First Impressions pg.2

Also on the positive side, the base of the Fluid Heat Exchanger (aka CPU water block) is perfectly flat but at the same time it shows some minor tooling marks, some minor polishing marks and some big time scratches. However, unlike the PURE these scratches are most likely the result of the wrong plastic protection shield being used for transit than a case of bad workmanship. It really is a crying shame that this happened but thankfully it is extremely easy to spot as the TIM was smudged and the plastic protector was slightly skewed when we unpacked the unit.

If you see this on your brand new Freezone Elites F.H.E., simply RMA that bad boy and get a perfect one. That being said, it is doubtful if these scratches will negatively effect the testing phase as they are on the edge and not located anywhere near the CPU contact area. If one ignores the shipping scratches the level of quality exhibited by the Freezone Elite’s base is very good, not perfect as it was not polished to a mirror like shine but it certainly wasn’t bad at all.


On a side note this Fluid Heat Exchanger comes with TIM already pre-applied in a nice thin and even layer, or at least is was supposed to until the plastic cap messed it up. To keep things as even as possible for the testing phase of this review we removed this TIM and used only Arctic Cooling MX-2 on all CPU cooling solutions.


The heart of any CPU cooling system has to be the fan. Just as if an Olympic athlete who has had the best genetics bestowed upon him but has a weak heart. He isn't going to do jack. The same holds true for any cooler's fan; if the manufacturer puts a wimpy little fan with no true heart in it on cooling system, it can have the most powerful TECs/phase change units / unobtainium cooling units known to man and the system will still only be mediocre at best. By the same token if said company sticks a big boisterous fan on the unit, it may be loud and proud, but it won’t been anything more than the equivalent of that loud and obnoxious wanker who talks on his cell phone in front of during the movie.

Yes the choice in fan is that important not only does it directly affect the performance of the unit as a whole, it also responsible for the majority of the noise said system creates. No one likes a system that is so loud that you have to wear earplugs any more than a “could have been but never was” wimpy system that can’t get the job done. Getting it right takes patience, time and above all else: experience.


I am glad to report that CoolIT once again got this careful balancing act correct. The fan that they chose is none other than the Panaflo FBA12G12H-1BX. This hyrdo-wave bearing fan is rated to move over 104CFM (CoolIT states it's more like 110 but when you get into numbers that big who's counting?) at its rated max speed of 2500rpm. More importantly than this impressive CFM is the amount of Static Pressure this 120x120x38mm fan produces; what we are talking about is a nominal .267 inches of H20 of static pressure (that is a jaw dropping 6.78mm h20). This is all well and fine and is certainly impressive but what truly makes this fan a winner is the fact that it is speed adjustable. When the Freezone Elite’s coolant temperature is stable or even below its coolant zone, the fan can idle at only 40% of its rated capability. This makes the Freezone Elite both powerful when it needs to be and quiet as a mouse when it doesn’t need the extra horsepower.

In testing anything below 60% was inaudible when compared to Noctua NF-P12-1300RPM fans and when compared to Scythe E fans any power level below 66% was inaudible. At about 70% you can start to hear a noticeable deep hum sound not unlike a well tuned bass guitar. At 80% it really is noticeable for its wind noise and to 96% or so it sounds like a really good, well balanced and really expensive ceiling fan one would find in Lifestyle’s of the Rich and (in)Famous. It is only at 100% that any bearing noise is noticeable, and even then it’s very muted in comparison to some others we have seen. Heck, at 100% we’d take this fan over the one the Swiftech kit comes with any day!

All in all this is one kick ass fan, that reminds us a lot of the old time boxer “Gentleman Jim” in that it can be quiet and respectable like one would expect from a highly educated gentleman yet, when the need arises it will knock your socks off.