Arctic Freezer 33 eSports One

This cooler performs OK, but its design and quietness help it to really shine

- James Archer

LIKEMOST HARDWARE with eSports branding, the Arctic Freezer 33 eSports One won’t necessarily provide you with much advantage in competitive gaming, but let’s see if can at least prove itself a desirable air cooler.

It’s essentially a single-fan (and thus cheaper) version of the £45 Freezer 33 eSports Edition, which has two fans to create a push/pull airflow effect across the radiator. The Freezer 33 eSports One thus makes do with pull alone, but otherwise it’s all the same.

That includes some seriously good looks: with its matt black radiator and two-tone BioniX F120 fan, it’s a lot more handsome than most of Arctic’s dreary grey coolers. For those who prefer a bit more colour, there are red/ black, green/black and yellow/black versions, though this tasteful white/black model is our favourite. The whole thing measures 150mm top to bottom, so it’s compact enough to fit in all but the most cramped cases.

OUT WITH THE OLD

In terms of compatibility, this cooler will fit Intel’s LGA115X, 2011, 2011-3 and 2066 sockets, as well as AM4 sockets on the AMD side. Some older sockets are left out, then, but frankly if you’re still using an AM3 or Intel LGA775 chip, it’s long overdue for an upgrade anyway. AMD’s TR4 (used for enthusiast Threadripper CPUs) is the only modern omission, though we’d recommend watercooling for these over a £30 air cooler. The same goes for most of Intel’s LGA2066 chips, even if the socket is supported here.