooler was a frivolous expenditure due to lockdown boredom. Alas, I was wrong. During stress test, my 5800X did not go above 54.47c. I kid you not. I thought it was a mistake so I ran it twice (first time 52.69c and second time 54.47c).In stark contrast, my 5800X with the Cryorig R1 Ultimate air cooler was at a constant 66c and reached 79c for a while and even hit 81.56c at one point.I am not sure if the incredible results for my AF34ESD is a lucky one off, or an error or if it really is the real McCoy, but if genuine, then I am really impressed. I am going to test again on other days to make sure the results are consistent.To conclude, I have used Arctic Freezer air coolers before and I thought the AF-A30 was a good air cooler which I used on my old AM3+/FX8350 rig, but this AF34ESD is in a league of it's own, as my modified version can take down big boy, dual heatsink air coolers. Honestly, AF have done an amazing job with this one. I am going to keep this air cooler due to the amazing cooling performance AND it also has a 10 years warranty.I will at some point retest with the provided AF bionix fans and see how cooling performance compares to my hybrid version with the two Noctua NF12 fans and I will update my review accordingly.

Mounted on Ryzen 5 2600. Lowers significantly CPU temp and noise level when compared to Arctic.

Great Budget Cooler for under 50 quid, I followed the QR instructions from the box for my AM4 board, very easy to install. Keeping my 5700x cool so far.

Make sure you read a manual and maybe watch a video on YT showing installation.The backplate gap disappears when you put the thumbscrews on.Good cooler.

I bought this to replace the Arctic Alpine 23 that came with a prebuild Ryzen 3600, RTX 3060TI micro ATX PC. I wasn't happy with idle temps at 50C, load temps (in Cyberpunk 2077, RTX Ultra, 1440p) at 75-77C! FPS around 45. This is after repasting.So I put this into my system today (2 front intake Arctic P12s, 2 exhaust Arctic P12s).Immediately, idle temps were 28-30C. In-game temps (Cyberpunk 2077, RTX Ultra, 1440p)? 60-65C. FPS increase? From 45 to 70...I cannot describe how amazing this cooler is.In addition, it's whisper silent at idle, and the fans increase to a respectable gentle windrush when stressed. Around 28 decibels perhaps (didn't measure).A couple of things to mention:1. Arctic now provide a small tube of MX-4 thermal paste (instead of a small packet), which is awesome!2. Apply the paste to the heatsink contact, not the CPU - I applied it in 4 strips.3. You MUST use your original AMD backplate (the ones that come with the the cooler is not compatible with AMD for some bizarre reason).4. The standoffs for AMD are the ones with the single notch.5. When you attach the standoffs to the backplate, it will initially be loose, but don't worry. Once you attach the thumbscrews to the brackets, it will all tighten nicely!6. Attach the brackets to the heatsink before mounting.7. I recommend installing this on your motherboard outside the case to save yourself a headache and possibly cutting your hands while pushing the fans back into place.8. Arctics instructional video is awful, so find another one on YouTube.This cooler beats my old Corsair H100 (which was on an ancient i5 2500k setup), both in thermals and acoustics.It also looks fantastic and the white version subtly bounces back RGB you have installed perfectly!I'm absolutely in love with this cooler, and highly recommend it. The price also makes the best price-to-performance component I have ever bought.9.5/10

The performance for my pc went from 80 degrees with stock cooler to 65 degrees with this cooler. On idle it falls below 35 degrees. This cooler is the best for keeping those temperatures down. There is probably others that can do better and get it even more lowered but based on experience it is really good. The noise level is way less noisier than the original stock cooler. On idle its very quiet and on full blast it just feels like I have turned on the Air conditioner. Its not that loud but enough for you to notice its working at full speed. The difficult part for me was installing the fans, the spinning fans would keep coming off and I would need to put it back in. Really was frustrating. Overall a very good cpu cooler and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a cheap and decent cpu cooler to cool your gaming pc. Just make sure to install the cpu outside of the case as it makes it much easier to install than doing it whilst inside the case. My pc was inside the case so I couldn't take it all apart, this could be the reason why it took me a very long time to install.