Packaging and bundle
The packaging of the Arctic Square is well designed and secure, there is little artwork at the front of the package but there is a window which reveals the chrome top side of the cooler. Asus sums up the potential of the Arctic Square in three words: cool, quiet and…shiny. Apparently Asus is aiming towards users who want ultimate aesthetics as well. While the front of the package is simple, the sides and rear are crawling with pictures and specifications.
Inside the package you will find only the parts which are necessary for installing the cooler (backplate, brackets, screws, etc), a tube of thermal grease and a small installation guide. While the installation guide is written in no less than 10 languages it could be more detailed and better illustrated, since the installation of this cooler is not simple.
The Cooler
Asus mentions on their website that the Arctic Square is a
compact design cooler, which after taking a look at the heatsink itself made us wonder what kind of cooler they would regard as being large! The Arctic Square
is big, however it won't lead to mounting problems inside a standard ATX case, but it is certainly not a compact design which will fit inside HTPC or other small cases either! Even if you have a normal ATX case which has a funnel mounted at the side panel, you will most likely have to remove it as the Arctic Square is tall even though the 92mm fan is mounted sideward.
The Arctic Square is very well designed; perfectly symmetric with the copper parts nickel plated and a chrome top. The chrome top is very well finished and should look great from any windowed side panel; as long as you keep it clean!
The Arctic Square is based on an old but effective design. The base of the cooler is small but the heat is quickly transferred away from it and to the many and large aluminum fins hovering above it via the 4 large heatpipes which are soldered to both the base and fins. There is a clearance of 4cm between the 36 aluminum fins and the CPU, which should be enough for capacitors and small heatsinks at the area around the CPU socket.
Asus have also nickel plated the heatpipes and the copper base of the Arctic Square, the easily corrodible copper parts of the cooler will greatly resist oxidation this way. Another detail which Asus have not omitted is the clearance between the fan and the aluminum fins, there is a 5-6mm clearance at both sides of the fan which improves airflow and reduces noise. The base of the cooler is not machined down to a mirror finish, but it is smooth.
