Very recently we took a long hard look at the new “ALF 3” Pro and walked away very impressed with the amount of refinement the Arctic Liquid Freezer III team were able to bake into their blueprint in such a short amount of time. With that said… we were judging based on the highly niche 3x140mm form-factor. While there is no doubting the performance that massive “420” AIO offers… for most buyers the 3×120 form-factor is about as large as one can (easily) fit inside their PC case (without breaking out Ye Olde SawZall). Thus, today we will be turning out attention to the “360” variant of the Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro to see if this “small(er)” AIO can live up the extremely high expectations last gen / non-Pro Arctic Liquid Freezer III set… as that models blend of performance, value, and ease of use made it fan favorite amongst experience builders and enthusiasts alike.
Make no mistake, “Past performance is no guarantee of future results,” nor is it fair to base expectations upon what the bigger/older/wiser brother of the family can do. The 420 is simply in a different league in both cooling performance… and overall value. Always has been, probably always will be. To be precise, the ALF 420s are pretty much a veritable steal of a deal because they are so gosh darn niche. This is why the Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 edition is only ten dollars less expensive than the 420, at about 110 USD. As such, we will be comparing and contrasting not (really) against the ALF Pro 420 but against this 360’s predecessor: the non-Pro Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360. A (for its class) cooling beast that still costs about the same as this new “Pro” model. Which is already a major tick in the win column for the “ALF 3 Pro 360” (as we will be calling it for brevity’s sake). After all, the ALF 3 Pro team baked in a lot of those selfsame performance advantages into the 360 edition that they did with the 420… and yet did not increase the MSRP. That is impressive.
These improvements run the gamut from using the same excellent reinforced tubing. The same improved (for some) installation hardware. The same next-gen ‘Pro’ fans (albeit obviously in 120mm form-factor). Since the 420’s fans were arguably the secret to the Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 420’s success, these new “P12 Pro” 120mm fans have a lot riding on them. Thankfully, with over 6mm of static pressure and 77CFM air movement, they too should offer major improvements over the non-Pro 360. These fans, however, will probably be the fulcrum upon which the ALF 3 Pro 360’s reputation will either pivot into greatness… or failure.
Yes. That is not fair. Yes, it is unusual that a stock fan design will play such a pivotal role in the success/failure of any AIO. However, that is just the reality of the situation. Put bluntly, a lot is riding on what Arctic’s fan design team has been able to accomplish… as most experienced builders will have little concern over the ALF 3 Pro AIO design itself and rather will want to know if the ALF III Pro 360 is worth the hype, or if the 420 edition is the outlier. So let’s see if lightning can indeed strike twice.
