MSI Core Frozr L CPU cooler review

Cooling 189 Page 10 of 10 Published by

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Final words and conclusion

Final words and conclusion

Not bad huh ? The Core Frozr L lives up to the reputation that 'Frozr' name gained in the graphics card segment. The value for money is great with this and, and it's even a very nice looking cooler with a top cover plate you can swap out. The performance rocks, I mean overclocked we are talking Noctua levels here and the best part is this, it does so being compact and completely silent.

Noise

Noise levels, at processor defaults make this an incredible silent product, on our ASUS Sabertooth we simply leave the default fan profile for what it is, and yeah we reached ~34 DBa under full processor load. Up-to 1.30 Volts (tweaked) the noise levels remain very silent at a measured 37 DBa, and the good part there is that we don't have any cooling issues at that stage as the cooler can take the extra heat well. So really this is an all silent product 4sure. 

 
  

Aesthetics & Design

The looks always remain trivial as taste differs, but for a product in this price range we do thing you are getting good value for money as not only is it performing well and silent, it looks nice as well. The black fan with the red accents, the nickle plated aluminum fins and then a top cover (that you can swap out for a silver or black colored one), yeah we think that it is an good looking product. 

Performance

The cooler performed "good" at default, and overclocked at 1.30 Volts in the processor actually pretty darn good. Remember that our test system has the difficult to cool Core i7 4790K, obviously on purpose. The default clock frequency performance is good enough, nothing more, nothing less. Overclocking with a CPU like this and a heatpipe cooler typically is ill-advised, though the Core Frozer L can take a bit of a beating alright. With our 4790K processor at 1.3 Volts / 4600 MHz heat jumped to over 75 Degrees C, not bad at all. This product is intended for mainstream to high-end CPUs with silent operation in mind.

Pricing

The kit as tested today will cost only 49 USD and honestly, that is terrific pricing if you ask me. Obviously you will not reach the 'enthusiast' segment of cooling like proper liquid cooling. But yeah, it certainly won't break the bank eh ? 



Guru3d-recommended

Final Words

The MSI Core Frozr L surprised me in the cooling performance it offers, it has a little reserve in store so that you can overclock without running into problems fast. The product is being released with details in mind, the aesthetics are nice, the top cover you can swap out, the top LED logo and hack even the screws and stuff inside the packaging is nicely organized for you. The Core Frozr L still has plenty left for a nice tweak/overclock on the processor. It comes with a proper design, is easy to install and offers plentiful space for your DIMMs, even full height. Once overclocked with 1.30 volts we sit at 75 Degrees C, which is comfortable enough for even a proper overclock in the 4800 MHz range. At 1.35 Volts on the processor we reach 77~78 Degrees C, which is a little above my comfort level for long term CPU stress, but for short bursts do-able. One problem you could run into is the base-plate mounting. It is a little big and if you have a motherboard (like we used) with thick plastic shielding and stuff, you might need to mount the cooler 90 degrees differently (as shown in the top photo). 98% of the motherboards do not have this issue though, we use the Z97 SaberTooth from ASUS for this very specific reason as it has shielding all over the place. The Core Frozr L can be found in the stores as we speak for 49 bucks (MSRP) and is covered by a 3-year carry in warranty. The product shows proper cooling performance combined with an incredibly low noise level, you'll be hard pressed to be able to even hear noise coming from this puppy as we measure 34 DBa at defaults under processor load (and we consider a cooler to be silent if it stays under 39 DBa). For the first ever heatpipe based cooler released by MSI, this one definitely comes recommended alright.

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