Arctic Freezer 34 E Sports Duo issues

Man of Honour
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17 Oct 2002
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Hi guys,

I picked up the above cooler to go with my Ryzen 5600X and Asus B550-E Gaming. It was advertised as AM4 compatible.

Upon fitting it was clear the supplied brackets don't fit the backplate on the Asus board - the standoffs are the wrong diameter and therefore the backplate is loose. I did a bit of a googling and it seems this is a known issue and all you have to do is contact Arctic who send the right part out.

Easier said than done.

I've contacted them numerous times since discovering this a week ago and they simply do not reply. It's not like I've picked an obscure motherboard brand - to not advertise this on the packaging seems somewhat unfair.

Anyone else had issues and short of throwing the whole thing in the bin and getting something else what can I do?
 
Soldato
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18 May 2010
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12,749
Strange they are not replying, I've contacted them as recently as a few months ago regarding the same issue for an MSI B450 Pro Carbon

I cant remember how I contacted them, webnote or email but they replied from [email protected] and it went into my Junk Mail. Might be worth checking
 
Associate
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I recently installed one on a b550 gaming carbon, the back plate is loose with just the standoffs in but it tightens up once you put the cooler on.
 
Soldato
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I'd return it and get something else if they can't be bothered to rectify the issue, I hear the ID cooling SE-224XT performs rather well on the 5600X for 25 quid.
 
Soldato
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6 Jun 2008
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Curious problem considering how many of Arctics are sold here in Finland and haven't heard about probnlems in PC forum.
While mounting hole positions are standardized for AM4 along with that stock cooler mounting bracket, maybe some boards have differences in that backplate.
 
Man of Honour
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stock backplates can differ with the high of the threads. That's the issue.

Yup, the threads come through the board and extend a few mm above the height of the board so the supplied standoffs don't fit properly. I can't see how the cooler will fit closely to the CPU when the bracket is free to move up and down?

Is this likely to be an issue with other coolers? I'm wondering what to get instead. Very disappointed that Arctic not only fail to mention this but then fail to engage with you either.
 
Associate
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Yup, the threads come through the board and extend a few mm above the height of the board so the supplied standoffs don't fit properly. I can't see how the cooler will fit closely to the CPU when the bracket is free to move up and down?

That is quite normal for a lot of coolers. When you tighten up the screws the backplate is pulled up.
 
Man of Honour
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How does this happen? The standoffs are tight to the backplate screw hole and physically won't go down any further? I can't see how the gap that allows movement can ever be closed without a different standoff being fitted.
 
Man of Honour
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I've just ordered a Noctua U12S instead (Hope Gibbo posts it out today :D) and the Freezer can go in the bin. I am amazed at how poor the customer service has been from Arctic.
 
Associate
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2 Sep 2016
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Did you even try to put the cooler on or did you give up when the back plate was loose? You dont need to close the gap between the standoffs and the motherboard once you tighten the cooler down it pulls the backplate tight against the motherboard
 
Man of Honour
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Did you even try to put the cooler on or did you give up when the back plate was loose? You dont need to close the gap between the standoffs and the motherboard once you tighten the cooler down it pulls the backplate tight against the motherboard

I stopped when it felt like it wasn't going to work, did some research and encountered lots of other posts indicating that it needed an adaptor Arctic sent out free of charge in order to fit.

The cooler screws to the bracket - if the bracket itself is loose how does screwing the cooler down to it change anything? The issue is that the standoffs and the stock backplate just move about freely. I can't see how I can clamp anything down onto the CPU when there is movement between those two parts? I'll be securing fixing the heatsink to a bracket that isn't secure.

You may be right - but if Arctic had ever bothered to answer my support ticket they may have been able to explain this. They didn't :(
 
Associate
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7 Nov 2017
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I stopped when it felt like it wasn't going to work, did some research and encountered lots of other posts indicating that it needed an adaptor Arctic sent out free of charge in order to fit.

The cooler screws to the bracket - if the bracket itself is loose how does screwing the cooler down to it change anything? The issue is that the standoffs and the stock backplate just move about freely. I can't see how I can clamp anything down onto the CPU when there is movement between those two parts? I'll be securing fixing the heatsink to a bracket that isn't secure.

You may be right - but if Arctic had ever bothered to answer my support ticket they may have been able to explain this. They didn't :(


My arctic cooler 360 mount is loose and the backplate moves. Once you put the cooler on and tighten the screws down it lifts the backplate up and holds it secure. There is a gap of threads between the stand off and the mount of the cooler. The cooler does not rest on the stand offs.

many coolers actually do this.
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Sep 2006
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Location
Hampshire
I recently installed one on a b550 gaming carbon, the back plate is loose with just the standoffs in but it tightens up once you put the cooler on.

my e34 duo mounting hardware was loose until I mounted the cooler which pulled everything tight.

This. I had the same with my standard Arctic 34. Put something under the motherboard to support the bracket then attach the cooler. It then all pulls together once the coldplate touches the CPU.
 
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