The system used to test the Core-Contact Freezer is as below:

A64 3400+
1GB DDR RAM
Asus K8V SE Deluxe
X-Pro 400w
Chieftec Dragon Midi Tower

As this motherboard cannot overclock due to non-working PCI locks I tested both idle and load temperatures of the CPU. The idle temperatures were taken after 10 minutes in Windows and the load temperatures were taken after 10 minutes of gaming and then a run-through of PCMark05 to give an approximation of some loads that the PC could expect to face.

For the Core-Contract Freezer I used the fan controller set to approx 1500rpm as an acceptable balance of noise and performance. The stock AMD cooler with its much smaller fan was around 3400rpm throughout.







Impressive performance from the Core-Contact Freezer, the temperature only rises 8C when loaded which is half that of the stock cooler and it returns to idle temperatures much quicker. This should perhaps be no great surprise given the much greater surface area and larger fan but the performance is still laudable. What is also worth noting is that the motherboard temperature is also slightly lower under load so it would appear that the downward facing fins are not simply a gimmick.

Conclusion

Although I couldn't test the Core-Contact Freezer as thoroughly as it deserved due to the limitations of my system it impressed me with its quality and performance which hint that it will perform well under more rigorous uses. It isn't a hugely innovative design in itself but it is a refinement on existing designs to it works and works well.

For the money it is a vast improvement on stock cooling and comes as a fully featured package with everything you could require. My only real concern is the flimsiness of the fins as this is the second example that has been sent to Vortez for reviewing and in both instances some of the fins have been bent, however due to the ease with which this can be sorted it would not be fair to mark too harshly on this basis, parcels can get damaged in transit all too easily.

Overall, a worthy product and one that I'd be happy to recommend as a solution to offering a good balance of price versus performance. A Big thanks to Sunbeam for supplying this cooler to test.