The Bottom Line
Pros
- Cost
- Compatibility
- Thermal performance
- Gold trim
Cons
- Build quality
- Noise
Should you buy it?
AvoidConsiderShortlistBuyIntroduction, Specifications, and Pricing
Anyone who has kept up with our CPU cooler reviews knows that ID-Cooling has been on a tear, with many new air and liquid cooling solutions hitting the market this year. Their FX and DX models stand out on the liquid-cooled side, where we were given top-notch performance without the top-tier price point. We also found affordability to be a big part of their movement overall, as even with the FROZN series of air coolers, heads must be turning at other companies with what they are finding in various charts across many reviews.
We may be showing our age with this comparison, but it has been since the hay day of Xigmatek and their HDT coolers when a company went this far against the grain of what we typically find in the market. ID-Cooling may not be your first choice when looking for a new CPU cooling solution, but they show that they can shake up our charts with decent performance from coolers that are sometimes half the price of their competition, sometimes even a third less. With their latest submission, we will continue to see more of the same.
While ID-Cooling offers an assortment of all-black, an SE variant of the all-black version, black with ARGB fans, and even a white model with ARGB, they felt it wasn't enough. Returning to the drawing board with the same base tower design and similar fan specs, the bling factor has been raised to eleven this time. The fan frames, inside and out, and the top of the tower are now trimmed in gold. While this may not be everyone's cup of tea based on words alone, we urge you to give it a chance. While it may be perfect for some MSI, ASRock, or anything else out there with gold trim, the newest FROZN A620 GDL doesn't clash in our build and is a perfect yet affordable solution to cooling your CPU.
Item | Details |
---|---|
Model | FROZN A620 GDL |
MSRP | $49.99 |
CPU Socket | LGA1851 / 1700 / 1200 / 115x / AM5 / AM4 |
TDP | 260W |
Overall Dimensions | 120 x 142 x 157mm (LxWxH) |
Heatsink Material | 6 x ?6mm Heatpipe + Copper Base + Aluminum Fins |
Weight | 1190g (Including Fans) |
Fan Dimensions | 120 x 120 x 27mm (2pcs) |
Fan Speed | 500 ~ 2000±10% RPM |
Max. Air Flow | 78 CFM |
Max. Static Pressure | 2.68mmH2O |
Max. Noise Level | 29.9 dB(A) |
Rated Voltage | 12VDC |
Operating Voltage | 10.8 ~ 13.2VDC |
Starting Voltage | 7VDC |
Rated Current | 0.25A |
Power Input | 3W |
Bearing Type | FDB - Fluid Dynamic |
Connector | 4-Pin PWM |
Warranty | 3 Years |
The specifications, which are found on the product page, do well with fan coverage, but as for the tower, ID-Cooling leaves much to the imagination. Socket support is suitable for all Intel mainstream sockets since LGA115X, while also offering compatibility for AM4 and AM5 users. We are shown a 260W TDP, which, if accurate, is a good place to start with this dual-tower design. We are shown the 157mm height, 142mm depth, and 120mm width, and with all the parts needed from the box, weighs in at 1190 grams. ID-Cooling goes as far as to mention the 6mm copper pipes, the copper base, and the aluminum fins, but that is where it stops. Digging deeper, we find two sets of fins stacked fifty-six high, with the bottom dozen fins being much shorter for RAM clearance. Above the stacks are thick plastic caps to cover the pipes, with a sticker applied to the top of them delivering all the styling.
Two fans come in the box, although the cooler will work with a third additional fan. ID-Cooling picks the AF-127-GDL fans to go along with the towers, which is a slightly different version of the fans we got with an earlier FROZN CPU cooler. As the model number alludes, these are 27mm thick fans due to the isolation pad depth. These fans will start spinning around 500 RPM while topping our nearer to 2000 RPM, delivering a maximum of 78 CFM of flow. Still at max speed, the fans are shown to have 2.68 mmH2O of pressure and come with 29.9 dB(A) of noise. ID-Cooling includes all the power specs, but more importantly, we see they use a fluid dynamic bearing and a 4-pin PWM powered.
A couple of things yet to be covered deal with the cost and warranty. While we are OK with the three years of support for the CPU air cooler and all its parts, the price will make many of you wonder how this is possible. In a world of excessive pricing, ID-Cooling found a way to deliver customers the potential of their FROZN A620 cooler lineup with much less cost involved. At just $49.99 for what we have in our hands, it not only impresses us along the way but also manages to do so with its pricing.
Today | 7 days ago | 30 days ago | ||
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$49.99 USD | $49.99 USD | |||
$74.99 CAD | $74.99 CAD | |||
£49.99 | £49.99 | |||
$49.99 USD | $49.99 USD | |||
* Prices last scanned on 1/22/2025 at 11:56 am CST - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission from any sales.
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Packaging
In what we think is the best-looking box for the FROZN series so far, you get many clues about what's inside. The gold trim and brushed front panel reflect what the tops of the towers and fans look like, as seen in the large image in the center of the panel. Across the bottom is the FROZN A620 GDL name and description.
While the right panel on the box is sleek with gold trim, ID-Cooling opts to place only the cooler's name here.
Around the back, we see specifications in six languages and two sets of figures covering what we discussed earlier. Above the company information is a serial number at the bottom, and to the right are social media addresses and a part number.
The remaining panel is much like the one on the right of the box, but this time, the vast expanse is used for the company name, logo, and tagline at the top. In a similar tiny print, we find the compatibility at the bottom.
Upon opening, we were greeted with another layer of cardboard encapsulating the cooler and fans while the hardware and literature were shipped above the tower.
Both fans and parts of the dual-tower cooler are wrapped in plastic, ensuring the painted towers and fans do not damage one another. With all this care and effort going into the packaging, we hope the tower inside is in perfect condition.
ID-Cooling FROZN A620 GDL CPU Cooler
The pipes were evenly spaced across the fifty-six aluminum fins pressed over them. The top cap is the same as the other FROZN A620 coolers from the side, with a view of shiny black plastic, which matches the paint applied to the rest of the tower.
While slightly out of square and the right tower a bit taller than the left, the FROZN A620 GDL will need some flexing and adjusting before testing. While there are caps to see at the top, and the array of fins looks cool, we move to the bottom to see that a dozen fins, front and back, are trimmed for RAM clearance, and the pipes are lined up in a row and not offset from one another.
Looking at the back of the tower, we laid it down to find a few grooves on either side, with a deeper valley running down the center. This design will offer a better turbulence effect on the airflow than if it were flat from side to side, improving performance.
From the side, we can see the fin spacing is not addressed. As such, there is a little variance in gaps and some bending of fins here and there, but nothing that would cause any issues. Both towers offer mounting from the front and back of each, allowing for a three-fan setup, and you can attach both fans to a single tower if desired.
A hunk of steel is used, cut, and shaped to look good, then painted black to accompany the theme. Attached to the base at either side, the crossbar uses spring-loaded screws to secure the bar to the rest of the mounting hardware, with plenty of access without the fans on the tower.
The bends in the pipes are gentle and smooth, with no visible kinks. Evenly spaced across the array, the fins are pressed onto the pipes, and the tower is painted with its coating.
After removing the sticker covering this, the base shows its details. The shape is convex, the machining is circular, and the copper is nickel-plated. Outside of the contact area, we can see the screws that hold the crossbar to the base and the underside of the mounting screws.
The top of the cooler is the same as all the other FROZN A620 options, but this time, some of the shiny black on the cap stickers are now gold along with the FROZN name, delivering on the gold premise of this GDL naming. You may also notice from this angle that the towers are not square to each other just yet.
Accessories and Documentation
The hardware is the same as that of the other A620 versions. To the left of the adjustable Intel backplate are the Intel mounting brackets, and to the right are the AMD brackets; you must reuse your factory backplate.
The standoffs that ID-Cooling sends allow them to be used by both AMD and Intel users. Courser threads are used for the Intel backplate, and finer threads secure the brackets with the thumbscrews to the right. However, we miss the lack of the standoff tool found with their AIOs.
The three sets of wire fan clips, the 4-pin Y-splitter cable, and the tube of FROST X35 grease are also inside of the har5dware box, ensuring everything you will need to get underway, minus a Phillips screwdriver, comes in the kit.
Unlike what we saw before, the AF-127-GDL fans have gold trim on the sides and around the fan blades and a trim ring on the frame. ID-Cooling took it a step further with the gold logo hub stickers on these seven-bladed, all-black, 120mm 4-pin PWM-powered fans.
While not the most textually informative manual out there, the parts list ensures you have all you need, while the various pictures should get anyone through the installation process. If you run into issues, you can contact ID-Cooling for help, but the hardware is simple to figure out and use.
Installation and Finished Product
As we are shown in the manual, we removed the plastic latches and factory screws, leaving the AMD backplate behind the motherboard. Using the universal standoffs, we screw them into the backplate until snug, set the brackets on top, and lock it down with the knurled nuts.
To get here, we had to apply paste, mount the tower to the hardware, and clip on the fans. When done, in our setup, we see a lot of fan at the front of the tower. The gold and black are slick-looking, and they only get better looking from other angles.
Installing the fans level with the top of the tower's caps leaves plenty of room for our memory and some airflow to help keep it cool. If you are planning to use tall RAM, you will increase the overall height, as raising the fans any higher will immediately increase that.
We like that ID-Cooling trims the sides of the fans with gold. Otherwise, a look from above or below would be dull and more of a sleeper. We also took the time to square and level the towers, so we are good to go regarding testing and proper airflow. While it will block access to the 8-pin connector, a third fan is an option.
The gold on the caps of each tower and that on the fans is very close in coloration, but light plays a huge factor in that. Sometimes, you will get the flatter gold we see on top of the towers, and when the light hits it right, it reflects the light with a pop of brightness, as seen on the fan frames. It is also compact compared to many dual towers, leaving better access for GPU installation and removal.
Test System Setup, Thermal Tests, and Noise Results
Chad's CPU Cooler Test System Specifications
Item | Details |
---|---|
Motherboard | ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII HERO Wi-Fi (Buy at Amazon) |
CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 3600X (Buy at Amazon) |
RAM | Corsair Vengeance LPX 4000MHz 4 X 8GB |
GPU | ASUS GeForce RTX 2060 6GB OC (Buy at Amazon) |
SSD | Galax HOF Pro M.2 1TB |
Case | Hydra Bench Standard |
Power Supply | ASUS ROG Thor 850W (Buy at Amazon) |
OS | Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit (Buy at Amazon) |
Software | AMD Ryzen Master, AIDA64 Engineer 6.25.5400, and CPU-z 1.92.0 x64 |
To see our testing methodology and to find out what goes into making our charts, please refer to our 2020 CPU Cooler Testing and Methodology article for more information.
Thermal Results
At first glance, the 58.3°C result may not seem so good, but we are less than six degrees from the top of the chart. Considering the company it keeps, the A620 GDL shows its bang for the buck.
Now at 6.6°C from the lead, the FROZN A620 GDL slides into the chart at 64.8°C. What is not to like when a $50 cooler competes head-to-head with a Noctua cooler at nearly twice the investment?
ID-Cooling has a handle on PWM curves at this point. Considering the swing in RPM from PWM control to forced 12VDC, we were only able to squeeze out another 1.4°C worth of extra performance from this cooler.
Noise Level Results
While using the stock settings in the BIOS and allowing PWM control of the fans, we saw them spinning at 1317 RPM as their maximum for the run. During it, we took a 32 dB reading from them, which is slightly audible in open-air environments but much less so inside a case.
Adding more heat from the overclocked setting, the fans increased their top speed to 1448 RPM, and at a little more than 100 RPM, the noise levels jumped to 42dB. In any situation, the FROZN A620 GDL is audible by this point.
The fans spiked at 2122 RPM, nearly 700 RPM more than the previous test, for little more than a degree of performance. At 54 dB, there is no hiding that the FROZN A620 GDL is loud now, but we see no reason to deal with this for so little gains.
Final Thoughts
While not the first of the series, it is the best-looking of the bunch. Yes, we had an issue with the fact that ID-Cooling may need better QC at the line, but we moved the towers back into alignment gently and enjoyed the more compact dual-tower design that leaves us room around it. One area of concern for some customers is the choice of memory. If you have lower profile sticks, you are golden, but taller kits will make you raise the intake fan, which increases cooler height - something to keep in mind.
When we look at the performance, is it spectacular? No. However, the FROZN A620 GDL kept up with coolers we feel it should not have had a chance to. Climbing up on the heels of the new NH-D15 is fantastic, under overclocked load to boot. Noise levels are tolerable under PWM control. If you plan to run the CPU at stock, the cooler will likely blend into the chassis noise. When overclocked, it will be audible when under heavy use, but any music or headphones would eliminate that instantly.
The FROZN A620 Black and SE models offer slightly better performance at a similar price point, but if you want any added styling to them, the GDL is the way to go. We get that many will never look back at their system after it is built, but for those with gold trim already present in a build or proposed build, the FROZN A620 GDL is an affordable yet capable air cooling solution for all current mainstream users.