Arctic Liquid Freezer III 240 and 360 A-RGB AIO CPU Water Cooler Review – Worthy successor and new standard recommendation?

Methodology

An AMD Ryzen 9 3950X has to be cooled at various power consumption levels, along with 16GB of Crucial Ballistix Sport (2x8GB) DDR4 RAM on an MSI B550 Tomahawk (BIOS 7C91vAB). The Asus ROG Strix GTX 1060 6GB runs for the CPU stress tests only for the image output in zero-fan mode and a Fractal Design Ion Gold 750W serves as the power source. The whole thing is located in the Thermaltake Core P3 as an open benchtable.

The test system runs on Windows 10 Pro 22H2 (Build 19045.2251). All data sets are recorded with HWInfo64 v7.34-4930 – 5000ms logging, the specified temperature results from the CPU Die (Average) sensor. Since I don’t have air conditioning, the values in the graphs are the delta between room temperature and CPU temperature. This means that all cooling systems can be compared fairly, even if the ambient temperature is different. The heat-conducting paste supplied with the cooler or applied beforehand is used in each case.

I determine the sound level with a Voltcraft SL-200 measuring device at a distance of 40 cm, which works in 125 ms cycles in Lo mode. The room was measured at 33.2 dB(A), an external example table helps to break it down.

Benchmarks

In the first test run, a loudness of 40 dB(A) was set at 40cm from the center of the pump and fan on the radiator, in my setup this is 72% – 360 mm / 79% – 240 mm PWM for the radiator fans and 100% PWM for the pump:

And then this cooler is still allowed to show what it can achieve in terms of cooling performance at maximum speed, regardless of the volume. A maximum of 42.1 dB(A) – 360 mm / 42.1 dB(A) – 240 mm was achieved at 100% PWM and a distance of 40 cm.

A complete comparison with other coolers can be found here:

</x></x>https://www.igorslab.de/uebersicht-der-bisher-getesteten-luft-und-wasserkuehler/

Summary and conclusion

I think the overview of the results already shows it quite well, the Liquid Freezer III can again deliver good results and only has to admit defeat against significantly more expensive cooling solutions. However, the jump between the generations in the configuration tested here is not particularly large, although the radiator, which is still exceptionally thick at 38 mm, now has a higher density of cooling fins.

At least in the tests at maximum speed, this cooler climbs several ranks, although the noise level has also increased slightly. Apart from that, it should be noted that the VRM fan clearly stands out from the soundscape at higher speeds. Fortunately, this can be controlled within a range of 400 to 2500 revolutions by selecting the appropriate cable.

The “wavy” hoses visible here are caused by the side installation and do not occur when the radiator is mounted in the lid or the front. Unfortunately, my 360 mm version also exhibits the infamous “Arctic humming” in a PWM range of 77-81%. More about this here:

</x></x>https://www.igorslab.de/arktisches-showdown-der-gehaeuse-luefter-samt-detailanalyse-arctic-p12-gegen-p14-und-humming-dass-einem-die-ohren-zufrieren

This alternating background noise is really annoying, but can be avoided by adjusting the fan curve accordingly. But let’s get back to the positive and probably most important factor: the price! On the occasion of ARCTIC’s 23rd birthday promotion, this AIO is available at very special offer prices, valid until 13.05.2024:

Do I need to say much more about this? I think the combination of good cooling performance, 6-year warranty and a truly outstanding price positions the Liquid Freezer III not only as a worthy successor, but also as the community’s new standard recommendation.

The test sample was provided by Arctic without obligation. There was and is no influence on the tests and results. There was also no compensation for expenses and no obligation to publish.