Choosing the right CPU cooler for your PC isn't as simple as going with one compatible with your motherboard socket. You need to take into account how much heat is produced by the processor. The faster and more powerful the chip, the hotter it will run at full load. The harder you hit the system, the better the cooling needs to be to take the heat away from vital components. Arctic makes some of the best CPU coolers on the market and the company is back with the Arctic Freezer 36 series.

This impressive cooling solution is affordable yet packs a punch, much like the Cooler Master Hyper 212. There's the standard Arctic Freezer 36 available in black or white and there are two A-RGB versions with addressable lighting. Installing the Freezer 36 A-RGB is a straightforward process and the performance is excellent with either an AMD or Intel processor. It's compact enough that it doesn't take up too much internal space and the two Arctic fans are barely noticeable above installed case fans.

About this review: XDA purchased the Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB and the company had no input to the contents of this review.

Price, specs, and availability

The Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB is an affordable CPU cooler. It's priced at $35 and is compatible with the latest AMD and Intel processors. It's possible to spend more than $200 on a premium AIO liquid kit so this price is incredible with the available performance. It's not quite as capable as a larger AIO, but the price per watt of cooling makes the Freezer 36 A-RGB an almost must-buy for an AMD or Intel system. 12 LEDs on both fans create a great look when configured to synchronize with other RGB-enabled devices.

Capable of running up to 2,000 RPM, the two Arctic fans can force air through the heatsink at high speeds and low noise. Even with sub-par case cooling, the Arctic Freezer 36 will be able to handle higher temperatures without being saturated too quickly.

Design and features

Arctic-s Freezer 36 A-RGB comes in a minimalist box with some specs highlighted on the side and a few popular supported sockets for AMD and Intel. Everything is neatly packaged inside the box with adequate protection for shipping. Nothing was damaged on our review unit and everything was unboxed in less than a minute. Two fans are bundled with the Arctic Freezer 36 and depending on which version of the cooler you buy, they'll either have RGB LEDs within the fan housing or be all black.

Looking at the Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB, it's hard to believe just how affordable this CPU cooler is.

The heatsink is coated in either matte black or white, depending on which color you buy — there is an even cheaper version without this coating on the pipes and heatsink. The entire CPU cooler looks premium and considerably more expensive than it is. Looking at the Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB, it's hard to believe just how affordable this CPU cooler is. The heatsink is an all-new design from Arctic, replacing that in the previous generation cooler and the two included fans with a top speed of 2,500 RPM should be able to force through air and work some magic.

Installing the cooler is a breeze (pun intended!) with Arctic's mounting brackets. Arctic's Intel ILM is included, the same one found in the company's new Freezer AIO kits. The two fans have four screws preinstalled a piece, which are then able to clip onto the heatsink for easy installation and removal. The fans can then be daisy-chained for the RGB and CPU fan headers. That's all there is to the Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB. It's a simple air cooler on a budget with powerful thermal performance.

Cooling performance

To put the Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB to the test, I set up a test bench with an AMD Ryzen 9 7900 processor on a capable Gigabyte B650 Aorus Elite AX Ice motherboard with 32GB of DDR5 RAM from G.Skill and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070. Though the CPU cooler will only be handling the load from the processor, it'll be interesting to see how it performs when the chip flexing its muscle with equally capable hardware. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 has a thermal design power (TDP) rating of 65W across 12 cores and 24 threads.

Firing up Windows 11, the system runs idle at around room temperature. That's nothing to write home about, but it shows the Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB can handle the occasional quick bursts and spikes of power without ramping up its two fans. Opening Cinebench saw full scoring on single and multi-core tests that matched our review findings and the Arctic cooler kept temperatures below 70C. These tests were performed without PBO enabled, which essentially unlocks the Ryzen 9 7900 and transforms it into a 7900X.

Considering the performance offered by the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, it's incredible to see how easy it is to keep this CPU cool.

Gaming is similar with the trusty CPU-intensive X4: Foundations failing to push temperatures past 60C. Considering the performance offered by the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, it's incredible to see how easy it is to keep this CPU cool. That's a testament to the teams at both Arctic and AMD, the latter of which created an incredibly efficient processor.

Should you buy the Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB?

You should buy the Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB if:

• You have a PC case that can support a CPU fan with a height of 160mm.
• You don't require the additional thermal headroom of an AIO liquid cooler.
• You're after an affordable CPU cooler with the looks and performance.

You shouldn't buy the Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB if:

• You're using a compact PC case with little room for a cooler.
• You plan on overclocking an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X or Intel Core i9-14900K.

The Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB makes the most sense for less capable systems with mid-range AMD or Intel processors. It's easy to install, affordable, and quiet. It won't win awards for the absolute best performance in air cooling, but it's about as good as you'll need before moving up to premium cooling. For an AMD Ryzen 9 or Intel Core i9, the Freezer 36 is still good enough for gaming and lighter loads. Available in white or black and with or without RGB lighting, there's an Arctic Freezer 36 for just about any PC build.

I was impressed by the cooling performance of the Arctic freezer 36 A-RGB.

I was impressed by the cooling performance of the Arctic freezer 36 A-RGB. Like the Cooler Master Hyper 212, this dual-fan heatsink cooler proves you don't need to spend hundreds on a fancy AIO liquid cooler to enjoy lower CPU temperatures. Keep your expectations in check, run the processor at stock settings unless it's a mid-range chip, and ensure you have decent enough case airflow to help the cooler maximize its thermal headroom. For less than $40, I highly recommend the good-looking Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB for your PC build.