10 reviews for ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 420 A-RGB –
Multi-Compati
Rated 5 out of 5
Paah –
I would say finding the correct version was difficult. I defaulted to the highest revision number “3” and all worked out just fine. The NON-RGB goes to something like 8 or 9. Thank goodness I had the RGB version. Computer components used see below, Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 216 RGB MB: Gigabyte Z690 “A” Elite AX DDR4 – I only purchased four sticks of RAM for lighting… Yea, I know.. Cooler: Artic II 280 RGB Intel Contact Frame: Thermal Grizzly Intel 12th Gen CPU Contact Frame (Works on Intel 13th gen Also) Thermal Paste Solution: Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme Results – Playing Baldur’s Gate 3 Prior to Upgrade: (CPU) 60 – 65 C After Upgrade: (CPU) 40 – 45 C I used CUPID HWMonitor for the above temp readings. Not that it matters I play the game on a 4070 ti at Ultra although High would be fine. I also “Undervolt” my Intel processor and still receive the same performance. I love the cooler and would recommend it, just not the manual so much. Although anyone building a computer should be able to figure it out. It’s at the level of IKEA directions, at least for me.
Rated 5 out of 5
Larry Rodriguez –
First thing I want to say is to check the dimensions of your case because this thing is HUGE! My editing system is running a Ryzen 9 5950x that is heavily overclocked, so I needed something to cool it properly. I have tried high-end air coolers and basically every AIO from 120mm and up. After reading reviews and watching some YouTube videos, I decided to grab the Arctic cooler. I have an old Thermaltake Core P3 and it technically has mounting for a 420mm radiator, but I can tell you from experience that you can’t actually put all the screws in because the slots on the case aren’t long enough.
Mounting the pump/cold plate was pretty easy and the inclusion of the ability to offset it for Ryzen chips was one of the reasons I bought this particular cooler. The VRM fan does help though it’s not really needed on the Asus X570 dark hero because the heatsinks work quite well. Temps never get above 65C when running Aida64 and never get above ~45C when gaming. The fans are quiet and push enough air so that I can run them at a minimum. The RGB is bright and easily controllable using motherboard software.
If you have the room for this cooler and have a CPU that needs it then this is a must buy. I am 100% happy with this purchase and will be putting Arctic coolers in my builds from now on.
Rated 3 out of 5
08 lexus gs 350 –
What i received is Used/returns so watch out, by just looking at the box i can tell, dent on the box maybe im wrong but ripped by where u open the box ? 100% been open, dent on the water tank , scratched of where u screwed it, damage on the bracket, that confirmed it 101% used/returns, i would give it a 2 star or 1 for the effort i put to it installing cant rate for 0 star… so anyways i gave it 3 for its working cooler… (i installed it anyways because of my mistake part of laziness, i already took apart my old water cooler (sandwhich pull and push style) and its fan/led wirring)
Expecting: at first i thought this water block will be thick but its not, seems like same as regular one, its just long due the 140mm fans, actually this look thick because of the fan thickness.
Something to watch for: I received mine fans are pre installed and wired series. Make sure all connection are connected maybe put electrical tape so it wont come off like mine, its hard to connect it back together ones its installed. (Connect all needs to connect where the fans are) u wont make mistake by it, they are close to each other, you wont be able to mix it or connect 1 to another one, even so it will be ok since its a series. And then connect the 2 wires thats on the pump, for fans and 3 pin 5v argb to your mobo (mother board) or to your hub, fans i recommend to connect it on you cpu fan on your mobo. Connect your hub to sys fan 1-3 or sys opt fan on your mobo (For fan control purpose).
Installation: scan qr code in the box, it wont say all in that steps, its the basic but if you put your common sense to it, it will be easy. (Not saying it in bad terms) english is not my first language so bare with me.
Need to make sure before buying this: Make sure this aio will fit on your rig/tower. I have a full size tower can fit 4 120mm fans on all corners so did not worry about the fitness this one is long i cant say its thick, it just look thick due to 140mms fans., i can even make this in a sandwhich push and pull style but i want to see the result first of as is…
So far it does lower my cpu temp, compared to my 360 corsair water cooler on sandwhich full and pull set up (6 fans). Its just too bad they sent me used/returned one. I paid it in full so im pretty sure i deserve a new one.
Fyi you wont need the back mobo bracket for amd, just the one on top (follow the instructions) i cannot speak for intel Installation but i think you will need it for the new intell LGA 1700. but for amd 4 or 5, you not going to need it , i repeat just the top bracket, by taking out your amd bracket (the black plastic look like thing)
Wish seller have Q and A here like other products… last time i check they dont, so end up buying 2, rgb and this 1 i have argb. I returned the rgb,i never even touch or lift a finger on the product box , but i have to open the package box to put my RMA. that one i return i can 101% sure is unused, 100% still considered brand new. Returnd but new, unlike what i received, not the buyer fault, its the seller fault.
Oh wait did i mention on the water block have dust? If so my apology you have to read more.. if not yes the one i received have dust inside that tiny holes.. new one (sealed) will never have that.
But anyways , thank you all for reading my long review hope it will help you.
Note: be patience installing this.. and dont forget the size… double check it. Its not thick its long, this make it thick because of the fans.
Patience is the key
Rated 5 out of 5
Swift & Makers ✅ –
Fed up after 18 months with another OEM’s 360mm AIO inability to efficiently cool a non-overclocked Ryzen 5950x CPU; it struggled to maintain a CPU temp in the high 70°s without load, but worse, shot up to just below or even frequently at the 90° safeguard cap under load. I did try a few intermittent troubleshooting tactics on old AIO, such as reapplying thermal paste and ensuring secure mount, etc., but to no avail, so I finally elected to seek out and replace with a new cooler by purchasing this unit.
Immediately after install into my preexisting build, the Arctic LF-II 420 proved amazing cooling improvement out-of-the-box, logging sustained very low 40°s no load, and no more than high 50°s / low 60°s under load. Granted that’s moving from 360mm previously installed, to this 420mm, but nevertheless, I hadn’t expected such gains, and would have been satisfied with half as much, particularly for a high-performance 16-core CPU.
In addition to swapping in the larger Arctic rad, which is not only 420mm, but a very brawny 38mm thick, I believe the massive cooling improvement after installing this AIO, may be equally, if not more so attributed to Arctic’s LF-II optional “offset” mounting feature that addresses the AM4’s 5000 series chiplet based CPU construction which shifts the CPU hot spots from center to bottom 3rd of CPU top surface.
In turn, the offset mounting bracket (included) centers the cooling plate on the hot chiplets, not the lower temp non-hot spot center of the CPU. Simple but ingenious innovation. There may be other AIO OEM’s that offer this offsetting feature for respective AM4/AM5 Ryzen series, but it wasn’t offered by the outgoing AIO I had installed, which provided a very compelling comparison.
Very highly recommended for AMD Ryzen CPU’s series with offset hotspot areas.
Other notes:
If going the 420mm rad like me, be sure to account for not only the supersize length and width, but also the increased height too (including fans). I have a very large ATX-E case and knew that I could schematically accommodate the 420 size and mounting format, but due to the rad’s height, I had make several unforeseen adjustments to placement of a few other components in my setup as well as offset from the case’s dedicated 420 screw mounts, giving up use of 4 of the twelve screw mounting points. This meant more time for the install, but not a product issue at all, and using only 8 of 12 screw mounting points still ensured very solid and stable install.
Also, it’s difficult to determine by the included pic alone, but I’m utilizing a ‘push’ air INTAKE top-mounted configuration (vs pre-assembled ‘pull’ air EXHAUST setup), and a 6-fan double push setup (3 above and 3 below rad). Inside the case (shown top of case in pic) are 3 non-Arctic 140mm RGB fans mounted to bottom of rad, as well as (not visible) the 3 included Arctic static pressure 140mm fans, which are mounted in the case’s top compartment to the top of the rad / case rad mounting bracket. The Arctic140 fans produce excellent airflow and are sturdy build quality.
Rated 5 out of 5
Cindy Chapman –
Got the cooler from Amazon as a returned item. It came in a plain brown box with some hardware and that’s all. Looks to have been installed on an AMD platform previously. No Installation paperwork or identification on the model or version of the cooler. I have reached out to Artic about the six-year warranty they are supposed to have with their coolers. Sent them an email on the 19th of Nov and here it is the 24th and no word. Not sure if they are going to honor the warranty or not. If not, see what Amazon has to offer. Update: I installed it and couldn’t be happier with the cooling. Temp has not risen above 42 degrees Celsius. But my cooling location is in a separate case that mounts above my motherboard case, very good at extracting heat. ARGB lights are not visible through the radiator because Artic radiators are much thicker than the rest of the industry AOI market.
Rated 4 out of 5
Ooo Shiny Object –
2022-08-01: Updated review. See bottom.
I specifically bought this A-RGB version of the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II to work with a brand new B550 AORUS Elite AX V2 (rev 1.1) motherboard, since this AIO is supposed to be RGB Fusion 2.0 compatible.
Installation was more difficult than it had to be because the instructions are not that great. Describing some things out of sequence just adds to the confusion (for example, they show you how to orient the mounting bracket to the motherboard which won’t fit (because it collides with some of the capacitors on the motherboard) until you put the four risers underneath the mounting bracket, which they don’t talk about for another couple of steps. So I wasted time thinking, how is this suppose to attach if it’s just going to crush one of the components on the motherboard? You go back to read all previous steps and there’s no mention of the risers. Then you go down a couple of steps and oh, now place the risers on the motherboard and place the bracket on that. They should have started with the risers and then showed how to orient and place the bracket on top of them.
There’s essentially just two connectors that come off the AIO, the plug for the CPU fan and the 3-pin plug for the LEDs on the radiator cooling fans. Both are easily connected to the B550 AORUS motherboard. That should be it, right? Nope. While the radiator pump and the radiator fans turn on and function properly (you can even see the fan speeds in the BIOS settings screen), the lights just don’t work with the RGB Fusion 2.0 application. They aren’t detected at all.
I opened a support ticket with ARCTIC a couple of weeks ago, but there has been zero response. I’ve also just opened a support ticket with GIGABYTE for the AORUS. Hopefully one or both of the companies will get back to me so that I can get all this sorted out. I specifically bought all RGB Fusion 2.0 components so that everything can be synced together. Unfortunately, the only things working are the G.Skill RAM and the GIGABYTE video card.
The cooler itself is quite quiet. The depth of the radiator and the fans is actually pretty deep, so I wasn’t able to mount the radiator to the underside of the case top because the it hits the top of the RAM sticks. This is because the RAM sticks are slightly higher because of the LEDs that are on them. So instead, I mounted the radiator to the front of the case pulling in air from the outside (as opposed to pushing air out of the case). I would have preferred the top mount, but front is acceptable. Just be aware that if your RAM is taller than stock, non-LED lit RAM, then it’s possible you won’t be able to top mount the radiator, depending on how big your case is. I’m using a mid-size tower (Phanteks P360A).
I’ll update this review pending the final outcome of both support tickets.
Update 2022-08-01:
The issue lies within the woefully implemented Gigabyte Fusion RGB software. I originally tried working with Gigabyte’s support, but I received a canned response that if the LED hardware I’m using isn’t specifically listed on their compatibility sheet (which is buried on their website), then it’s not supported. I replied that all of the LED products I purchased specifically have the RGB Fusion 2.0 certification logo on their boxes and that should not be allowed if those products really don’t support RGB Fusion 2.0. After my reply, then I got instructions on how to install the RGB Fusion software a different way (using the Gigabyte App Center installer as opposed the RGB Fusion installer itself). I was lucky, in that I was able to uninstall the original installation of the RGB Fusion without incident (if you search on the Internet, you’ll see that many people had to re-install Windows to get the RGB Fusion software to be fully uninstalled). In any event, installing through their App Center made zero difference. At this point, I gave up on Gigabyte providing any useful help and relied on my ongoing email exchange with Arctic’s support.
There was a big delay in Arctic getting back to me at first, but once a dialog was started I was able to get timely exchanges with them. It took a while, but after many exchanges between myself and Arctic’s support as I tried different experiments and connector configuration, I was finally able to get the lights fully working (and to be able to fully shut them off as well). I provided Arctic support, all the information on how to get the lights fully functional, and they are available on Arctic’s service drive for anyone who might also run into this problem.
Since I’ve now been able to get the product working, I’ve bumped up the review from 2 stars to 4. I’m knocking off one star because it took way longer than it should have to get everything working.
In summary. Cooling works great. A-RGB lights work, but could be difficult to get set up.
Rated 4 out of 5
Aaron –
I stuffed this in a Raijintek Styx with an Asus Tuf Gaming b660m-plus WiFi to cool a 12700k. This is A Phenomanel Watercooler!
Some notes: I Used the included paste. Made a single diagonal line from one corner to the other.
I just have the integrated GPU. This will of course give me some extra headroom versus customers with hot GPUs.
I mounted the radiator on top blowing air straight up, fans on the bottom pushing up through the radiator. Used the stock fans. Elsewhere in the build I have a pair of Noctua NF-A12x25s, one on rear, one on bottom, both pushing air in.
My ATX power supply is completely fanless, so that’s not assisting with cooling in any way.
In the Raijintek Styx the motherboard mounts upside down, so the water block in my build is mounted with the VRM fan blowing downward, directly between two fins on the VRM heatsync.
If building in the Raijintek Styx or another case that supports ITX motherboards you may have access hole for the backplate that isn’t lined up for the Micro ATX boards, install the backplate before installing the motherboard. I thought the access hole on the tray of the Styx would let me install this after I had fully installed the motherboard. So I had to take it right back out.
If building on an Alder Lake or newer system, be sure you get the LGA 1700 mounting kit. Mine came with it but it was a separate package which leaves me to believe it is easily possible to buy one that doesn’t have it.
This is a thick radiator and fan combo. It obscured the bottom IO pins like chassis fans and chassis headers ( remember my board goes upside down in here! If you’re doing something similar, plug in everything else first. I wound up unplugging and plugging some things by feel from behind the radiator while listening to mom reading out where things were on the motherboard. Being blind is handy sometimes.
idle temps are between 71 and 77f. Temps don’t rise above 77 for normal work like browsing the web.
Full load all threads, highest temp is about 155f, and I can hold that for hours. The fans aren’t at full speed, but speeding them up to full doesn’t help very much. With every fan I have all at 100 percent, the CPU stops heating up at about 145f.
I stopped all fans and let it run my CPUZ benchmark, all thread full load. It took about 5 minutes to reach 180f, starting at 75. Temps continued to climb and were at 196f before I turned all fans back on and watched the temp gradually move back down to around 155f still under full load.
I’m happy with the stock fans that come on the radiator. They turn lazily and make very little noise, and even at full speed I can’t really feel air coming out the other side of the radiator, but they do seem to really get the job done. My Noctua NF-a12x25 even at half speed are able to push enough air through the radiator to keep the stock fans on the other side of the radiator spinning and have me be able to feel the air coming through. No idea if replacing the stock ones would do any good, but if it did, it wouldn’t matter unless you have something hotter than a 12700k.
I placed the completed build in a kitchen cabinet that has the bottom shelf raised up enough to fit the case vertically and sideways in there with about 4 inches above the case. With the cabinet doors shut at full load temps can reach around 185f, but idle around 82, 88 while browsing the web and such. Note, I really mean a kitchen cabinet, like would go above the counter. I have a custom desk that uses these for overhead storage.
I found the AIO so efficient that I actually don’t even need my incredible NF-A12x25s to be turned on at all to keep the whole case cool (remember no GPU!) This product really is fantastic.
I liked having the fan wires integrated in the hoses. This really made a difference cutting down on cable management. My board has plenty of fan connectors that would have let me run the pump and the radiator fans separately, and this AIO allows for that by disconnecting the wires right next to the fans themselves so that you can use extension wires to run them differently, but I’ve found no desire to separate them. To the best of my knowledge, the speed sensor is getting the speed of the water pump. Setting the fan control to 0 percent will as far as I can tell completely stop the included radiator fans but leave the water pump running at about 250 rpm. I didn’t try this until the side was back on my case, I don’t know if the VRM fan stops or not. I also couldn’t be sure the VRM fan isn’t what the speed sensor is coming from, but I would think a tiny fan like that would spin faster. I like what I get with this. With a little water being lazily pumped through, I can silently cool the system reasonably well. This is why my temps climb so slowly with the AIO getting 0 percent speed on the fan control.
All in all this is set up just the way I would have asked. Arctic got in my head and checked all the boxes in terms of how it actually functions.
Installation I found to really be a pain in the butt. Had to install 8 little washer things with sticky on them, 4 on the front and 4 on the back. Then had to hold the backplate against the motherboard while pressing screws and bolts and what ever else on both sides of the board, needed a third arm really. I got it done on my own though but it looked like I shouldn’t try it if you get my drift. I was worryingly balancing the motherboard on its edge, it fell over once and bent over my USB 3 cable which I hadn’t unplugged yet, luckily it didn’t hurt anything. Like I said in the notes above, install the backplate before you connect anything to the motherboard or bolt it down unless your case has the backplate access in the correct location (Raijintek Styx does not).
I’ve got no comments about the RGB. I didn’t connect it. I wanted the non RGB version but it went out of stock a while in my cart as I went to order the Noctua case fans. My case doesn’t really let you see the AIO and I’m totally blind so could care less about that other than the extra cable I had to deal with was annoying.
Rated 4 out of 5
Bobby C. –
This AIO works great, but a couple of things I would change… Don’t daisy chain every thing together. The vrm fan should be able to be linked to vrm temps , radiator fans should be separate from pump… Any one who buys this wants that capability. Nothing about water cooling is convenient, never has been. So combining all of this together makes it feel like a generic asetek cooler… It still does a great job, but a couple minor things would bring it up to top class.
Rated 4 out of 5
HITECHRR –
I have the 280 in computer with the I9-9900k and it works well. I installed the 360 in my computer with the I9-14900k and it goes over 100c. I remove the factory cpu hold down and replaced it with a better hold down from thermalright that I bought here on amazon, and it did help a little but it will still throttle under testing.
Rated 5 out of 5
Amr Farag –
Honestly I was having huge troubles with an overheating cpu and I searched up best cooling system and was going to get an air cooler but was advised to get a water cooler and went for it. I haven’t gotten the RGB to work but I didn’t care much for that or try much either. This cooler is amazing at keeping cpu temperatures down even during intense use. I have the i7 9700k which is infamous for overheating and it keeps its temperatures down very well.
Paah –
I would say finding the correct version was difficult. I defaulted to the highest revision number “3” and all worked out just fine. The NON-RGB goes to something like 8 or 9. Thank goodness I had the RGB version.
Computer components used see below,
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 216 RGB
MB: Gigabyte Z690 “A” Elite AX DDR4 – I only purchased four sticks of RAM for lighting… Yea, I know..
Cooler: Artic II 280 RGB
Intel Contact Frame: Thermal Grizzly Intel 12th Gen CPU Contact Frame (Works on Intel 13th gen Also)
Thermal Paste Solution: Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme
Results – Playing Baldur’s Gate 3
Prior to Upgrade: (CPU) 60 – 65 C
After Upgrade: (CPU) 40 – 45 C
I used CUPID HWMonitor for the above temp readings.
Not that it matters I play the game on a 4070 ti at Ultra although High would be fine.
I also “Undervolt” my Intel processor and still receive the same performance.
I love the cooler and would recommend it, just not the manual so much. Although anyone building a computer should be able to figure it out. It’s at the level of IKEA directions, at least for me.
Larry Rodriguez –
First thing I want to say is to check the dimensions of your case because this thing is HUGE! My editing system is running a Ryzen 9 5950x that is heavily overclocked, so I needed something to cool it properly. I have tried high-end air coolers and basically every AIO from 120mm and up. After reading reviews and watching some YouTube videos, I decided to grab the Arctic cooler. I have an old Thermaltake Core P3 and it technically has mounting for a 420mm radiator, but I can tell you from experience that you can’t actually put all the screws in because the slots on the case aren’t long enough.
Mounting the pump/cold plate was pretty easy and the inclusion of the ability to offset it for Ryzen chips was one of the reasons I bought this particular cooler. The VRM fan does help though it’s not really needed on the Asus X570 dark hero because the heatsinks work quite well. Temps never get above 65C when running Aida64 and never get above ~45C when gaming. The fans are quiet and push enough air so that I can run them at a minimum. The RGB is bright and easily controllable using motherboard software.
If you have the room for this cooler and have a CPU that needs it then this is a must buy. I am 100% happy with this purchase and will be putting Arctic coolers in my builds from now on.
08 lexus gs 350 –
What i received is Used/returns so watch out, by just looking at the box i can tell, dent on the box maybe im wrong but ripped by where u open the box ? 100% been open, dent on the water tank , scratched of where u screwed it, damage on the bracket, that confirmed it 101% used/returns, i would give it a 2 star or 1 for the effort i put to it installing cant rate for 0 star… so anyways i gave it 3 for its working cooler… (i installed it anyways because of my mistake part of laziness, i already took apart my old water cooler (sandwhich pull and push style) and its fan/led wirring)
Expecting: at first i thought this water block will be thick but its not, seems like same as regular one, its just long due the 140mm fans, actually this look thick because of the fan thickness.
Something to watch for:
I received mine fans are pre installed and wired series. Make sure all connection are connected maybe put electrical tape so it wont come off like mine, its hard to connect it back together ones its installed. (Connect all needs to connect where the fans are) u wont make mistake by it, they are close to each other, you wont be able to mix it or connect 1 to another one, even so it will be ok since its a series. And then connect the 2 wires thats on the pump, for fans and 3 pin 5v argb to your mobo (mother board) or to your hub, fans i recommend to connect it on you cpu fan on your mobo. Connect your hub to sys fan 1-3 or sys opt fan on your mobo (For fan control purpose).
Installation: scan qr code in the box, it wont say all in that steps, its the basic but if you put your common sense to it, it will be easy. (Not saying it in bad terms) english is not my first language so bare with me.
Need to make sure before buying this:
Make sure this aio will fit on your rig/tower.
I have a full size tower can fit 4 120mm fans on all corners so did not worry about the fitness this one is long i cant say its thick, it just look thick due to 140mms fans., i can even make this in a sandwhich push and pull style but i want to see the result first of as is…
So far it does lower my cpu temp, compared to my 360 corsair water cooler on sandwhich full and pull set up (6 fans).
Its just too bad they sent me used/returned one. I paid it in full so im pretty sure i deserve a new one.
Fyi you wont need the back mobo bracket for amd, just the one on top (follow the instructions) i cannot speak for intel Installation but i think you will need it for the new intell LGA 1700. but for amd 4 or 5, you not going to need it , i repeat just the top bracket, by taking out your amd bracket (the black plastic look like thing)
Wish seller have Q and A here like other products… last time i check they dont, so end up buying 2, rgb and this 1 i have argb. I returned the rgb,i never even touch or lift a finger on the product box , but i have to open the package box to put my RMA. that one i return i can 101% sure is unused, 100% still considered brand new. Returnd but new, unlike what i received, not the buyer fault, its the seller fault.
Oh wait did i mention on the water block have dust? If so my apology you have to read more.. if not yes the one i received have dust inside that tiny holes.. new one (sealed) will never have that.
But anyways , thank you all for reading my long review hope it will help you.
Note: be patience installing this.. and dont forget the size… double check it. Its not thick its long, this make it thick because of the fans.
Patience is the key
Swift & Makers ✅ –
Fed up after 18 months with another OEM’s 360mm AIO inability to efficiently cool a non-overclocked Ryzen 5950x CPU; it struggled to maintain a CPU temp in the high 70°s without load, but worse, shot up to just below or even frequently at the 90° safeguard cap under load. I did try a few intermittent troubleshooting tactics on old AIO, such as reapplying thermal paste and ensuring secure mount, etc., but to no avail, so I finally elected to seek out and replace with a new cooler by purchasing this unit.
Immediately after install into my preexisting build, the Arctic LF-II 420 proved amazing cooling improvement out-of-the-box, logging sustained very low 40°s no load, and no more than high 50°s / low 60°s under load. Granted that’s moving from 360mm previously installed, to this 420mm, but nevertheless, I hadn’t expected such gains, and would have been satisfied with half as much, particularly for a high-performance 16-core CPU.
In addition to swapping in the larger Arctic rad, which is not only 420mm, but a very brawny 38mm thick, I believe the massive cooling improvement after installing this AIO, may be equally, if not more so attributed to Arctic’s LF-II optional “offset” mounting feature that addresses the AM4’s 5000 series chiplet based CPU construction which shifts the CPU hot spots from center to bottom 3rd of CPU top surface.
In turn, the offset mounting bracket (included) centers the cooling plate on the hot chiplets, not the lower temp non-hot spot center of the CPU. Simple but ingenious innovation. There may be other AIO OEM’s that offer this offsetting feature for respective AM4/AM5 Ryzen series, but it wasn’t offered by the outgoing AIO I had installed, which provided a very compelling comparison.
Very highly recommended for AMD Ryzen CPU’s series with offset hotspot areas.
Other notes:
If going the 420mm rad like me, be sure to account for not only the supersize length and width, but also the increased height too (including fans). I have a very large ATX-E case and knew that I could schematically accommodate the 420 size and mounting format, but due to the rad’s height, I had make several unforeseen adjustments to placement of a few other components in my setup as well as offset from the case’s dedicated 420 screw mounts, giving up use of 4 of the twelve screw mounting points. This meant more time for the install, but not a product issue at all, and using only 8 of 12 screw mounting points still ensured very solid and stable install.
Also, it’s difficult to determine by the included pic alone, but I’m utilizing a ‘push’ air INTAKE top-mounted configuration (vs pre-assembled ‘pull’ air EXHAUST setup), and a 6-fan double push setup (3 above and 3 below rad). Inside the case (shown top of case in pic) are 3 non-Arctic 140mm RGB fans mounted to bottom of rad, as well as (not visible) the 3 included Arctic static pressure 140mm fans, which are mounted in the case’s top compartment to the top of the rad / case rad mounting bracket. The Arctic140 fans produce excellent airflow and are sturdy build quality.
Cindy Chapman –
Got the cooler from Amazon as a returned item. It came in a plain brown box with some hardware and that’s all. Looks to have been installed on an AMD platform previously. No Installation paperwork or identification on the model or version of the cooler. I have reached out to Artic about the six-year warranty they are supposed to have with their coolers. Sent them an email on the 19th of Nov and here it is the 24th and no word. Not sure if they are going to honor the warranty or not. If not, see what Amazon has to offer. Update: I installed it and couldn’t be happier with the cooling. Temp has not risen above 42 degrees Celsius. But my cooling location is in a separate case that mounts above my motherboard case, very good at extracting heat. ARGB lights are not visible through the radiator because Artic radiators are much thicker than the rest of the industry AOI market.
Ooo Shiny Object –
2022-08-01: Updated review. See bottom.
I specifically bought this A-RGB version of the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II to work with a brand new B550 AORUS Elite AX V2 (rev 1.1) motherboard, since this AIO is supposed to be RGB Fusion 2.0 compatible.
Installation was more difficult than it had to be because the instructions are not that great. Describing some things out of sequence just adds to the confusion (for example, they show you how to orient the mounting bracket to the motherboard which won’t fit (because it collides with some of the capacitors on the motherboard) until you put the four risers underneath the mounting bracket, which they don’t talk about for another couple of steps. So I wasted time thinking, how is this suppose to attach if it’s just going to crush one of the components on the motherboard? You go back to read all previous steps and there’s no mention of the risers. Then you go down a couple of steps and oh, now place the risers on the motherboard and place the bracket on that. They should have started with the risers and then showed how to orient and place the bracket on top of them.
There’s essentially just two connectors that come off the AIO, the plug for the CPU fan and the 3-pin plug for the LEDs on the radiator cooling fans. Both are easily connected to the B550 AORUS motherboard. That should be it, right? Nope. While the radiator pump and the radiator fans turn on and function properly (you can even see the fan speeds in the BIOS settings screen), the lights just don’t work with the RGB Fusion 2.0 application. They aren’t detected at all.
I opened a support ticket with ARCTIC a couple of weeks ago, but there has been zero response. I’ve also just opened a support ticket with GIGABYTE for the AORUS. Hopefully one or both of the companies will get back to me so that I can get all this sorted out. I specifically bought all RGB Fusion 2.0 components so that everything can be synced together. Unfortunately, the only things working are the G.Skill RAM and the GIGABYTE video card.
The cooler itself is quite quiet. The depth of the radiator and the fans is actually pretty deep, so I wasn’t able to mount the radiator to the underside of the case top because the it hits the top of the RAM sticks. This is because the RAM sticks are slightly higher because of the LEDs that are on them. So instead, I mounted the radiator to the front of the case pulling in air from the outside (as opposed to pushing air out of the case). I would have preferred the top mount, but front is acceptable. Just be aware that if your RAM is taller than stock, non-LED lit RAM, then it’s possible you won’t be able to top mount the radiator, depending on how big your case is. I’m using a mid-size tower (Phanteks P360A).
I’ll update this review pending the final outcome of both support tickets.
Update 2022-08-01:
The issue lies within the woefully implemented Gigabyte Fusion RGB software. I originally tried working with Gigabyte’s support, but I received a canned response that if the LED hardware I’m using isn’t specifically listed on their compatibility sheet (which is buried on their website), then it’s not supported. I replied that all of the LED products I purchased specifically have the RGB Fusion 2.0 certification logo on their boxes and that should not be allowed if those products really don’t support RGB Fusion 2.0. After my reply, then I got instructions on how to install the RGB Fusion software a different way (using the Gigabyte App Center installer as opposed the RGB Fusion installer itself). I was lucky, in that I was able to uninstall the original installation of the RGB Fusion without incident (if you search on the Internet, you’ll see that many people had to re-install Windows to get the RGB Fusion software to be fully uninstalled). In any event, installing through their App Center made zero difference. At this point, I gave up on Gigabyte providing any useful help and relied on my ongoing email exchange with Arctic’s support.
There was a big delay in Arctic getting back to me at first, but once a dialog was started I was able to get timely exchanges with them. It took a while, but after many exchanges between myself and Arctic’s support as I tried different experiments and connector configuration, I was finally able to get the lights fully working (and to be able to fully shut them off as well). I provided Arctic support, all the information on how to get the lights fully functional, and they are available on Arctic’s service drive for anyone who might also run into this problem.
Since I’ve now been able to get the product working, I’ve bumped up the review from 2 stars to 4. I’m knocking off one star because it took way longer than it should have to get everything working.
In summary. Cooling works great. A-RGB lights work, but could be difficult to get set up.
Aaron –
I stuffed this in a Raijintek Styx with an Asus Tuf Gaming b660m-plus WiFi to cool a 12700k. This is A Phenomanel Watercooler!
Some notes:
I Used the included paste. Made a single diagonal line from one corner to the other.
I just have the integrated GPU. This will of course give me some extra headroom versus customers with hot GPUs.
I mounted the radiator on top blowing air straight up, fans on the bottom pushing up through the radiator. Used the stock fans. Elsewhere in the build I have a pair of Noctua NF-A12x25s, one on rear, one on bottom, both pushing air in.
My ATX power supply is completely fanless, so that’s not assisting with cooling in any way.
In the Raijintek Styx the motherboard mounts upside down, so the water block in my build is mounted with the VRM fan blowing downward, directly between two fins on the VRM heatsync.
If building in the Raijintek Styx or another case that supports ITX motherboards you may have access hole for the backplate that isn’t lined up for the Micro ATX boards, install the backplate before installing the motherboard. I thought the access hole on the tray of the Styx would let me install this after I had fully installed the motherboard. So I had to take it right back out.
If building on an Alder Lake or newer system, be sure you get the LGA 1700 mounting kit. Mine came with it but it was a separate package which leaves me to believe it is easily possible to buy one that doesn’t have it.
This is a thick radiator and fan combo. It obscured the bottom IO pins like chassis fans and chassis headers ( remember my board goes upside down in here! If you’re doing something similar, plug in everything else first. I wound up unplugging and plugging some things by feel from behind the radiator while listening to mom reading out where things were on the motherboard. Being blind is handy sometimes.
idle temps are between 71 and 77f. Temps don’t rise above 77 for normal work like browsing the web.
Full load all threads, highest temp is about 155f, and I can hold that for hours. The fans aren’t at full speed, but speeding them up to full doesn’t help very much. With every fan I have all at 100 percent, the CPU stops heating up at about 145f.
I stopped all fans and let it run my CPUZ benchmark, all thread full load. It took about 5 minutes to reach 180f, starting at 75. Temps continued to climb and were at 196f before I turned all fans back on and watched the temp gradually move back down to around 155f still under full load.
I’m happy with the stock fans that come on the radiator. They turn lazily and make very little noise, and even at full speed I can’t really feel air coming out the other side of the radiator, but they do seem to really get the job done. My Noctua NF-a12x25 even at half speed are able to push enough air through the radiator to keep the stock fans on the other side of the radiator spinning and have me be able to feel the air coming through. No idea if replacing the stock ones would do any good, but if it did, it wouldn’t matter unless you have something hotter than a 12700k.
I placed the completed build in a kitchen cabinet that has the bottom shelf raised up enough to fit the case vertically and sideways in there with about 4 inches above the case. With the cabinet doors shut at full load temps can reach around 185f, but idle around 82, 88 while browsing the web and such. Note, I really mean a kitchen cabinet, like would go above the counter. I have a custom desk that uses these for overhead storage.
I found the AIO so efficient that I actually don’t even need my incredible NF-A12x25s to be turned on at all to keep the whole case cool (remember no GPU!) This product really is fantastic.
I liked having the fan wires integrated in the hoses. This really made a difference cutting down on cable management. My board has plenty of fan connectors that would have let me run the pump and the radiator fans separately, and this AIO allows for that by disconnecting the wires right next to the fans themselves so that you can use extension wires to run them differently, but I’ve found no desire to separate them. To the best of my knowledge, the speed sensor is getting the speed of the water pump. Setting the fan control to 0 percent will as far as I can tell completely stop the included radiator fans but leave the water pump running at about 250 rpm. I didn’t try this until the side was back on my case, I don’t know if the VRM fan stops or not. I also couldn’t be sure the VRM fan isn’t what the speed sensor is coming from, but I would think a tiny fan like that would spin faster. I like what I get with this. With a little water being lazily pumped through, I can silently cool the system reasonably well. This is why my temps climb so slowly with the AIO getting 0 percent speed on the fan control.
All in all this is set up just the way I would have asked. Arctic got in my head and checked all the boxes in terms of how it actually functions.
Installation I found to really be a pain in the butt. Had to install 8 little washer things with sticky on them, 4 on the front and 4 on the back. Then had to hold the backplate against the motherboard while pressing screws and bolts and what ever else on both sides of the board, needed a third arm really. I got it done on my own though but it looked like I shouldn’t try it if you get my drift. I was worryingly balancing the motherboard on its edge, it fell over once and bent over my USB 3 cable which I hadn’t unplugged yet, luckily it didn’t hurt anything. Like I said in the notes above, install the backplate before you connect anything to the motherboard or bolt it down unless your case has the backplate access in the correct location (Raijintek Styx does not).
I’ve got no comments about the RGB. I didn’t connect it. I wanted the non RGB version but it went out of stock a while in my cart as I went to order the Noctua case fans. My case doesn’t really let you see the AIO and I’m totally blind so could care less about that other than the extra cable I had to deal with was annoying.
Bobby C. –
This AIO works great, but a couple of things I would change… Don’t daisy chain every thing together. The vrm fan should be able to be linked to vrm temps , radiator fans should be separate from pump…
Any one who buys this wants that capability. Nothing about water cooling is convenient, never has been. So combining all of this together makes it feel like a generic asetek cooler…
It still does a great job, but a couple minor things would bring it up to top class.
HITECHRR –
I have the 280 in computer with the I9-9900k and it works well. I installed the 360 in my computer with the I9-14900k and it goes over 100c. I remove the factory cpu hold down and replaced it with a better hold down from thermalright that I bought here on amazon, and it did help a little but it will still throttle under testing.
Amr Farag –
Honestly I was having huge troubles with an overheating cpu and I searched up best cooling system and was going to get an air cooler but was advised to get a water cooler and went for it. I haven’t gotten the RGB to work but I didn’t care much for that or try much either. This cooler is amazing at keeping cpu temperatures down even during intense use. I have the i7 9700k which is infamous for overheating and it keeps its temperatures down very well.