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Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 Review

420 Class Performance in a 360-class Package

GaK_45 by GaK_45
January 8, 2025
in Reviews, Cooling
Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 Review
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ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 - CPU AIO Water Cooler, Water Cooling PC, Intel & AMD, Efficient...
ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 - CPU AIO Water Cooler, Water Cooling PC, Intel & AMD, Efficient PWM-Controlled Pump, Fan: 200–1800 RPM, LGA1851 and LGA1700 Contact Frame - Black
ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 - CPU AIO Water Cooler, Water Cooling PC, Intel & AMD, Efficient...
$139.00
in stock
as of May 22, 2025 12:13 am
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ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB - CPU AIO Water Cooler, Water Cooling PC, Intel & AMD,...
ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB - CPU AIO Water Cooler, Water Cooling PC, Intel & AMD, Efficient PWM-Controlled Pump, Fan: 200–2000 RPM, LGA1851 and LGA1700 Contact Frame - White
ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB - CPU AIO Water Cooler, Water Cooling PC, Intel & AMD,...
$146.82
$153.99
in stock
7 new from $144.00
as of May 22, 2025 12:13 am
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ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB - CPU AIO Water Cooler, Water Cooling PC, Intel & AMD,...
ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB - CPU AIO Water Cooler, Water Cooling PC, Intel & AMD, Efficient PWM-Controlled Pump, Fan: 200–2000 RPM, LGA1851 and LGA1700 Contact Frame - Black
ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB - CPU AIO Water Cooler, Water Cooling PC, Intel & AMD,...
$154.66
in stock
5 new from $140.00
as of May 22, 2025 12:13 am
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Last updated on May 22, 2025 12:13 am
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1. Introduction

  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Specifications
  • 3. Closer Look p.1
  • 4. Closer Look p.2
  • 5. Closer Look p.3
  • 6. Closer Look p.4
  • 7. Installation Issues
  • 8. Testing Methodology
  • 9. Performance Results
  • 10. Performance Results (Noise)
  • 11. Score Card and Summary
  • 12. Closing Statement

Very recently we took a long hard look at the new Arctic Liquid Freezer III Rev.2 “420mm” A-RGB White Edition AIO and walked away very impressed with both its performance and its cutting edge features. Of course as it is a big boi 3x140mm class All In One cooling solution it is a bit… niche to say the least. Perfect for those who can mount it, perfect for those who want near custom water loop performance without the cost of a full custom loop… but very niche due to its rather large foot print. This time we are turning our attention to what is arguably the largest ‘mainstream’ AIO option: the 3×120 class of AIOs. To be precise we will be putting the Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB White edition to the test to see how it stacks up against its larger brother.

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Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 Review 1

On the surface such a comparison does not seem overly fair. Obviously the larger 3×140 “420-class” will outperform the (relatively) smaller 3×120 / “360-class” option. It is just physics. More surface area, more coolant, more dwell time in the radiator… just plumb more. That however is not the point. One could easily bodge together a custom loop using the radiator from a PeterBilt 389 and it would obviously be better than any AIO on the market. Good luck fitting it inside the typical case though. While hyperbolic, that is the crux of the issue with the entire 420-class AIOs. The 420’s are so large that they simply will not fit inside most modern PC cases. Instead the venerable 360-class is as big as one can go without running into… too many incompatibility issues.

Furthermore, the “ALF 3” series (as many including ourselves have come to know it as) is extremely advanced and boasts a massively improved pump and a radiator that belies each form-factor’s “known performance” ceiling. As such the question is not whether or not the ALF 3 360 variant can keep up with the ALF 3 420 series, it is how much performance is one sacrificing on the altar of ease of use by stepping down a notch? Equally interesting is… how close can the new ALF 3 360 get to the last generation ALF 2 420? After all, the ALF 3 series brings numerous performance improvements to the table, and considering the ALF 3 360 ARGB White edition is $110 while the last gen ALF 2 420 is still going for about 100 (USD), many an experienced system builder is going to want to know if they can get close to 420 performance without 420 headaches. If that is indeed the case the ALF 3 360 may just become the mainstream performance model to buy. Let’s see if we are placing too much faith in the ALF 3… or not.

Jump to section

1. Introduction

  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Specifications
  • 3. Closer Look p.1
  • 4. Closer Look p.2
  • 5. Closer Look p.3
  • 6. Closer Look p.4
  • 7. Installation Issues
  • 8. Testing Methodology
  • 9. Performance Results
  • 10. Performance Results (Noise)
  • 11. Score Card and Summary
  • 12. Closing Statement
Page 1 of 12
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Tags: 3x120mm AIO420-class performanceadvanced PC coolingAIO coolingALF 3 360ARGB fansbest AIO 2024budget coolingCooling Performancecustom loop alternativeshigh-performance radiatorIntel mounting frameLiquid Coolingover-engineered AIOPC buildPC case compatibilityPC Cooling SolutionsPC hardware reviewradiator coolingwater cooling
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GaK_45

GaK_45

"Knowledgeable, opinionated and not afraid to ask the questions you can’t or won’t." GaK_45's combination of multiple industry certifications(MCSE, CCNA, various CompTIA, etc), and over twenty years' experience in the computer industry allows him to provide detailed analysis that is as trustworthy as it is practical.

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