Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280 liquid cooler review - Final Words & Conclusion

Conclusion

The reviewed LCS kit performed great and handled even an overclocked Core i9 9900K processor at 5.0 GHz with increased voltage, but you need to remember that it has a soldered heat spreader (not a standard in Intel’s CPUs). The cooling test results turned out the way they did mainly due to the greater (than the usual) thickness of the radiator. 38 mm does a lot for boosting cooling efficiency, but on the other hand, you need to doublecheck your clearance. There is no RGB lighting here (sorry, fans of the lighting storm), but we think that this subtle black design with silver accents is going to find its target. The 40 mm VRM fan does its job well, and it’s a welcome addition. The overall design of the pump/block/fan combo reminds me a bit of the Batmobile, so that might be a turnoff for some users.

As for the wiring, it’s the best that it could be. There’s only one cable: a 4-pin fan one, which you plug into the motherboard header. But there’s also a drawback to this design, as you can’t monitor the actual fan speed. The unit is factory-filled with coolant in a closed-loop, so all you need to do is install the backplate and the standoff-screws, position the cooler, and secure it. The whole process shouldn’t take longer than ten minutes, and it’s the easiest system that I’ve seen so far. The braided sleeving makes the visual aspect nicer, and I liked the white accents. It’s also good that all the cabling is hidden inside the sleeve. 

The Verdict

The Arctic LIQUID FREEZER II 280 is available at an MSRP of 89.99 USD. It’s an affordable solution, which provides great cooling results without sacrificing silent operation. For the price, you get a nice, sleek liquid cooler without RGB functionality. The pump design is ok. It’s a bit “Batmobile-ish”, and also a bit too much plastic was used there, to be honest. The radiator looks nice with the silver accents, and the wiring is hidden inside the tube sleeve, so you can only see one 4-pin fan connector. That’s really great. It simplifies the installation process even more, and the same goes for cable management. The only drawback of this solution is that you can’t monitor the exact rpm of the fans because they’re linked with the pump and the VRM fan. Speaking of that last item, it’s a good idea, as VRMs on some motherboards can get toasty, especially if you’ve got an overclocked CPU and not a particularly high-end motherboard. Just 2 years of warranty coverage is not really a selling point, so there’s room for improvement here, Arctic. You also need to remember that a 38 mm radiator is not going to fit in all cases, so it’s better to check the available space before you buy. Still, all things considered, we are sure that this LCS deserves the “Recommended” award as it’s, a product that offers great value for money.

Handy related downloads:

• SiSoft Sandra
• AIDA
• CPU-Z
• HWMonitor

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