Introduction
In our streak of testing 360mm AIO coolers, we are now taking a look at the SilverStone PF360W ARGB V2 cooler. As the name suggests, this is version 2 of the cooler with only one difference which is the LGA1700 socket compatibility. SilverStone has sent us a white edition cooler which looks really cool in person. This unit has a same design as is on the original cooler. Key features include:
- Pure white colored radiator, fans and cables to help achieve the ultimate full white system build of your dream
- Integrated addressable RGB lighting for water block and fan
- Rubber pads included on fan for lower vibration and noise
- Includes addressable RGB controller with 10 lighting modes and ability to adjust brightness and color changing speeds.
- Compatible with Intel LGA775/115X/1200/1366/2011/2066 and AMD AM2/AM3/AM4/AM5/FM1/FM2 sockets
- Compatible with Intel LGA115x/1200/1700/2011/2066 and AMD AM2/AM3/AM4/AM5/FM1/FM2 sockets (V2)
Item: SilverStone PF360W-ARGB-V2
Price: £99.98 [SCAN UK price at the time of this writing]
SilverStone SST-PF360W-ARGB-V2 Cooler Specifications
Packaging and Unboxing
This unit comes inside a cardboard box. The model of this unit is printed over here along with compatibility with RGB sync technologies of various motherboard manufacturers. We can see LGA1700 compatible label.
SilverStone has printed specifications and diagrams with dimensions over here.
There is an egged carton onto which the cooler and accessories are nicely tucked.
Accessories
It is time to see what is provided.
SilverStone has provided a user manual with instructions about installing this cooler on supported sockets. There is also a manual for the A-RGB controller.
There are:
- Backplate for Intel LGA1700 Socket
- Backplate for Intel other Sockets
- Bracket for Intel Platform
- Bracket for AMD Platform
There are:
- 4x Spring-loaded Thumb Screws
- 4x Intel LGA1700 Bolts or Thumb Nuts
- 4x Intel LGA20xx Bolts or Thumb Nuts
- 4x Intel Other Sockets Bolts or Thumb Nuts
- 2x AMD Clips or Buckles
There are:
- 1x 3-way PWM Splitter Cable
- 1x Thermal Paste Tube
SilverStone has provided:
- 1x Digital RGB Splitter Cable
- 1x 4-pin Peripheral Adapter Cable for pump
There is a dedicated A-RGB controller provided with this cooler. It has three buttons to control the lighting effects. The M button can be used to toggle between the RGB modes. The + and – buttons can be used to increase/decrease the brightness and or speed of dynamic lighting modes. Pressing M button for 3 seconds will turn the lights off and pressing it again will load the last lighting effect.
There is a 4-pin header or port on one end of this controller to which you can connect the A-RGB cable.
The other end has a 2-pin port. This is where SATA cable is connected to power the unit.
There are a few other cables as well. One is the SATA cable to power the controller. Other is an A-RGB cable having a 4-pin port at one end that goes into the controller housing. There is also a motherboard RGB sync cable.
Closer Look
SilverStone releasing a Version 2 or V2 of PerfaFrost series coolers indicate that they intend to carry this series further ahead. Well, nothing wrong with that as these coolers are still good. Let’s start.
Since we are taking a look at the white color unit, we can see that the radiator housing is white color paint coated including the fin stack. This radiator is made of aluminum alloy and it has a size of 394x120x28mm. This radiator has a thickness of 28mm which is 1mm above what the majority of AIOs have. Adding 120x25mm fans would increase the overall height to be 54mm or so including the screws’ heads. This unit has a FPI count of 20 and there are 12 channels for coolant flow. SilverStone has stated that they are using an automotive-grade radiator that has excellent anti-corrosive properties and can easily survive harsh elements that include vapor, liquid, grease, and solvent.
SilverStone has done a good job with fin stacking since we did not observe any broken fins.
The far end has a slim design to it and there is no branding of any sort over here.
Looking at the tube side of the radiator, we can see a serial number label and a part or model number label. There are white clamps hiding the connection between tubes and fittings. There is what seems to be a refill port cover. It seems to be a factory use reserve. Don’t temper with it as it might lose the vacuum pressure of the loop.
The sides of the housing are riveted to the main housing and there is no branding of any sort on these frames.
SilverStone is using rubber tubes having nylon braided mesh sleeves in white color for aesthetics. These tubes have a length of 400mm. These tubes are not that flexible.
The pump housing is quite a distinctive design on this unit. This housing has a size of 61x61x50mm (LxWxH). Here 50mm refers to height of this housing. There is a step design on top that blends in quite well with the rest of the design flow. There are A-RGB backlit 4 intersections. All sides of this housing have the same layout. The housing is white color coated. Oh, and this housing is made of plastic material.
Looking at the top of this housing we can see a SilverStone logo that is backlit. Since this logo would look the same from all angles, there is no consideration with respect to the installation orientation of this unit. Also, we can see that there is a certain gap between the housing and the tubes.
Looking at the backside, we can see that there are 90° right-angled fittings on which the tubes are connected. They can be moved towards right and left depending on the requirement. The inset in the black color body is where the mounting brackets are installed.
There is a flat cable with a 3-pin connector to power the pump.
The other flat cable has standard 3-pin, 5V interfaced connectors for A-RGB LEDs.
This unit has a copper base measuring 55x55mm. SilverStone is using 0.2mm micro channels on the cold plate for better heat transfer. The pump on this unit has a dual-chamber design to separate the coolant’s inflow and outflow areas. SilverStone has used a 6-pole, 3-phase design for the motor. This is to improve energy efficiency. An automotive-grade sine wave generator is used to drive the pump motor. This is AEC-Q100 certified according to Automotive Electronics Council’s standard making it more durable. This motor is rated to spin at 3400 RPM ±10% using 12VDC and 0.39A current.
There are three white color high-performance fans with this cooler. These are AB 120RW. These fans have A-RGB LEDs. LEDs are housed inside the hub. Each fan has 9 blades. These are frosted blades. There is a sticker on the hub having a SilverStone brand logo. Each mounting corner has an anti-vibration pad.
The frame of these fans is also in white color. It is quite sturdy. We could not see any arrow marking that shows the direction of airflow and the direction in which the blades spin for novice users.
Looking at the backside of the fan, we can see a 4-arms assembly. Wires are routed on an inset on one arm. We can take a glimpse at a green color PCB. The power rating of these fans is printed over here. We can see a ribbed design on the blades. According to SilverStone, these suppress air turbulence and its noise.
Each fan has two flat cables in white color. One cable has a 4-pin PWM connector to power the fan’s motor. The other cable has standard RGB connectors.
Salient specifications are:
| Dimension | 120x120x25mm (LxWxD) |
| Speed | 600~2200 RPM |
| Noise Level | 7.4~35.6 dBA |
| Rated Voltage | 12VDC |
| Rated Current | 0.32A |
| Maximum Airflow | 94 CFM |
| Pressure | 3.53mmH₂O |
| Connector | 4-pin PWM |
Installation
We are not covering the details of installation. Please refer to the online user guide for detailed instructions about installing this cooler. We did not notice any particular issue with the installation. One thing that we somehow noticed during the removal of this cooler is that the thumb nuts were stuck on thumb screws or bolts and removing thumb nuts actually removed the thumb screws from the socket of the backplate. This is something SilverStone should look into. Also, it is not easy installing a top left thumb screw on the socket since that particular hole sits closer to the capacitors. I wish SilverStone take note of EK Water Blocks’s idea of using a tool to install/remove screws.
RGB Lighting
Since SilverStone is using standard RGB connectors, the A-RGB lighting is compatible with RGB sync technologies of motherboard manufacturers. The lighting solution is compatible with:
- ASUS AURA SYNC
- ASRock POLYCHROME SYNC
- GIGABYTE RGB FUSION 2.0
- MSI MYSTIC LIGHTING SYNC
- BIOSTAR RACING
Here are a few pictures:
Testing
We have used below-mentioned configuration: –
- Intel i7 10700k
- MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHWAK
- XPG D41 16GB @ 2666MHz DDR4 Kit
- GGIABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 VISION OC
- addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD
- bequiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
- Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open frame layout
Here is the settings table for testing:
| Clock (MHz) | 5000 All Cores |
| Voltage (V) | 1.335 |
| Turbo Boost | Disabled |
| C-States | Disabled |
| Speed Step | Disabled |
| Thermal Paste | Noctua NT-H1 |
| Thermal Paste Application | Dot Method in the center. |
| Test Run Time | 30 minutes |
| Idling Time | 10 minutes |
| Fan Speed | 100% PWM Duty Cycle and Auto PWM |
| Pump Speed | Connected to the AIO Pump header to run at 100% speed |
| Stress Software | CINEBENCH R23.2 |
| Monitoring Software | HWINFO64 |
We are reporting the absolute temperature on the graph. The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis. Not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, and varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.
Results
This is not a bad result as we can see a difference of 1°C between both coolers.
Noise
These fans were making a noise output of 53~54 dB(A) at an ambient sound level of 32 dB(A).
Conclusion
In our continued testing of 360mm coolers, we have taken a look at SilverStone PF360W-ARGB-V2 cooler. This is a V2 of an original cooler with only one difference. The V2 is compatible with Intel LGA1700. This is due to the fact that when PF360 was released, LGA1700 was not released by Intel. The release of V2 also shows that SilverStone intends to continue this cooler in the coming time. We have tested a white edition cooler. This unit is compatible with Intel LGA115x/1200/1700/2011/2066 and AMD AM2/AM3/AM4/AM5/FM1/FM2 sockets.
As is the case with majority of the AIOs, this unit has an aluminum-made radiator having a size of 394x120x28mm. However, this unit has a tad bit more thickness by only 1mm. After installing 120x25mm fans, the overall thickness would be 54mm or so including the heads of the screws. It has 12 channels for coolant flow and fin density is 20 (FPI). SilverStone has mentioned that these coolers are using an automotive-grade radiator that has excellent anti-corrosive properties and can easily survive harsh elements that include vapor, liquid, grease, and solvent. This cooler has rubber tubes that run to 400mm in length and they have nylon braided mesh sleeves for aesthetics.
The pump housing is made of plastic material and it has a copper base. The top of the pump has a SilverStone logo that is A-RGB backlit. In addition, there are intersections in the housing in step design and each is A-RGB backlit. This creates some vivid visuals. This housing has a dimension of 61x61x50mm where 50mm is the overall height of this housing. SilverStone has mentioned that this pump is using dual chamber design. The pump of this unit has a 3-phase, 6-pole design for quieter operations. An automotive-grade sine wave generator is used to drive the pump motor. This ensures electrical noise and vibration are kept to a minimum. It is also AEC-Q100 certified according to Automotive Electronics Council’s standard so it has great quality and durability. The copper base measures 55x55mm. The cold plate has 0.2mm microchannels. All this is done to ensure maximum heat transfer. This motor is rated to spin at 3400 RPM ±10% using 12VDC and 0.39A current.
PF360 series of coolers come with Air Blazer series fans. These are high-performance fans generating 94 CFM at 12VDC with a static pressure of 3.53mmH₂O. The maximum noise level is 35.6 dB(A). Their speed range is 600 to 2200 RPM using a PWM connection. The blades of these fans are using a unique ribbed edge to generate more airflow and pressure with an optimized geometrical shape. These fans have A-RGB LEDs for lighting effects. SilverStone has used standard RGB connectors making this solution compatible with the RGB sync technologies of various motherboard manufacturers. SilverStone has mentioned that the lighting solution is compatible with:
- ASUS AURA SYNC,
- ASRock POLYCHROME SYNC
- MSI MYSTIC LIGHTING
- GIGABYTE RGB FUSION 2.0
- BIOSTAR RACING
We have used MSI Z490 TOMAHAWK motherboard and Mystic Sync App to control the lighting. It was working fine. SilverStone has also provided a dedicated A-RGB controller that would come in handy where motherboard does not have RGB solution.
Now addressing the installation part, this cooler has a convenient installation for AMD platform. However, for Intel platform, we would need 10 items to install a block on the CPU. Installation is simple and we did not notice any issues during installation. However, when removing this cooler, the thumb nuts and thumb screws were jammed with each other and taking the thumb nuts off actually removed the three thumb screws from the backplate’s socket.
This cooler is listed on SCAN UK at £99.98. This is a good price point for this cooler. SilverStone is offering a 2-year warranty on this cooler. This is a low warranty period and it should have at least been a 3-year and preferably a 5-year warranty. This cooler has performed quite well going against the mighty Liquid Freezer – II 360 but this performance comes at a high noise output from the fans. I would suggest using a custom fan curve and you are good.
Pros:
- Thermal Performance
- White Edition AB-120RW Fans
- Digital RGB Lighting
- Dedicated RGB Controller
- Supports Intel LGA1700
- Supports AMD AM5
- Price
Cons:
- Low Warranty Period
- Loud Fans
