Yea that definitely was where the video was elevated to the definitive AIO comparison for me. Great for those of us that already have good fans and want to pick up an AIO.
First I thought the nucleus will never fit in my itx case but glad I just looked to the full Dark version and there is no material around the fittings that could make trouble to fit. "Hope they perform the same"
it's too bad that the phanteks AIO's are literally impossible to come by. the T30 is discontinued, and the D30 isn't even listed on their website in the 240 size.
Absolutely. But it will be later this year. This one took so long and so many man hours that we'll let it sit for the time being and roll out our individual 240mm reviews over the next few months.
Flawless...there is literally nothing more, besides long term testing, that is missing here. Especially the AM5 / Intel Comparison but moreover, the very good graphical presentation for so many different Units, exactly what i needed to go and buy my first AIO and get rid of my BeQuiet Dark Rock 4 ( i hate the clamping mechanism soooo much i want to cut my arms open everytime ) :D . Keep it up, you are the Cooler Tech GOD :D
I just recently picked up the cheaper Thermal right Frozen Notte 240mm white ARGB and swapped it out with some white Arctic P12's. The temps are absolutely chilly on my 7800x3d. I Really can't believe the price for it either. With the two fans it came in at $68 usd. If the pump holds up for more than 2 years I think it will be money well spent. It would be nice to see you guys run a long term budget AIO test if possible. I know logisitically it would be a pretty tough proposition, but finding out if there is several hidden gems in the under $75usd category would be pretty nice, and good to know. Thanks for doing such a through review on this, keep up the good work.
The subtle counter at 7:47 is just 👌 needed to boost the volume to hear the noise and if that was not there... rip ears. Anyway, loving the new vids recently. Keep up the good work!
Watched the entire 25 minutes and first I want to say thanks to the team for doing all of the testing, especially between Intel and AMD on all the coolers Something interesting is my LT720 and LS720 (the 360mm version), their pump noise is nowhere as bad as that LT520. I wonder if that AIO is defective or maybe Deepcool has different pump speeds on the 240mm compared to the 360mm
I got the white version of the LT520 yesterday. I am using it with a 5950x manual OC'd to 4.5 GHz on all cores at 1.17v. I did a Cinebench R23 Multi-core test on them & got a score of 29,400. I didn't hear any obnoxious or loud noises from the pump & my temps topped out at 85 degress C. Just thought I'd elaborate on my comment. The faulty units are rare, from what I'm seeing.
Bought the Thermalright Frozen Edge myself. Been really tough on my 7950x with it being so ridicously hot. I really thought I went wrong here. No review anywhere and then @Hardware Canucks popps out with this review. I think a made decent bet price/perfomance wise. Big Love!
Wouah, this video is absolutly perfect. I couldn't care less about AIO but damn, every aspect if well covered. I cannot think of something you could add to make it even better. Testing for Intel and AMD is, as results showned, absolutly essential. And you did it. Noise normalized test, check. And even a fan normalized test, one thing I regretted to not see on some other of your video about sff cooler. Just thank you, once again it's perfection.
Hey there.. wow.. that's a lot of data. So I have an AM5 Ryzen 7700X with a Dark Rock Pro, and I'm pretty sure that it's not working well. My daughter plays Pandora with an RX 6800XT, and the thing nearly cooks itself. I've tuned the fan curve to be far more aggressive, and it's better, but man, does it get hot. I want to swap that cooler for something better, and after this video, I don't know if an AIO would be that much better than some of your top air cooler picks you posted recently. If you have any insight to help, that would be great. It took me forever to get my 12900K where I'm happy with it. I don't want to endure the same learning curve (or $$) to get the 7700X where it should be. Thanks again for your work. Cheers Rick
I would go with the PS120 to be honest. That way you aren't spending a ton of money in case your 7700X simply likes running hot. That being said, be quiet! coolers are all terribly optimized for AM5's unique IHS
Nice to see the sensible options like Thermalright, Deepcool, EKWB, and Artic are performing very well. And what a disappointment to see many of the pricey cooler only care about their looks. Also, this would be something you expect from a big media with large resources, but no, it's HWC with its small size crew and resources. Well done, you all! And thank you!
@@erikcortes5015 the only difference in a 240mm and a 360mm is the longer radiator and an extra 120mm fan. There's not much science and engineering to it. If we were talking about 280mm vs 240mm, that would be different because not all companies make the same 140mm and 120mm fans. But with 240 vs 360, it should be relatively the same with how each AIO performs. I'm sure the phanteks t30 360mm rad would (similar to this review of the 240s) run be the best at lower decibals
Can't say anything negative against my Thermalright Frozen Magic 280, which I use since end of september and cost me 63€. Fits in the o11 Mini on the side with tubes down, and the pump looks to be the same as be quiet models, different from the 240mm version. Its very quiet and I use Pure Wings 2 Fans with them, since I couldnt get the TR fans go low enough for desktop usage. Also dont know how TR is doing this, or if it will fail along the way, but the AIO was a decision because of looks, not performance, and if it fails, I still have warranty anyway.
Looking forward to ThermalRight's Frozen Vision and Frozen Warframe, both have LCD screens and at least in foreign markets retail for under $100. Likely one of the best AIO price to performance wise right now is the Azza Cube. Puts the 4000 rpm pump in the radiator and according to benchmarks is right up there with the EK in terms of performance.
The Thermalright is in a league of it's own at that price. Now I want to see the results when you buy the Thermalright and 2 T30 fans, swap the Thermalright fans for the T30's, and pocket the $80 you saved. Amazon has the TR FE's for less than $50, just saw a white one for $40!
Absolutely can confirm your comments regarding the mounting of the Kraken. I have one of these mounted on my 7700X and have remounted it repeatedly trying to get decent performance out of it. I finally managed to get reasonable temps out of it, but my experience with this cooler on AMD has me rethinking the whole 240 AIO concept. Now I realize it was simply the wrong cooler for the job. Thanks for pointing out, both here and in your air cooler reviews, that Intel and AMD CPUs have different cooling requirements from a mechanical standpoint.
On the LT520 I have had to RMA it once because of the pump making a weird noise and now the fans are making a weird noise I really don’t know if I did something wrong to them but overall if they get unsanctioned I wouldn’t recommend them in the slightest. Having anything wrong with a AIO is scary and the LT520 was the worst first choice for liquid cooling
When it comes to the Phanteks T30 AIO, it's those fans that are making it outperform. The T30's are the best 120mm fans on the market especially when it comes to static pressure which is what you want from a radiator fan. Put those fans on the thicker Arctic AIO and you will get even better performance than the Phanteks AIO.
i was suprised how well my frozen edge did compared to my coolmaster 280mm i got the 240mm version of the frozen edge and wow my temps dropped by around 8c and it was 43$
I purchased the Thermalright Frozen Notte 360mm cooler last month and I am impressed with its performance. Before installing it, my 5800X3D processor would never cool below 60 degrees Celsius on full load. This cooler is not only inexpensive but also does a great job at keeping the processor cool. However, I am unsure about its durability. Initially, the fans were quite loud, but after making a few adjustments to the fan curve, the noise level has decreased significantly. Kudos Thermalright
Had the Arctic Frezer II 240 for years and currently rocking the Pure Loop 2 360 - both have been working perfectly so far and temps never had any issues.
I'm surprised about the pump noise on the LT 520. I've got an LT 720 and it's basically silent and performs very well. I am on AM4 though (5800X3D). I have EK Basic 240 AIO in another system and that has ridiculous pump noise.
23:47 thats more than $100 Loved this testing. That Thermalright setup looks compelling at the prices, but its scary when it comes to watercooling. You just feel it's too good to be true, that something is going to spill. I have the same reservations about ID Cooling as well.
ID Cooling and Thermalright are both OGs. Especially Thermalright that is one of the oldest companies featured in this video. They also have tons of clients in the business side. The point is: margins on AIOs are crazy high, that's why every company is flocking into the market. They're just undercutting everybody, doesn't mean it's a bad product.
Thank you for PUMP NOISE mentions. Pump noise is worse than fan noise, and almost no one tests/reports on it. I've returned AIOs for the pump noise. Corsair ones are horrific.
@@Motion_GodAir cooling isn't for low end processors and they are a great way to dissipate heat. Beyond confused by that logic. Air coolers are solid cooling and ultimate peace of mind. No worries about a dying water pump or a leaky AIO killing your rig. I get if you might see a lot of builds online that have water cooling but you DO NOT need that. A new aio every 3 years from dead pumps that costs $100 or get a nice air cooler for
Huge respect guys! Great job! I wonder why the pump on your DeepCool LT520 is so noisy. I have an LS520 which I think is basically the same and its pump is inaudible even at 100%. Otherwise, in addition to the LS520, I also have an AK620 and I change them according to my mood with a pair of P12 Max fans. I am very happy with both coolers and the fans as well. Much of this happiness is due to you helping us find the best hardware for each of us. Respect!
Interesting you should say that. We have two samples here and both behave the same way. Looking a customer comments, the sentiment seems to be mirrored quite a bit.
I have the LS520 SE and the pump is completely silent as well. Much unlike some other AIOs I had before. But not sure if it's much different from LT520
@@HardwareCanucks Well.. I think the LT and LS series are the same just because they look alike, but I don't know if that's really the case. Also, my LS520 is now a year old and there may be inconsistencies in their manufacturing process. Who knows?
Thanks for the review. Next time, once the AMD 9800X3D is out, will go with Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360/420 or next version, till then I got Ryzen 7700 (All-core 5.25Ghz and Single-core @5.5Ghz with TjMax @88C) with Cougar Poseidon GT240 fans running @70% max = performance/noise really good, ear level less than 40db during load with 3080Ti, idle close to 27db.
Thank you for the standardized fan testing. This is usually never tested and it’s a good indicator to see if the fans are holding back or carrying the AIO. Regardless of what AIO I choose for my 360mm I had the plan to put T30/Noctuas on it. Tests like this one would help me choose. Ended up going with a 360mm EKWB Dark and T30s it’s been excellent.
Earned my subscription with this video. Really interested in seeing a follow up video when Zen5 releases as I'll be doing an ugprade then. I have a Kraken 240mm for my old 2020 build with a 3900X and I've been unhappy with the cooling performance and noise.
We Need More Thermalright Testing Both Air And Water Cooling Wise , Id Love to see more products and Testings with and without contact frames when testing with lga 1700
Don't really need more testing with their air coolers tbh, though they have added new fans recently to their line up which may change performance. Its the AIO that is being overlooked with ThermalRight. I'm more curious about who the OEM is for their AIOs as well.
@@deuswulf6193 I'm interested in the new coolers with fans they dropped , and fan testing for their stuff and also core matrix and frozen vision and frozen warframe tests
my LT520 is super quiet, sure it's noticable at night but not that bad, but I do find a lot of complains on reddit about deepcool LT series whining noise so it must be true for some units
14:41 ok this is where i exit, LOL. i am very comfortable now getting Thermalright Frozen Edge 240 for a 12700 that would be doing mostly productivity and lite gaming. Also wanted something for when I upgrade to 14th Gen that can start working right out the gate and if it's not handling well then I upgrade to 360.
Thermalright Frozen Edge seems awesome but as you stated for AMD, it uses two point and not the four point mount, so I'd not choose since I use AMD. Too bad EVGA's not a player any longer, as I have their 240 aio thats almost 5 yrs old and still works (good testament).
8:24 well from what my ears heard, in comparing the Ryujin III + DeepCool with the Thermaltake, I would take the ThermalTake, my ears can more tolerate that sound/frequency, LOL. I am surprised and disappointed in the Ryujin, though it was the Ryuo I was considering until I changed plans and considering the ThermalRight, which is why I am here, to get a good idea and comparison.
18:35 One of the MOST important sections in this video! I would love to know where the TR Frozen Magic Scenic V2 fits in there! 22:38 The pump isn't as strong as the Notte and Magic, and the fans are too weak, too. That's why it's cheap, IMHO. 23:47 $100. ;)
Good infomation, though I would've actually liked if you put the Phanteks T30 fans on every other AIO as a normalized test too, because I have my doubts about how much of that AIO's performance is due to the radiator and/or pump being designed specifically for the fans, versus it simply being due to the T30s' status of the best performing 120mm fans on the market.
That single data point doesn't actually tell you anything about whether the Phanteks radiator is designed to work better specifically with the T30 fans. If the delta between the Phanteks radiator and, say, the EK radiator is the same whether they're both using T30s or P12 Maxes, then it means the the radiator design of the Phanteks has nothing to do with being optimized for the T30s.
Big congratulations for the team to make this awesome video and testing, i love your cooling reviews and testing, big way! ❤ About the results it's great to see my LFii doing well on am5 because this is my main upgrade goal for 2lthis year. Say bye to the 5900x, say hello to the 7800x3d 😊
Bought a TT 280mm, and initially got crap temps on my 9900K, but it was a mounting pressure issue, because increasing the pressure with som washers the temps are now great.
12:30 the price of that ThermalRight giving that performance is the clear winner, though the Phantek stands out overall, but due to the PRICE of the TR, WIN!!
I picked up a deep cool LT720 for my Ryzen build and it was good I didn't really notice any sound considering my 3090 runs at 100% fan speed anyways when I'm gaming.
Thank u so much for this Super Great Video, so many Details for Noise and Temperature is Amazing and a Hard Work also. I Chose the the TR Frozen Edge this AIO ist the Winner for Price and Cooling Power, but it was a Hard Choice to the Phanteks T30. But i think 140 Dollars more for a bit more Cooling power is not Worth to take.
I wonder though if the Phanteks performs very well because of the fans, I would absolutely LOVE to see another roundup of the best performing AIO based off of the AIO itself using the same fans to see which one actually performs the best, I'm someone who likes to have optimized hardware, so the best fans with the best AIO would be amazing!
DeepCool Mystique 360 is an amazing cooler, I just got mine and it beats my old LT720.. The pump on the LT720 was silent.. The pump is quiet and with a fan curve, my 5900x doesn't get above 61-63c and sits idle 31-33c with fans 950rpm - 1200rpm..
Because of your test, I have a pair of P-140 Max's on the way. I have the stock p-14s in my Arctic Freezer II 280. Cheap upgrade to the Artic Freezer II 280 for a 3c, maybe even a 4c drop in temps. 👍 The price of the Thermalright Frozen Edge ($46.00 on Amazon) is so cheap it scares me. But it seems to work great by those who've been reporting in the comments.
Best and most revealing roundup I've seen! thanks. My LT520 pump is inaudible at full speed though. Love this cooler on my 7800x3d and after watching your video I have no plans on replacing it anytime soon. I have Phanteks T30's on it for the win
@@hockeyplayer10able no pump noise at all on mine, unsure of the fans as I don't use them . I am using phantels t30 fans since I got it. I assume that deepcools quality control may be a dice roll.
Actually when the pump ramps up fast it makes the sound of moving water for a second, but other than that it's whisper quiet. Can't hear it. It is a 3000+ rpm pump which I think is part of the reason is cools so well.
Given this is such a conclusive review of the most popular aios on the market I would’ve loved to see which aio has the most silent pump not just which are way too loud
Develop air pockets or coagulated(thickened) lubricant and find your VERY Expen$ive AIO is a useless brick in about 2 years! WTF? Great idea but I went straight back to a tower cooler. I had a $300+ 360 AIO die on me in less than 2 years. My friends 360 AIO died in about 2 years as well. 2 different brands! Don't think any other size AIO would last any longer *** SAVE YOUR MONEY!!! And your PC!
People forget, or don't know, that the Arctic Liquid Freezer rads - while thicker - are less dense than other AIOs so it probably evens out. Also, the ALF2 isn't that great. In standardized-fan testing, my 1st generation version Swiftech H320 (360 mm) AIO is consistently 2-4 degrees cooler than my ALF2 (360 mm) AIO throughout all RPM ranges and using 3 different fans: 6x Swiftech Helix 120 (push/pull), 6x Arctic Cooling P12 (push/pull), 3x Phanteks T30. With same fan RPM and same fans, the Swiftech is always 2-4 degrees C cooler. On top of that, the Swiftech always gave me the same temps between 3 different re-pastes and re-mounts probably due to the block's mounting screws basically always tightening down the exact same amount. The ALF2, on the other hand, is much more prone to varying performance between re-mounts. The first time I installed the ALF2, it was like 4-7 degrees hotter than the Swiftech - I followed the mounting instructions extremely meticulously. The 2nd time and 3rd time were both an improvement at only 2-4 degrees hotter but still decently hotter than the much older Swiftech. The crazy thing is the Swiftech has, both, a thinner AND less dense radiator. It's superior performance is probably therefore coming from a better radiator design, radiator being copper, a better cold plate / block design, and a way stronger pump (capable of around 600 L/hr unlike most other AIO pumps which are in the 30-70 L/hr range).
Got my white Deepcool LT720 (360mm version of the LT520) for $58, for the price I paid I don't think there are a lot of AIO that can beat it for its performance and value. As for the pump noise, it is not noticeable to my ears probably because my case fans and the fans on my RTX 3090 are louder than the pump.
I got my self a new Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360mm for my Ryzen 9 5950X. I have a Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280mm in the case, but I got the Arctic Liquid Freezer III for a very good price a mear £65.00 new. Its is the non RGB. My case is just all black for me it`s what is in the case that counts.
I don't understand how these results different so much between LGA1700 and AM5. It's not like it's a smart cold plate or radiator, that alters it's function. It literally just pumps coolant through fins, with fans blowing on it. If the AIO is capable of a certain cooling capacity, I'd think that would just be it's cooling capacity. The fact that it COMPLETELY changes it's performance just from touching something different is crazy to me.
I'm using BeQuiet LOOP 2 280mm and to maximise it's efficiency as well as aesthetics, I replaced the original fans with APNX FP1 30mm thick fans. Really good results.
I have SO many fans in my NV7 (15) that pump noise is never a factor in my AIO choice. That said though the 360 mm EK Nucleus that I've been using on my 7800X3D has been pretty solid on temps. With the packaging and presentation EK gives you...I'm hard-pressed to consider another brand for now.
I love the Arctic Freezer, but for my previous 7600 and now the 7800x3D, I foi d the Phanteks with the D30s was performing better and the pump was quieter. Considering the T30 version gave much better fans and better pump, I’m confident the performance is fantastic.
I've the LT720 and i have never heard any noise whatsoever from the pump, dunno if this one was just faulty or deepcool use the lowest quality pumps for the 240 or something..
Yea I got the LT720 as well and I don't hear noises from my pump. He probably happened to get a bad sample which sucks because I wanted to know how this series of AIO performed compared to others.
Thanks for the great analysis! Too bad the Arctic Liquid Freezer III and Phanteks Glacier One MP systems were not tested. (Would have also liked to see the higher level Corsair AIOs also, not with the RBG but some look like they have a different pump). I don't know. By the time tests are done, the next generation models can come out... It seems companies use the same pumps per product level no matter what the cooling surface area is. That just doesn't make sense from a physics perspective, unless they were to change the thickness or density of the radiator by size (which seems doubtful). I haven't seen a comparison based on radiator size yet either. I just wonder how much less effective a pump is in a 3x120 system vs a 2x140 system. Lots of variables.
@@HardwareCanucks anyway The best review as always Thanks for u r the only reviewer who show the differ between intel and amd coolers The best of the best Wish u do the same with 360 and 280
Running an deep cool lt720 with phanteks d30 fans the factory fans are garbage. It's on a 7800x3d it cools very well at 1200-1300 rpm in a push config my pump is silent. This use to be on a 7600x and it would ramp up fan speed constantly very badly since that CPU wants to basically run at 90c min constantly I could never get the fan curve to work well with that CPU and be quiet.
Why do I have this nagging feeling that these modern processors actually need a 360 or even a 420 to NOT cook themselves to death? 100 or even 90 degrees Celsius is just bonkers! Try to run a CPU like that in the summertime! Where is live, it can get up to 40 degrees (thanks, global warming). I'd really love to see HC testing these coolers in a 40 degree hot-box!
Seen all the video, from those i can take i must avoid phanteks t30 and artic and others due to size, looks like the overall best choices for ryzen all cores, gaming and so on are ryujin iii, ekwb nucleus and deepcool lt520. Ryujin is double priced and is more noisy compared to ekwb nucleus, which has almost same performances so ekwb wins. Who wins between ekwb nucleus and deepcool lt520 which are almost same price and lt520 maybe a little noiser? What should i choose between the two? Or is there anoter aio you would recommend instead of ekwb and deepcool?
I wonder why for the 38db normalised temps do the temperature scales always change? CPUs typically thermal throttle at 100c anyway so we're never reaching the 110, 130, 150c we see on the charts. This skews the visual comparisons because a 5c difference on the 110c scale is visually greater than on the 150c and we can't really compare performance at a glance between different CPU groups. I think it should be fixed to 100c or just be a table because the visual difference is so slight anyway. Also 23:48 the > sign should be
You didnt give the $50 part the damn good award becuse you FELT it was too good to be true? After all your testing you "FELT" like it didnt deserve it? What a stupid reason and stupid outcome. You did the testing for a reason. Whats wrong with you. Asinine reasoning like that makes me question the entire channel.
