Even more impressive than the massive increase in core thickness is the fact that Arctic did not cheat and give their fans any help by reducing the Folds Per Inch used in the rad. That has been done in the past… but was quickly discarded as the negatives associated with reducing the overall cooling surface area defeat the entire dang purpose of making the core thicker in the first place. As such, you can rest assured that the ALF 3 uses a decent 13FPI that its predecessor the ALF 2 used.
The downside of a relatively dense, extremely thick core is simple: There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. In this instance, it means the choices available for replacing the included Arctic fans are limited, to say the least. Limited to basically either going for 140x38mm “thick”… or spending Noctua “IndustrialPPC” fan prices. The first makes an already chunky AIO that much more difficult to fit inside a mid-tower case, and the latter nukes any savings the ALF 3 280 offers over its bigger brethren. Put another way, few will want to swap out the included fans as you might as well go for an ALF 3 360 instead.
Which is perfectly fine. Artic has been making insanely good, and yet not insanely priced, 140mm fans for years now and the included “P140 ARGB” fans are as pretty as they are potent.
To be precise their integrated focusing ring not only makes for a better, cleaner “light show” it also makes for a better push/pull rad’ fan. One where the individual blades are all connected. Which in turn not only focuses more air through the radiator but keeps said blades from “flexing”… which in turn reduces noise (no more ‘whop, whop, whop’) while increasing longevity (plastic fatigue is a real concern with rad mounted fans).
Moving on. This radiator is not only robust and more efficient at converting hot water to cool water, it is also extremely pretty. Yes, (also) in typical Arctic fashion the ALF 3’s rad comes clad in a thick, abrasion-resistant (multiple) coat(s) of paint that is available in black and white… just like the ALF 2 280 before it. Ironically enough, this ‘white’ is white… and arguably whiter than the white that certain case manufacturers use for their AIOs. As such, the white versions of the ALF 2 and ALF3 work extremely well with Antec, Cooler Master, Corsair, Phanteks… and basically, any other manufacturer’s white edition cases that can accommodate a chunky 38mm thick AIO. Put another way the ALF 3 is more advanced and better at cooling, but keeps to the ALF2 roots of offering great performance and great aesthetics.
Sadly, one other thing that has been carried over from the ALF 2 is the sheathing covering the tubing. Much like with the ALF 2 white edition… the tubing underneath said sheath is black and black is hard to fully cover with white. Thus the tubing’s “white” can appear to be more of a gray than the pure white of the rad. This is a shame as this is a known issue with the ALF 2 that could have easily been corrected by simply double-covering the tubing.
On the positive side, at least Arctic did carry over the length of said tubes. To be precise you get ~18-inch length (depending on how you measure things) ~13mm OD / 6mm ID tubing. Which is 1) long enough for the majority of cases 2)Flexible enough to not be a royal nuisance to work with and yet 3) (thanks to ~3mm thick walls) robust enough that punctures and even outgassing are of minimal concern (during the warranty period at least).
Also on the positive side, the connectors that… connect… said tubing to the radiator and water block are radically different than the previous gen. In the last gen, the two ports on the waterblock end were smack dab in the center of said block and when the ALF 2 was installed in the top, the front, or the bottom of a case it did place a bit of stress on the block’s mounting hardware. Equally important with them sticking straight up you did have to fight the tubing to get everything nice and neat. Especially in normal-sized cases with ‘side’ mounted fan(s)… or you know, a normal amount of space between the interior and case side panel.
With the ALF 3, the ports are now located at the end of the water block, enter in the side of said block, and have swivel connectors to ease the (needless) stress on the block from the tubing. This does make a major difference and does increase the ease of mounting the rad into a case… and makes for a much, much cleaner looking final build in “windowed” cases (or all glass has become all the rage in certain circles). Color us impressed.
While not quite as important, but impressive nonetheless, the pressure fittings on the other end of said tubing have also been upgraded. In the last gen, the rad ports were large faux chromed (aka painted) metal compression headers that were rather large. Not too large as to be an eye sore, but large enough to somewhat clash with the ALF 2’s overall aesthetics (be it white or black). With the ALF 3, they are smaller and now painted the same color as the rest of the ALF 3. Thus they easily blend into the background… just as they should.
