Review: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 ARGB CPU cooler (Page 12)

Review: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 ARGB CPU cooler

Cooling 190 Page 12 of 12 Published 2024-04-02 11:16 by Krzysztof Hukalowicz

Final Words & Conclusion

The reviewed Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 ARGB cooler performed great. It handled the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (in place of Ryzen 7 3700X) and Intel Core i9 13900K (as a replacement for the i9 12900K) without a sweat. Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 ARGB is sold at a regular price of 133.99 EUR (but till 20th May, it’s 89.04 EUR), which is very reasonable for an aRGB AIO with a 38 mm thick radiator offering great performance. The maximum rpm (2000) noise is too much, but you can set your fan curve to make it more reasonable. There are four overall size variants (as there are also 240, 280, and 360) and the non-RGB variants. This time, the Liquid Freezer III is also available in white, so to sum it up, practically all users should find a fit for their system.

Aesthetics, Design & Installation

Starting with the aesthetics, the Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 ARGB looks fine, and this time, the pump is not as controversial in its design as in its predecessor. The installation process for AMD is relatively easy. Additionally, there’s a native AMD offset mounting –a 5 mm offset, as the AMD CPUs don’t have the hotspot in the central part. As for the Intel LGA 1700 (and potentially 1851) installation – you need to use the provided contact frame. Overall, it’s a good idea, as it should prevent deformation of the CPU because of the ILM (Intel’s Independent Loading Mechanism) and provide better contact with the cooler. Still, some users can feel less comfortable, as there is a bit of interference in the default motherboard status, and you need to be careful when switching it.

Important -> A selection of motherboards interferes with the cooler. You can check the compatibility with the motherboards on the following page.

The unit is factory-filled with coolant in a closed loop, so the whole installation process shouldn’t take more than 5-10 minutes for the AMD, and it’s one of the easiest systems I’ve seen so far. As for the Intel, it interferes more with the motherboard, and it’s better to remove it first from the chassis. Overall – the whole process can take 10-20 minutes, depending on the level of skills/experience (and nerves).

The quality tubes bend well and can be adjusted in many ways to avoid compatibility issues. The provided fans have RGB. As for the wiring, it’s managed in the tubes, so you only need to connect two cables (4-pin and the aRGB). 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 III 360 ARGB is a great and affordable solution, even at a regular price of 133.99 EUR (till 20th May, 89.04 EUR). You get RGB functionality and a VRM fan (which should help the VRM and the RAM modules). As the radiator is 360 mm long and thick for as much as 38 mm – you need to check if your chassis will accommodate it and in which location. The Liquid Freezer III 360 ARGB pump design is quite original, but not as much as the predecessor (which was too plasticky and “batmobile-ishy”). There are some motherboard compatibility issues, but you can check the compatibility with the motherboards on the following page. The performance is great. It could have been a bit quieter under load, but you can fix that with a good fan curve. The Arctic P120 fans are good overall (but not the best of its kind) but loud at maximum rpm (2000). The cables of this AIO are long enough (and you can choose if you want one, or three connectors) and the tubing (450 mm) are also ok. The tubing is quite flexible. There’s a 6-year warranty, so it’s better than the standard one. The only real drawback (for some, when using the Intel CPU) can be (a bit) troublesome installation, requiring a change of the contact frame. So, summing it up – you get great performance and a very reasonable noise (if not pushed to the max for the fans/pump). Putting everything together, we can grant this product a “Gold” award for the whole package (especially for the performance/noise ratio). The price is exceptionally good even without the current (till 20th May) discount, as it’s normally 133.99 EUR, and now it’s still 89.04 EUR; it’s among the best performance/price department offers, and we also grant a “Good Value” award.

Final Words & Conclusion

Aesthetics, Design & Installation

The Verdict

Share this content