Introduction

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I would like to thank Arctic Cooling for providing the review sample.

Arctic Cooling is known for its CPU and VGA coolers. The company first made a name for itself with a line-up of low cost CPU coolers, which offered same or better performance than the OEM coolers at a fraction of the noise level. Nowadays the company makes much more than just CPU Coolers. A large part of their business is done with OEMs, as you will see their VGA coolers on many different graphic cards on the market today. We get a chance to take a look at a nice little gadget from them today - the Arctic Cooling Breeze.

Features

92mm ultra quiet USB fan
Dual fan speed options – 1200 RPM and 2000 RPM
Battery-free
On/off power switch
Adjustable neck
1.5m roll-up cable
Application for notebook and desktop

Packaging

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The package of the unit is made of clear plastic. It has been shaped to fit the Breeze perfectly. Opening it up is easily done by pulling apart the base of the package. Besides the Breeze, there is nothing else shipping with it. Considering the price and the specific use, this is no surprise.

A Closer Look

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The unit itself is actually quite small. The white 92 mm fan looks great on the gray and black body. A white USB cable is used to provide the necessary power to the Breeze.

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Taking a closer look at the fan itself, there is a large AC logo on the center of it. The main concern of this unit is safety. Arctic cooling has rounded the edges, which face in the spinning direction as well as the outer edges of the fan. The inner sides of the blades, which face the other direction are very sharp, but there is no possible way you could harm yourself with these unless you really tried (taking the fan when turned off and trying to cut yourself). The part behind the fan does not seem to have a real purpose. It is intended to act as a counterweight to the fan.

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The base is made of heavy duty plastic. There is no metal weight inside, but considering the overall weight of the fan, there is really no reason for anything of the sorts. You may roll up the cable within the base, but it does not really hold that well. The plastic latches are too small to keep the cable in place. You would be better off dropping the extra cable off the rear of your desk. The front holds a switch with three settings. "I" running the fan at 1200 rpm, "O" being off and "II" running the fan at the full 2000 rpm.

Performance

What can you say about the performance of a cooling fan, intended to cool you and your immediate surroundings? In the case of the Arctic Cooling Breeze - it does the job very well. Even though I was a bit skeptic, considering the small size of the fan, it does work quite well up to a distance of 40 cm or around 15 to 16 inches. The distance drops down a bit if you use the slower setting. Well all of that was expected. What I did not expect is the lack of noise. It is so quiet, that I am able to use it right next to my bed, on my shelf during the hot summer nights. Even on the fast setting the noise level is so low, that I - a very light sleeper - can get a good and cool night's sleep. This is certainly impressive. Arctic Cooling should make a 120 or 135 mm variant as well.

Value and Conclusion

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The Arctic Cooling Breeze has a MRSP of just under 10€s or just above $15 US Dollars

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Very quiet
Cheap gadget
USB 2.0 powered
Long enough cable
Sturdy construction

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Cooling area limited
Would be great to see larger fan diameters
Cable loop does not work well
Only one color
Limited availablity

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<td>The Arctic Cooling Breeze is not the type of product we usually review, but it does use your PC and is intended to be placed on your desktop. Arctic Cooling is known for their quiet products, and the Breeze is no exception. It works as it should, as the sole purpose consists of cooling you and your surroundings. The two settings work flawlessly and the fan is incredibly quiet even when running at 100%. It would be great to see larger 120 or 135 mm versions in the future, as the next summer and global warming are a certainty. At the given price, the Breeze is a very nice little gadget with a purpose.
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