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About time we have tested a second AIO from the same series from ARCTIC. We got to test their Liquid Freezer – II 240 earlier and it won our 240mm AIO round-up content this year. This time we have tested the bigger brother i.e Liquid Freezer – II 420. The 420mm retains the same footprint that is the hallmark of the Liquid Series coolers from the ARCTIC. We have the same 38mm thick radiator but in 420mm size with a 15 FPI count. The cooler is compatible with Intel LGA115x/1200/2066 and 2011(-3) square ILM sockets and AMD AM4 sockets. There is no RGB showoff on this cooler as we have a stealth/neutral look written on the forehead.
The Liquid Freezer – II 420 has an aluminum radiator measuring 458 x 138 x 38mm. The thickness of the radiator is 38mm. The overall thickness would be 66mm after installing the fans. The fans have a thickness of 27mm. The radiator has 15 FPI. This makes sense with the overall thickness of the fin stack and ARTIC has wisely chosen the P14 PWM fans for this radiator to achieve optimal cooling performance out of the box. The radiator housing has a black color finish which is fingerprint magnet. The radiator housing has an ARCTIC branding on the sides. We have 450mm length tubes on this cooler which is plentiful for any requirement. The ARCTIC is using fiber reinforced, EPDM rubber tubes which are flexible without kinking and reduces the coolant evaporation. They have an OD/ID of 12.4/6.0mm. The barb fittings have aluminum covers on the radiator and the block which look good in person. The cooler features an integrated cable management system. The P14 PWM fans are pre-installed on the radiator and daisy-chained. Their 4-pin PWM cables have a shorter length and cables are already routed in a clean manner. There is a single (flat) cable which is routed under the sleeve of the tube to the block. The pump and the VRM fans are also PWM controlled. These all are connected inside the block’s housing and we have a single 4-pin PWM cable to control all the fans and the pump using a single fan header. While this is a good choice, it has two caveats: we get to monitor only one component in the loop. Out of the 3x P14 PWM fans, VRM fan and the pump, the unit reports the fans’ speed only in the UEFI BIOS. There is no monitoring of the pump and VRM fan. The second issue that setting the control on Auto PWM will make all three active components to run on the Auto PWM settings. There is no way we can make the pump to run at full speed while fans on Auto PWM out of the box. Only way to do is to disconnect the fans from the integration and connect them directly to the motherboard for which PWM extension cables would be needed.
The ARCTIC is confident in their in-house designed PWM pump. Being PWM controlled, the pump is optimized to reduce the humming and operate at efficiency with lower noise level. The power consumption is maximum of 0.8 W at no load, 2.3 W under typical load and a maximum of 4.3 W under full load for the entire cooler. The pump is rated for up to 2000 RPM speed. The block has a sort of space ship design and looks quite aggressive yet beautiful. It is way different than the other blocks of the AIO coolers in the market. We have a large foot print here which is understandable as ARCTIC has installed a 40mm fan for VRM active cooling. The fan is rated for maximum of 3000 RPM speed. The Pump and the VRM fan are rated for 0.5~2.7W power.
ARCTIC has provided three P14 PWM high-performance fans with the cooler. These fans are all black adding more to the overall neutral/stealth look of the cooler. These are rated for maximum of 1700 RPM at 12VDC. Their airflow rating is 72.8 CFM, air pressure of 2.4 mmH₂O, and noise level of 0.3 Sone. They are using Fluid Dynamic Bearings.
ARCTIC has made the installation of the Liquid Freezer II – 420 a simple process that requires a few steps allowing the user to set up the cooler in no time. But it has more mounting hardware i.e 21 pieces to deal with. I am ok with it but personally speaking, I don’t like pasting any mounting hardware on the PCB of the motherboard. We have 8x pasting washers provided with this cooler and we need to paste all 8 of them. We pointed this out in the round-up content as well. Hopefully, ARCTIC would come up with a better solution in the coming time.
The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer – II 420 is listed at $151.99 and Euro 119.99 at the time of the review. ARCTIC is offering a whopping 6 years warranty. The cooler comes with its new MX5 thermal paste and dedicated AM4 mounting kit. The 420mm radiator has provided more surface area for effective cooling and with 3x powerful 140mm fans, the ARCTIC has delivered a solid punch here. The graphs are speaking for themselves. In our ultimate test with all cores operating at 5.1GHz, this cooler comes at the level of EKWB D-RGB 360 Elite cooler. Keep in mind that Elite cooler has 6x 120mm fans in push/pull configuration. The ARCTIC cooler has more surface area but with three P14 PWM fans. The ARCTIC has achieved this level of performance with much better acoustic performance, pocket-friendly pricing, and 6 years of peace of mind. ARCTIC means business when it comes to their Liquid Freezer – II series coolers and their extreme offering in this line up is 420mm AIO which is freezing the competition at this price and performance points. It is no brainer that this cooler should be of consideration if your PC case permits it.
The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer – II 420 has won our Must Have award. We are thankful to ARCTIC for the opportunity to test this cooler.
