# AC Freezer Pro Vs Xigmatek HDT - S1283



## kyle2020 (Oct 21, 2008)

Right, i have a Xigmatek S1283 AND the crossbow bracket thing arriving this morning - i will be doing a review of the cooler (From unboxing to installation) and then a thermal comparision between it and the 'Ol faithful Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro. 

The reason im doing this is very simple - A. Like myself, i know alot of people that bought a Pro purely because of how cheap it was - when i used one with my 5000+ BE it idled at 30 degrees with close to 1.4V pumping through its veins. That outperformed a watercooling kit (however shoddy ), and it only cost £11. And B. I know that alot of people know the pedigree of the Freezer, and i just would like to prove that it is still a worthy match, maybe not so much for a quad with high clocks, but certainly a dual core. 

Im using a Freezer Pro with my Q6600 at the minute, and hopefully, going on reviews i have personally read, i will be able to show why spending the extra money is such a benefit, but also (hopefully) how well the Pro can hold its own.

So, ill have this article done within the next few hours (At school currently, should be arriving before i get home at 12).

See you all soon!


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## kyle2020 (Oct 21, 2008)

Heres how both the items arrived - both wrapped tightly in bubble wrap and plastic wrapping, excellent delivery yet again from Scan

















And with everything out the boxes and ready for install (Sorry, dont have any during the install, got carried away then spent an hour on cable management, what can i say )






Alright, lets get down to the results.

Heres my Q6600 idling @ 3.6Ghz, 1.36V, Using the AC Freezer Pro:






An heres the quad idling with the same core speed, higher voltage (1.4 rather than 1.36) but with the Xigmatek + Crossbow panel thing:


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## kyle2020 (Oct 21, 2008)

So, in conclusion, this cooler is as quiet, if not quieter than my Pro, looks better, is sturdier on my motherboard thanks to the crossbow bracket, and shaves a massive 10 degrees C off my idle temperature. 

Overall, i have come to this closing statement:

If you are looking for a cooler to do the job on a processor such as the new E7200, i really think that you would be 100% suited to saving the money and buying a freezer Pro. That said, if you want peace of mind and future proofing, or you have something along the lines of an E8400 or higher, then i would highly recommend the HDT-S1283.

out of 10? A 9 from me, purely because the rubber grommit things that hold the fan on where awkward to install.


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## SK-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

Throw Up Some Load Numbers


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## niko084 (Oct 21, 2008)

I think you may not have had that freezer down all the way... Or the fan wasn't spinning up right or something..

My x3210 @ 3.4 @ 1.4 idles just above room temp on my freezer..

Now I do believe that the new Xig is a better cooler, especially the 4 pipe one, but my AC performs MUCH better than that at idle. But could maybe have something to do with the 120mm fan behind it and the 120mm fan above it, but that at idle is questionable, on load its a sure aide, even more with the 4 pipe model Xig because it can get the heat off faster.


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## kyle2020 (Oct 21, 2008)

the Pro was securely fastened down, nothing wrong in that area. And ill get some load temps up soon!


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## MKmods (Oct 21, 2008)

one thing I notice (especially because I look for smaller stuff) is how much smaller the Freezer is, could you post a pict of them both side by side.
That may help some decide if space is limited.


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## kyle2020 (Oct 21, 2008)

MKmods said:


> one thing I notice (especially because I look for smaller stuff) is how much smaller the Freezer is, could you post a pict of them both side by side.
> That may help some decide if space is limited.



can do, ill get a couple of pictures took now.


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## niko084 (Oct 21, 2008)

Doesn't look right, I have seen almost the same temps on the stock cooler...

Ac Freezer- Thermal Resistance: 0.17°C/Watt
Xig S1283- Thermal Resistance 0.16°C/Watt
Xig S1284- Thermal Resistance 0.14°C/Watt

I seriously think it had a poor connection, even at 1.6 volts my x3210 barely idles that high...


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## kyle2020 (Oct 21, 2008)

Size wise the thing is a fair bit larger than the freezer - i dont have a picture of the freezer in my system at the minute (My external HDD with all my pictures is at a relatives house) but id dare say the HDT is a freezer pro + another half added on top.


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## niko084 (Oct 21, 2008)

kyle2020 said:


> Size wise the thing is a fair bit larger than the freezer - i dont have a picture of the freezer in my system at the minute (My external HDD with all my pictures is at a relatives house) but id dare say the HDT is a freezer pro + another half added on top.



Ya, the freezer is small in comparison, and by a fairly good amount.


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## DonInKansas (Oct 21, 2008)

What thermal paste did you use?


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## kyle2020 (Oct 22, 2008)

DonInKansas said:


> What thermal paste did you use?



I used the pre-packed paste just for consistency, if the temps start to creep up ill buy some MX-2.


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## alexp999 (Oct 22, 2008)

I think those temps look fine in comparison. I went from a freezer 7 pro to a Xigmatek S1283, I knew the Xigma would have no trouble beating the freezer 7 pro. The freezer 7 pro on my dad's PC, just keeps an E6600 @ 3.2Ghz on 30*C idle, and 65*C on the cores at load. In comparison, my Xigma keeps my Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz on about 20-25*C idle, and 55*C on the cores at load.

nice comarison kyle2020, though IMO, the answer was clear before I looked at the thread  . What with the Xigma only being about £25 delivered for the cooler and bolt on kit, its a steal IMO.


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## xu^ (Oct 22, 2008)

is this xig available in the uk to buy online ?

ive looked on ocuk & ebuyer and neither have it


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## tkpenalty (Oct 22, 2008)

niko084 said:


> I think you may not have had that freezer down all the way... Or the fan wasn't spinning up right or something..
> 
> My x3210 @ 3.4 @ 1.4 idles just above room temp on my freezer..
> 
> Now I do believe that the new Xig is a better cooler, especially the 4 pipe one, but my AC performs MUCH better than that at idle. But could maybe have something to do with the 120mm fan behind it and the 120mm fan above it, but that at idle is questionable, on load its a sure aide, even more with the 4 pipe model Xig because it can get the heat off faster.



And what makes you think he would rig it?


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## alexp999 (Oct 22, 2008)

xubidoo said:


> is this xig available in the uk to buy online ?
> 
> ive looked on ocuk & ebuyer and neither have it



http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?...pipe+LGA775/K8/AM2+Cpu+cooler+Quad+Core+Ready

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?...nt+the+MB+bending+while+installing+the+cooler



Thats where I got it from.


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## InnocentCriminal (Oct 22, 2008)

Cool insight Kyle. HURH HURH! See what I did there?!  

Anyway, if you could be arsed, I'd be interested to see how they compare when a decent thermal grease is applied, such as the MX-2 you suggested (even though I'd argue Arctic Silver 5 is better).


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## Hayder_Master (Oct 22, 2008)

looking good


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## alexp999 (Oct 22, 2008)

InnocentCriminal said:


> Cool insight Kyle. HURH HURH! See what I did there?!
> 
> Anyway, if you could be arsed, I'd be interested to see how they compare when a decent thermal grease is applied, such as the MX-2 you suggested (even though I'd argue Arctic Silver 5 is better).



I compared AS5 vs MX2 on my freezer 7 pro. MX2 is way better.


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## kyle2020 (Oct 22, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> I think those temps look fine in comparison. I went from a freezer 7 pro to a Xigmatek S1283, I knew the Xigma would have no trouble beating the freezer 7 pro. The freezer 7 pro on my dad's PC, just keeps an E6600 @ 3.2Ghz on 30*C idle, and 65*C on the cores at load. In comparison, my Xigma keeps my Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz on about 20-25*C idle, and 55*C on the cores at load.
> 
> nice comarison kyle2020, though IMO, the answer was clear before I looked at the thread  . What with the Xigma only being about £25 delivered for the cooler and bolt on kit, its a steal IMO.



I knew the answer was clear, my main aim was to prove the the freezer was still worth it 



xubidoo said:


> is this xig available in the uk to buy online ?
> 
> ive looked on ocuk & ebuyer and neither have it



Those links from alex (scan) is where i got it from too, get the bracket aswell - damn that thing is heavy and tall haha.



tkpenalty said:


> And what makes you think he would rig it?



Blasphemy! thanks for backing me up haha, what would be the point in fixing the results, or should i ask how? 



InnocentCriminal said:


> Cool insight Kyle. HURH HURH! See what I did there?!
> 
> Anyway, if you could be arsed, I'd be interested to see how they compare when a decent thermal grease is applied, such as the MX-2 you suggested (even though I'd argue Arctic Silver 5 is better).



Ill get those results to you soon, if someone (UK) could drop me a link to some silver 5 or MX-2 that would be great 



hayder.master said:


> looking good



Thanks!


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## alexp999 (Oct 22, 2008)

Surely this proves the freezer isnt really worth it unless your tight for space? for £10 more I would take the Xigma anyday.


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## InnocentCriminal (Oct 22, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> I compared AS5 vs MX2 on my freezer 7 pro. MX2 is way better.



Hmm... interesting.



			
				Kyle2020 said:
			
		

> Ill get those results to you soon, if someone (UK) could drop me a link to some silver 5 or MX-2 that would be great



Awesome sauce!


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## kyle2020 (Oct 22, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> Surely this proves the freezer isnt really worth it unless your tight for space? for £10 more I would take the Xigma anyday.



the main reason i purchased the pro was because of money. I was so tight for cash it was unreal, (i had wanted to get a 9700 LED, purely because i have always wanted one, but at £40 it was unreasonable).


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## alexp999 (Oct 22, 2008)

kyle2020 said:


> the main reason i purchased the pro was because of money. I was so tight for cash it was unreal, (i had wanted to get a 9700 LED, purely because i have always wanted one, but at £40 it was unreasonable).



Exactly the same for me. Then I wanted something better than the freezer and found the Xigma!


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## niko084 (Oct 22, 2008)

tkpenalty said:


> And what makes you think he would rig it?



I'm not saying he intentionally rigged it...

I saying it looks flawed for some reason or another, no trying to imply anything beyond that.


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## alexp999 (Oct 22, 2008)

niko084 said:


> I'm not saying he intentionally rigged it...
> 
> I saying it looks flawed for some reason or another, no trying to imply anything beyond that.



Looks like the same sort of results I got going from a freezer 7 pro to the S1283


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## niko084 (Oct 22, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> Looks like the same sort of results I got going from a freezer 7 pro to the S1283



Did they have a bad batch with bad crossbows or something? It's way too far of a spread, we barely see a 10c spread from stock intel to top end air coolers at idle, peak is another story.


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## ShadowFold (Oct 22, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> Looks like the same sort of results I got going from a freezer 7 pro to the S1283



Yup me too. My freezer was alot worse tho.


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## Cybrnook2002 (Oct 22, 2008)

Nice review, and nice pics. But I think its pretty well known the Xigmatek is one of the best air coolers around. But its always great to see PROOF proof. Same cooler I have BTW


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## niko084 (Oct 22, 2008)

Aw, are you using the PWM part of the AC and not the Xig?
That would account for the difference, I have my AC spinning full speed.


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## kyle2020 (Oct 22, 2008)

Cybrnook2002 said:


> Nice review, and nice pics. But I think its pretty well known the Xigmatek is one of the best air coolers around. But its always great to see PROOF proof. Same cooler I have BTW



yeah, i knew this would be the case too, just wanted to prove it to people who might not know


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## kyle2020 (Oct 22, 2008)

niko084 said:


> Aw, are you using the PWM part of the AC and not the Xig?
> That would account for the difference, I have my AC spinning full speed.



i dont understand - was i using a slower fan speed with the freezer? no, it was at 100%. The xigmatek i have actually brought down a touch.


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## alexp999 (Oct 22, 2008)

niko084 said:


> I have my AC spinning full speed.



How can you cope with that? The F7Pro is so noisy at 100% fan.


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## niko084 (Oct 22, 2008)

Doesn't look right, guess I have a hacked cooler.. Or the Xig should take my temps to below room temp.

Cope with my pro? It's silent, it was silent in my other cases as well..

Other reviews of the AC pro show it neck and neck with things like the Scyth Ninja *aluminum one* with a 120mm fan on it..
About 2-3 higher temps, on overclocked quads..

I'll turn off my 120's tonight and post some temps at idle and under load.

Here our own review of that cooler doesn't show a 10c idle improvement over the stock intel...
Like I said something looks very wrong for idle temps, load I could see a 10c difference...

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Xigmatek/1283Cooler/4.html


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## kyle2020 (Oct 22, 2008)

Look im not fixing any results, this is what i got on idle with each cooler. stop arguing about it and post your results when you have any. bear in mind room temperature plays a big part in this too, and case circulation.


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## niko084 (Oct 22, 2008)

kyle2020 said:


> Look im not fixing any results, this is what i got on idle with each cooler. stop arguing about it and post your results when you have any. bear in mind room temperature plays a big part in this too, and case circulation.



Again I didn't say you fixed any results... Don't take this as an attack.
I just feel very strongly that there is something wrong with your results, and I have pretty solid evidence to believe that.


Room temperatures will not affect the variation in temperature by that much, unless of course that's the problem with your tests, is one was taken in a room at 38c and another in a room at 25c....


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## kyle2020 (Oct 22, 2008)

niko084 said:


> Again I didn't say you fixed any results... Don't take this as an attack.
> I just feel very strongly that there is something wrong with your results, and I have pretty solid evidence to believe that.



there is nothing wrong with my results, what you see is what i got. you have 5 case fans, i have 2, which could be a major factor in this. Perhaps if i still had my antec 900 the results may have been different, who knows.


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## niko084 (Oct 22, 2008)

kyle2020 said:


> there is nothing wrong with my results, what you see is what i got. you have 5 case fans, i have 2, which could be a major factor in this. Perhaps if i still had my antec 900 the results may have been different, who knows.



Beyond my personal results, look at W1zards review of the S1283, at "IDLE" it only shows a 6c improvement on an overclock over the STOCK intel cooler... So according to your tests here, the AC Freezer is WORSE than the Intel Stock Cooler...


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## kyle2020 (Oct 22, 2008)

niko084 said:


> Beyond my personal results, look at W1zards review of the S1283, at "IDLE" it only shows a 6c improvement on an overclock over the STOCK intel cooler... So according to your tests here, the AC Freezer is WORSE than the Intel Stock Cooler...



and the results may have been taken in a cooler room to mine? My freezer was defective in some manner? Also, what clock speed was the chip running at in his tests? Voltage?


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## niko084 (Oct 22, 2008)

kyle2020 said:


> and the results may have been taken in a cooler room to mine? My freezer was defective in some manner? Also, what clock speed was the chip running at in his tests? Voltage?



I linked them, take a look for yourself, it doesn't much matter anyways considering they were tested at the exact same settings. A 10c improvement at idle over a stock cooler is pretty much only seen in water and barely even there, unless your knocking 4ghz on a quad.

And again, please don't take this as an attack, I want to know why the spread is so big at idle, as well as you want to know why I think something is wrong.


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## SK-1 (Oct 22, 2008)

niko084 said:


> Room temperatures will not affect the variation in temperature by that much, unless of course that's the problem with your tests, is one was taken in a room at 38c and another in a room at 25c....



Hmmmm, based on all of my experiences, ambient is THE biggest factor in testing. It scales well as they say.


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## kyle2020 (Oct 22, 2008)

Well, its pretty cold here in england, that may have been a factor - but nothing changed in the time between testing the freezer and installing the HDT.


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## niko084 (Oct 22, 2008)

SK-1 said:


> Hmmmm, based on all of my experiences, ambient is THE biggest factor in testing. It scales well as they say.



Ambient temps don't cause massive scaling between different coolers. It does however cause a pretty big difference in the temps observed.


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## Darknova (Oct 22, 2008)

niko084 said:


> Doesn't look right, guess I have a hacked cooler.. Or the Xig should take my temps to below room temp.
> 
> Cope with my pro? It's silent, it was silent in my other cases as well..
> 
> ...



Having used all of those you mentioned (that one similar to the Ninja, is the Infinity) I can agree with kyle as to how much better the Xig is. The Xig knocked 6'C off my Infinity at load, and 3'c at idle (can't go below ambient on air).

Both using MX2, both using the E8400 clocked at 3.6Ghz, both with 1.325v, and while I can see your scepticism, I've yet to see a review of an air cooler where the temp drops have been the same, or similar across the board.

Take for example my favourite PC mag Custom PC. When they stock versus premium air cooling they dropped the temps a full 25'C+ at load temps, but they're happy to run their CPUs to temps we would deem excessive (75'C+, and yes, I've emailed them several times on the subject).

IMO air cooling can be one of the most inconsistent forms of cooling, for one person it can perform remarkably well over another, for someone else only a few degrees, there are just too many variables.

Maybe we should get him to do it out-of-case in a temp controlled room


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## niko084 (Oct 22, 2008)

Darknova said:


> IMO air cooling can be one of the most inconsistent forms of cooling, for one person it can perform remarkably well over another, for someone else only a few degrees, there are just too many variables.
> 
> Maybe we should get him to do it out-of-case in a temp controlled room



That's why I referred to W1zzards review, and as I was trying to make a point, I was not trying to make his review sound poor or fake, just making a point that I think there was something else *god knows what* causing a difference to show that much.


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## Darknova (Oct 22, 2008)

niko084 said:


> That's why I referred to W1zzards review, and as I was trying to make a point, I was not trying to make his review sound poor or fake, just making a point that I think there was something else *god knows what* causing a difference to show that much.



I get your point, but I'm just trying to say that it could be any reason at all, but regardless of where you look you will see that the Xig is the better cooler


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## niko084 (Oct 22, 2008)

Darknova said:


> I get your point, but I'm just trying to say that it could be any reason at all, but regardless of where you look you will see that the Xig is the better cooler



Ya, I perfectly agree with that to, I have no doubt the Xig is a better cooler, nor should anyone else.


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## Deleted member 24505 (Oct 22, 2008)

Without my heating on,my chip idles at 30/1c,if i put my heating on,it goes up to 35/6c,i can see the temp go up as the room temp rises.I am on h20 of course so i dont know how it would affect air cooling,but theres no doubt,room temp does make a differance.


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## SK-1 (Oct 22, 2008)

niko084 said:


> Ambient temps don't cause massive scaling between different coolers. It does however cause a pretty big difference in the temps observed.



Missed my point, temps of all air coolers tend to scale with ambient.


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## SK-1 (Oct 22, 2008)

Darknova said:


> IMO air cooling can be one of the most inconsistent forms of cooling, for one person it can perform remarkably well over another, for someone else only a few degrees, there are just too many variables.
> 
> Maybe we should get him to do it out-of-case in a temp controlled room



Agreed, thermal paste application, ambient and high pressure mounting ALL are too variable to be subjective.


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## Kursah (Nov 7, 2008)

Kyle those are some interesting results I noticed a 5-7C drop in temps on my e6300 @ 3.5GHz/1.35v between the AC F7P and Xig w/o extra brackets. Load temps were actually in the 3-5C range...I'm sure the bracket helps, but if you do them stock as-is vs eachother with the same exact settings it would show the true consistency. The little AC is a damn good air cooler and I was impressed at how well it held up against my Xig, though of course the Xig is still the better cooler, and now I have the bracket which didn't really seem to make a big difference in seating tension or temps, maybe I had a better batch of push-pins? I dunno...never had an issue with em personally...but now I do have a larger and more powerful fan on the Xig, that did make a difference.

I am actually dissapointed, as an overclocker and having experience with a Q6600 and a few other chips over the years...idle temp means very little to me. I was hoping to see screenies of actual load temps. Idle temps are good and great for bragging rights, but the true gusto is what those coolers are capable of keeping that chip at after a good 30min-1hour of Orthos or Prime or OCCT or whatever is seen fit for the comparison. If at all possible I'd like to see some screenies up there with the idle temps for a more realistic comparison. No offense, just interested in your results, and I'm sure others would be too...then it would be a true and complete comparison.


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## a_ump (Nov 11, 2008)

yep, i have the Arctic pro 7 for my q6600 @ 3Ghz,v1.31 load is around 53 celcius
and idle is 29 or so. Course my room is quite chilled since it's winter,but 29 is an awesome temperature for me, but in summer it'll idle at 38, and load if i recall around 64, but i've been thinking on getting this XIG S1283, and might since i've read this and a bunch of other reviewers opinions on newegg. As for that one dude, you may not mean to be coming off as an attacker but it looks like it, but yea that 10 degrees blew me away too, but then like some have said, too many variables.
nice short review, though it'd be a great short review if you included load temps


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## kyle2020 (Nov 11, 2008)

Kursah said:


> Kyle those are some interesting results I noticed a 5-7C drop in temps on my e6300 @ 3.5GHz/1.35v between the AC F7P and Xig w/o extra brackets. Load temps were actually in the 3-5C range...I'm sure the bracket helps, but if you do them stock as-is vs eachother with the same exact settings it would show the true consistency. The little AC is a damn good air cooler and I was impressed at how well it held up against my Xig, though of course the Xig is still the better cooler, and now I have the bracket which didn't really seem to make a big difference in seating tension or temps, maybe I had a better batch of push-pins? I dunno...never had an issue with em personally...but now I do have a larger and more powerful fan on the Xig, that did make a difference.
> 
> I am actually dissapointed, as an overclocker and having experience with a Q6600 and a few other chips over the years...idle temp means very little to me. I was hoping to see screenies of actual load temps. Idle temps are good and great for bragging rights, but the true gusto is what those coolers are capable of keeping that chip at after a good 30min-1hour of Orthos or Prime or OCCT or whatever is seen fit for the comparison. If at all possible I'd like to see some screenies up there with the idle temps for a more realistic comparison. No offense, just interested in your results, and I'm sure others would be too...then it would be a true and complete comparison.



COuldnt agree with you more. If there was an awards ceremony for best components over the last 2/3 years, im guessing it would win like "Best budget cooler award" or something haha. 

There would have been load temps had i not given my freezer away haha. Ill post some load temps of the xig tonight, just so that those with other coolers can see how it handles my quad, and then they can see the difference 



a_ump said:


> yep, i have the Arctic pro 7 for my q6600 @ 3Ghz,v1.391 load is around 53 celcius
> and idle is 29 or so. I know my room is quite chilled so 29 is an awesome temperature for me, but in summer it'll idle at 38, and load if i recall around 64, but i've been thinking on getting this XIG S1283, and might since i've read this and a bunch of other reviewers opinions on newegg. As for that one dude, you may not be coming off as an attacker but it looks like it, but yea that 10 degrees blew me away too, but then like some have said, too many variables.
> nice short review, though it'd be a great short review if you included load temps



The xig will be 100% worth the money, and for me it has brought in peace of mind aswell - i can now confidently run this Q6600 @ 1.4V 24/7, knowing that it wont overheat and that idling its still running cool.

Go out and buy one naow!  Id recommend the (i think its called this, someone please correct me if im wrong) the Achilles (S1284) - basically the S1283 but a nicer fan haha.

Post your temps in here if you do get one aswell!


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