Packaging & Accessories


On first inspection of the box one is left with mixed feelings. The box seems to be designed for retail store shelf sales, and it shows in the compromises that had to be made to make it competitive in that marketplace. On the positive side, the box is crammed with relevant information that would certainly help a first time buyer in making a purchasing decision; especially if that first time buyer was expected to see this box on display at his local computer store. More importantly than the provided information, they would not only be able to read about its specifications and how it works but you actually be able to see it. This here is the sticking point for me; the box’s integrity and ability to protect the product from damage is severely compromised by this big hole in the front of the box. Yes, a picture is never as good as actually seeing a product, but when there is only a thin plastic covering between the cooler and the great outdoors, it just doesn’t instill one with confidence.

On the positive side, the top of the box has an integrated carry handle which was a nice touch and certainly makes it a more user friendly shipping container. No one likes their brand new purchase to slip from their hands and crash onto the cold, hard ground of their local computer store’s parking lot, or worse still become a purchased item because it slipped from their hands as they were looking at it and landed on the store’s floor! After all the old adage “you break it, you bought it” is always in effect in retail sales.


Unlike the exterior of the box, this internal arrangement was not a list of compromises; rather it is a seamless blend of protection, cost reduction and ease of opening. The thin plastic covering that you can see from the outside of the box is actually the top part of an easy to remove, molded two piece plastic container that has not been heat sealed together; rather it is attached by molded in “snaps” that (pardon the pun) make it a snap to take apart. This makes for a very easy and intuitive removal with no tools or scissors required. One has to simply snap off the top half of the plastic container, remove the heatsink & fan combo, remove the small protective cap on the bottom of the heatsink and install it. No hassle, no sealed plastic clamshells to break into and best of all no chances of damage while removing it from the box.


The list of accessories that come with the Igloo 5750 is on the short side of the spectrum. Besides a simple instruction pamphlet with lots of pictures you get a case badge. This is quiet common for the Igloo 5750’s price range and was not only expected but can be considered standard operating procedure for today’s cost cutting “value added” marketplace. Other than the instructions and case badge the only other accessory was a small plastic bag that contains the alternate hardware mounting brackets for AMD systems. However, as the instruction pamphlet states, no back plate / mounting bracket was included for either Intel or AMD systems. You are expected to use what comes standard with your motherboard, or do without. However, since it did include the necessary hardware to mount this cooler on virtually any modern day CPU, this small corner cutting can be easily overlooked.

Overall, the Igloo 5750 leaves one with a fairly pleasing first impression. Compromises had to be made to make its packaging work in its intended marketplace and it is definitely a case of function following form. With additional layer of protection, for example a cardboard box with Styrofoam “chips”, it is a functional packaging scheme that is more than acceptable for long distance shipping.