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Benchmarks and Conclusion

CPU Thermal results without power limits

Without power limits enforced on Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285K and i7-14700K CPUs, the CPU will hit its peak temperature (TJ Max) and thermally throttle with even the strongest of air coolers and even most liquid coolers on the market. When the CPU reaches its peak temperature, I’ve measured the CPU package power to determine the maximum wattage cooled to best compare their performance. It’s important to note that thermal performance can scale differently depending on the CPU it’s being tested with.

ID-Cooling Frozn A620 GDL — (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

When tested with Intel’s Core i7-14700K, the Frozn A620 GDL cooled an average of 243W – placing just a little ahead of BeQuiet’s Dark Rock Elite and just a little behind Thermalright’s Peerless Assassin 140.

Things are a little different when testing on Arrow Lake – Thermalright’s Peerless Assassin 140 and ID-Cooling’s Frozn A620 GDL performed on par with each other when paired with Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285K, both cooling 304W on average.

In terms of maximum noise levels, however, the Frozn A620 GDL runs a little bit louder than the competing Peerless Assassin 140.

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Thermal results with noise normalized to 38.9 dBA

Finding the right balance between fan noise levels and cooling performance is important. While running fans at full speed can improve cooling capacity to some extent, the benefits are limited and many users prefer a quieter system.

With this noise-normalized test, I’ve set noise levels to 38.9 dba using the i7-14700K system. This level of noise is a low volume level, but slightly audible to most people. The cooler managed to handle 231W in this test. Like our first test, this puts it right between Thermalright’s Peerless Assassin and BeQuiet’s Dark Rock Elite in terms of performance.

253W results

My recent reviews have focused more on tests with both the CPU and GPU being stressed, but many of readers have indicated they would like to see more CPU-only tests – so I’ve started testing Intel’s “Arrow Lake” Core Ultra 9 285K with a 253W limit.

Here, ID-Cooling’s Frozn A620 GDL is just a hair behind Thermalright’s Peerless Assassin. Noise levels are the same as previously recorded, because in this test I’ve run the coolers tied to the default fan curve of a MSI Z890 Carbon Wifi motherboard, which runs at full speed at and above 80 degrees C.

120W Cinebench results

Another test I have with results showing the cooler’s performance with CPU-only workloads is a 120W CPU-only test with Intel’s i7-14700K. For this test, I’ve only recorded the noise levels, because this is not a thermally demanding scenario.

The i7-14700K’s build has a moderate minimum noise level of 38.2 dBA. The Frozn A620 GDL doesn’t rise above this minimum noise level. As you will see in the last set of CPU + GPU noise benchmarks with Arrow Lake featured below - the Frozn A620 actually runs quieter than this chart would indicate. Because of this build’s moderate minimum noise measurements, I intend to eventually transition away from this test.

165W CPU + 275W GPU results

Earlier this year I updated my testing methodology to better represent the scenarios a user could actually encounter in real-life use. The first of these new tests was designed to emulate, though not perfectly, a CPU in an intensive game with a full GPU load using ASRock’s Steel Legend 7900 GRE GPU. Most of the time Intel’s i7-14700K will use less than 165W in games, this value was chosen because it was the peak power consumption I observed in Far Cry V. I would consider these values closer to what you might see with an overclocked setup.

Here the cooler performed on par with BeQuiet’s Dark Rock Elite, both slightly ahead of Thermalright’s Peerless Assassin 140. In terms of noise, the cooler ran a bit quieter than its competitors at only 40.3 dBA.

135W CPU + 290W GPU results

Our second round of CPU + GPU testing is performed with Arrow Lake. The power limit of 135W was chosen based on the worst CPU power consumption I observed in gaming, which was in Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Here we have parity with the Peerless Assassin 140 in terms of thermal performance, but slightly better noise levels with ID-Cooling’s Frozn A620 GDL.

85W CPU + 290W GPU results

Our third round of CPU + GPU testing is also performed with Arrow Lake. The power limit of 85W was chosen based on typical power consumption in gaming scenarios using the Core Ultra 9 285K CPU. This should be fairly easy for most coolers. The main point of this test is to see how quietly (or loudly) a cooler runs in low-intensity scenarios.

In terms of thermals, the Frozn A620 GDL averaged 56C – on par with Thermalright’s Peerless Assassin and a single degree ahead of Cooler Master’s Hyper 622 Halo. Noise levels were also good, only reaching 37.3 dBA.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a strong air cooler with eye-catching bling without ARGB lighting, ID-Cooling’s A620 GDL and its gold accents will serve you well. If this cooler appeals to you, I’d advise purchasing it soon rather than waiting – the Frozn A620 GDL is a limited production model, and as such may not be available for a long time.