Short recommendation post on the Arctic Liquid Freezer 3

[M@rk]

Hello all!
I bought the Arctic liquid freezer 3 280mm a couple months ago, And just wanted to write this post as recommendation to anyone whos looking at a AIO liquid cooler for his CPU.
The cooler runs really quiet and virtually unnoticable while gaming with headphones. Under full load without headphones barely makes any noise. Cooling performace is very good for my current CPU (I5 12400), Im looking at 50-65c under full load with ambient temp of 28c in a poorly ventilated room.

Thanks for reading my post, i hope i can help someone decide whether he should or shouldnt get the cooler.

 

[JLK03F150]

I'm glad you are happy with its performance.

 

[EarthDog]

These are awesome. My review test system uses the 3x140mm monster. It performs quite well and also whisper quiet unless you run the fans full tilt.

My only complaint is that the mounting can interfere with boards with large/oversized VRM/M.2 heatsinks. I've already run into fitment issues on multiple Z890 boards.

Here's a link - https://www.arctic.de/us/Liquid-Freezer-III-Series

 

[M@rk]

These are awesome. My review test system uses the 3x140mm monster. It performs quite well and also whisper quiet unless you run the fans full tilt.

My only complaint is that the mounting can interfere with boards with large/oversized VRM/M.2 heatsinks. I've already run into fitment issues on multiple Z890 boards.

Here's a link - https://www.arctic.de/us/Liquid-Freezer-III-Series

I accidentally miscalculated the size of the 280 and its not mounted properly in my case lol, held up by 2 screws and slightly tilted to the side lol, but all good!

 

[JLK03F150]

Do these models have a fill port? I don't think I would want an AIO Cooler without a way to top it off.

 

[M@rk]

Do these models have a fill port? I don't think I would want an AIO Cooler without a way to top it off.

Theyre all sealed afaik, i wouldve wanted to be able to pop off the hoses to install it ontop of my case but sadly no bueno.

 

[freeagent]

Do these models have a fill port? I don't think I would want an AIO Cooler without a way to top it off.

My Thermalright does not.. but it uses Torx on the cold plate, should be no problem to refill it.

 

[Woomack]

Do these models have a fill port? I don't think I would want an AIO Cooler without a way to top it off.

They don't have it. Everything is sealed.


Below are some pros/cons. I have the 280mm version that I use for X870/E motherboard reviews right now. I also installed it on my colleague's PC.

Pros:
- It performs well, and the temps are great with R9 7950X
- It's quiet / there are two options to use one PWM for fans+pump or split everything into multiple PWMs on the motherboard
- It's very cheap compared to anything else on the market
- It has a native offset mount for AMD ... but ...

Cons:
- The native offset mount and inlet/outlet tubes prevent the cooler from being installed on many AMD motherboards with tall first M.2 heatsinks (the list is on their website). I asked support about it, and it took them a week to reply. In short, they said there is no other mount option, but they also said the cooler can be installed upside down, and it shouldn't cause any issues. I tested it on one rig, and it works fine, but the cover can't be turned around, so the logo is also upside down. However, for some motherboards, Arctic offers a free M.2 heatsink to solve the issue. Sadly, some motherboards have too close the first PCIe slot, and then you won't fix it this way. One example is my X670E Gene, but the same will happen with many ITX mobos.
- The tubes are not very flexible, and the sleeve is a bit loose, so it may look weird in some PC cases that aren't regular mid/large towers. It would look better with regular smooth rubber tubes. It's the only thing that reminds me of the cheap Chinese AIO series or some pretty bad Coolermaster AIOs. Not the tubes quality, but the loose sleeve.

In conclusion, I would still recommend it, as it's hard to find anything much better, even for twice its price. However, first check the compatibility list to see if it fits your motherboard.