Introduction
Finally, ARCTIC has released a new generation of CPU liquid coolers named Liquid Freezer – III. They take on the predecessors with fine refinements, new pump design, dense fin layout, removable top pump cover, and finally an option to regulate the speed of VRM fan, Pump, and radiator fans separately as well jointly.
In this article, I am evaluating the Liquid Freezer III – 240 ARGB White whereas the next content will be on the 360mm version. This series is available in 4 options:
- Liquid Freezer III – 240
- Liquid Freezer III – 280
- Liquid Freezer III – 360
- Liquid Freezer III – 420
These are available in ARGB black and white edition along with standard non-RGB all-black coolers. In terms of compatibility, these coolers are compatible with AMD AM4 and AM5 sockets and Intel LGA1851 and LGA1700 sockets only. So, this is not good news for those who are on non-supported brackets including LGA1200. I will cover the reason for this later in the section.
The pricing of these coolers as of now is marvelous since ARCTIC is running a massive discount on its 23-year celebrations. The current pricing would affect the comparison with the competition which would be different once the original prices are restored.
ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pricing:
| Webshop* | |
| Liquid Freezer III 240 (Black) | 103,99 61,35 € |
| Liquid Freezer III 280 (Black) | 113,99 68,39 € |
| Liquid Freezer III 360 (Black) | 118,99 76,15 € |
| Liquid Freezer III 420 (Black) | 123,99 81,83 € |
| Liquid Freezer III 240 A-RGB (Black) | 113,99 69,53 € |
| Liquid Freezer III 280 A-RGB (Black) | 123,99 81,83 € |
| Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB (Black) | 133,99 88,43 € |
| Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB (Black) | 143,99 95,03 € |
| Liquid Freezer III 240 A-RGB (White) | 115,99 71,91 € |
| Liquid Freezer III 280 A-RGB (White) | 125,99 83,15 € |
| Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB (White) | 136,99 89,04 € |
| Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB (White) | 149,99 97,49 € |
* 5.99 € shipping costs within Europe
The prices are taken at the time of the review.
Specifications
ARCTIC is providing a 6-year warranty on this cooler and it comes with 0.8gm of MX-6 thermal paste which is their top-performing thermal paste as of now. For those who were expecting M12 MAX fans (including me), this is not the case as ARCTIC has provided P12 PWM PST – ARGB White fans. These are high-performance fans that boast digital RGB lighting that looks good on the white color in particular.
Packing and Unboxing
ARCTIC has retained the size of the packing box from the LF-II series. However, the color scheme on the box is different which is appreciated.
The complete packing box is white. ARCTIC has listed salient features of the cooler at prominent places that include:
- Socket Compatibility
- 6-Year Warranty
- MX-6 Thermal Paste
- Dimension and Specifications of the Cooler
The inside of the packing box is no different than the Liquid Freezer II series of coolers.
Accessories
Let’s take a look at what is provided in the box. There is still no user manual provided in the box and the user is still required to visit online for illustrative user guide. I wish ARCTIC would have provided the printed manual as it saves time.
ARCTIC has provided an LGA Contact Frame which is compulsory for the installation. In my opinion, this should be optional and ARCTIC should provide standard mounting hardware in addition as well. Anyhow, ARCTIC has addressed the Intel ILM issue whereby the two-point contact from the Intel ILM can deform the CPU from two sides. This could result in PCB bending as well as improper contact between the cold plate of the cooler and CPU IHS. This design would sit perfectly within the ARCTIC ecosystem only and the tech testers like us or users who are continuously swapping coolers would find it inconvenient.
Anyhow, this is a black color contact frame that supports Intel LGA1851 and LGA1700 sockets. It is connected directly to Intel’s ILM backplate and you would need to place the cooler directly over this frame for installation. Hence the installation is relatively easier for the cooler itself. This is the reason why this cooler is only compatible with Intel LGA1851 and LGA1700 sockets.
We have:
- 2x AMD Mounting Brackets
- 4x AMD Black Spacers
- 4x AMD Screws
- 4x Intel Contact Frame Screws
- 8x Philips Screws and Washers for the Radiator
- 1x Allen Key for Contact Frame Installation
- 1x 0.8gm MX-6 thermal paste tube
ARCTIC has provided two cables. These have a proprietary connector on one end that goes into the port built into the block. The other ends have standard 4-pin PWM connectors. You can use either of these cables. The top cable enables the users to regulate the speed of the Pump, VRM Fan, and Radiator Fans separately which was a complaint in the LF-II series coolers. The bottom cable has a single PWM connector and using it you would control all three above-mentioned rotary components together much like LF-II coolers.
The fans come pre-installed on the radiator. I have removed them and shown the white color fan screws.
Closer Look
It is time to take a closer look at the components starting with the radiator itself.
RADIATOR
As you can see the 2x P12 fans come pre-installed on the radiator. The cables are also managed and integrated into the loop much like LF-II coolers.
All fans have short-length cables that are daisy-chained and routed on one side of the fan and radiator assembly. The main PWM extension cable runs from this end towards the block going through the inside of the tube sleeve or jacket.
Now, I have removed the fans and shown the radiator. The radiator assembly is made of aluminum material and the dimension is 277x120x38mm (LxWxH). Please note that this 38mm refers to the thickness of the radiator only. With pre-installed fans, this height is 65.5mm. The FPI count is still 14. ARCTIC has mentioned that this radiator has they have increased the fin stack providing 23% more surface area. The complete assembly is white. There is a standard 105mm gap between two opposite fan mounting holes. The channels are still 12.
I am showing a close view of the fin stack. ARCTIC has done a fine job with fin stacking since there is no bend or broken fin anywhere.
The above picture shows the tube side of the radiator. The tubes are almost in the center of the frame and there are aesthetically pleasing white color clamps concealing the tube connection with the barbs. You can see two cables coming out of the left clamp. One has a standard 3-pin 5v ARGB connector whereas the other cable has PWM connectors. Both these cables allow daisy-chaining of the fans’ cables.
I am showing a side view of the unit. There is an ARCTIC branding in silver over the radiator housing. The tubes run to a length of 450mm and they are rubber tubes that have white sleeves over them. The tube diameter is 12.4mm OD and 6mm ID.
Pump/Block
Let’s start with the pump cover first. Unlike a small integrated VRM fan on the LF-II coolers, ARCTIC has provided a much larger unit standing at 60mm. The pump cover is removable as is evident in the picture. There is an ARCTIC branding in silver in the center. There are lids or fin-style guides over the top. They are fixed and translucent to reflect the vibrant ARGB lighting. They serve as air inlets for the embedded fan below them.
Looking at the backside of the unit, you can see two pillars on both sides. They make a magnetic connection with the block. The circular area is the backside of the embedded fan. There are 7 contact pads on the PCB right below the top fins. These make contact with the pins on the block.
There are large size cutouts on the side frame of the top cover and you can see the impellers of the embedded fan. This large size cutout area provides a good outlet from the fan for effective air flow on the VRM or near the socket area of the motherboard. The fan is rated for 400 to 2500 RPM using 0.05A at 12VDC. It has 12x ARGB LEDs that are rated for 0.40A at 5VDC.
The above picture shows the side view of the smart block. The block design is at a right angle. The vertical side has the pump and propeller as well as the PCB whereas the base has an improved cold plate with dense fins and improved channels for coolant flow. The pump is rated for 800 to 2800 RPM using 0.35A at 12VDC.
The above picture shows a close view of the PCB. The top side has 7 contact pins that make contact with the pump cover for the fan control and ARGB lighting. There is a 7-pin soldered connection towards the right that has an integrated port or header on the inside to which the supplied fan control cable(s) can be connected. There is also a 3-pin soldered connection towards the base with the cable coming out on the opposite side of the PCB. The main controller is located in the center.
The above picture shows a top view of the pump housing. The power rating of the pump, VRM fan, and P12 fans is listed on the top. This view also shows the contact pins for the pump cover. There is ARCTIC branding over the base top.
Looking at the backside of the unit, we can see the rotary fittings can rotate towards the sides within the channel provided inside the housing. The white and gray color combination looks fine to me.
Looking at the base, we can see that the base has the same dimension of 40x44mm as is on the LF-II coolers. This is ok since the main game is happening inside the fin stack on the cold plate.
I am showing the pump cover put on the main block.
The side view shows the magnetic handling between the pump cover and pump housing. You should hear a click indicating the pump cover is properly fitted.
There is an 8-pin port on the side of the block to which the fan cable is connected.
I have connected a single control fan cable to this header as shown in the picture. The connected cable will control the VRM fan, pump, and P12 fans. I will use the individual connectors cable in the review of the 360mm unit.
There is a 3-pin 5V, ARGB female connector cable coming out of the pump housing. This needs to be connected to the motherboard header and it will provide a single ARGB lighting effect for the P12 fans and the pump housing.
FAN
ARCTIC has provided two P12 PWM PST ARGB fans with the Liquid Freezer III – 240 ARGB White. I have tested these fans earlier and the link is given in the specifications section. Each fan has the same 5-blade layout design. These blades are translucent for even diffusion of ARGB lighting. There is ARCTIC branding in white and gray in the center. There are gray color anti-vibration rubber pads on the mounting corners.
The backside of the fan has spiral-shaped arms that would somewhat spin the outgoing air in a spiral shape. This is still not a focused flow pattern since there are only 4x slim arms but airflow would get disruption from these arms. The power rating of the fan is 0.11A at 12VDC whereas ARGB LEDs have a rating of 0.4A at 5VDC.
Arrow markers are showing the direction of airflow through the fan and the direction in which blades would spin.
Each fan has a power cable with a 4-pin PWM connector.
Each fan has dual 5V, 3-pin standard ARGB connectors.
The specifications of the fans are:
| Dimension | 120x120x25mm |
| Type | 4-pin PWM Connector |
| Speed | 200~2000 RPM |
| Airflow | 48.82 CFM |
| Air Pressure | 1.85 mmH₂O |
| Bearing Type | Fluid Dynamic Bearing |
| Input Voltage | 12VDC |
| Input Current | 0.11A |
Installation
I am not covering the installation. Please refer to the user manual for that. But I would mention any key observations recorded during the installation. As I have mentioned above on Intel, you would need to remove the stock ILM to install the contact frame which in my opinion should be optional.
I have tested this cooler on AMD AM5 platform on GIGABYTE X670E AORUS MASTER motherboard. The NVMe heatsink cover obstructed the block and I had to remove the NVMe heatsink cover to install this cooler. ARCTIC has informed us that they would be providing NVMe heatsink cover free to the users.
Other than that I did not observe anything peculiar.
ARGB Lighting
Since ARCTIC is using standard connectors the ARGB lighting is compatible with RGB Sync technology of various motherboard manufacturers. I have used the GIGABYTE RGB Fusion app and the RGB lighting was responding to the changes made in the app fine. Here are a few pictures:
Testing
I have used the below-mentioned configuration:
- AMD Ryzen 7950X
- GIGABYTE X670E AORUS MASTER
- ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III – 240 ARGB White
- EK-AIO Nucleus CR240 Dark [For Comparison]
- Kingston Renegade Fury 32GB 6400MHz CL32 DDR5 kit
- ASRock Phantom Gaming RX 7600 Graphics Card for Display
- Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB NVME SSD
- CORSAIR AX1200i PSU
- Open-Air Test Bench
Here is the settings table for testing:
| Clock (MHz) | Auto |
| Voltage (V) | Auto |
| PBO | Advanced |
| PPT | 720000, 185000 and 200000mW |
| TDC | 480000 |
| EDC | 640000 |
| Boost Clock Override | +75Hz |
| Platform Thermal Throttle Limit | Auto |
| Thermal Paste | Noctua NT-H1 |
| Thermal Paste Application | Dots Method |
| Test Run Time | 30 minutes |
| Idling Time | 10 minutes |
| All Fans Speed | 100% PWM Duty Cycle |
| Pump Speed | |
| Stress Software | CINEBENCH R23.2 |
| Monitoring Software | HWINFO64 |
We are reporting delta temperature in the graph because room temperature varied from 20.9°C to 22.8°C throughout the day. 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 the chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.
Result
First, I run the 7950X on stock and auto settings. Since AMD has specified that these CPUs will operate at 95°C to provide maximum boost clock headroom, there is not much of a pointer here.
Next, the socket power was set to 185W (resulting package power of 190W) and the test was repeated. The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 240- ARGB White has a good performance as it manages to beat the EK 240 cooler which is among a few best-performing 240mm CLCs right now on the market.
My main test was with a socket power of 200W (resulting package power of 205W). This time, I also tested the coolers in a noise-normalized configuration. The ARCTIC LF-III 240 ARGB White was producing 39. dBA at 100% fan speed whereas the EK cooler was at 43.8 dBA at fans full speed. To achieve 39.1dBA on the EK cooler the speed of the fans was reduced to 75% PWM range where they were spinning at around 1717 RPM. This speed is way lower than the 2000 RPM on the P12 fans. Even in this graph, the ARCTIC LF-III 240 ARGB White has shown its supremacy.
Conclusion
ARCTIC has released a new generation of high-performing CPU liquid coolers under the Liquid Freezer III naming convention. 4 SKUs are made available in multiple configurations:
- LF – III 240
- LF – III 280
- LF – III 360
- LF – III 420
These coolers are available in ARGB as well as non-RGB editions along with white and black colors. ARCTIC has sent us Liquid Freezer III 240 ARGB White and Liquid Freezer III 360 ARGB Black. The 360mm version is here for the round-up project.
In this article, I have taken a look at the 240mm version. The fans come pre-installed over the radiator and cable management is integrated and pre-routed just like the LF-II coolers. However, there is a key change in terms of fan speed control. Unlike LF-II coolers, the LF-III coolers now come with two fan cables. One cable simply uses a single control for all fans and pump whereas the other cable allows the user to control all fans and pump individually. ARCTIC was listening to the feedback.
I expected to see P12 Max fans on these coolers but this is not the case as these coolers use P12 and P14 PWM PST A-RGB/non-RGB fans. So in terms of fans, there is not much of an uplift. In my understanding, this is done for two reasons: P12 Max is still not available in the RGB edition and P14 is still not launched but they are coming soon, and ARCTIC is aiming at keeping a perfect balance between the noise and thermal performance. Oh yes, they have delivered on these departments.
This cooler is compatible with Intel LGA1700 and 1851 and AMD AM4/AM5 sockets. There is no backward compatibility with any of the Intel sockets not even LGA1200. This is primarily so because ARCTIC has opted to use the LGA1700 contact frame by replacing the Intel ILM. In my opinion, this should be optional and left to the user to decide which ARCTIC should have also included the standard Intel mounting hardware which is not there. ARCTIC is still using AMD offset mounting that yields better thermal results.
ARCTIC is still using a 38mm thick radiator that is made of aluminum alloy. It has a 14 FPI count with 12 channels for coolant flow. The radiator has a dimension of 277x120x38mm. However, out-of-the-box thickness is 65.5mm because fans are installed. This thickness may pose a challenge in some mid-tower PC Cases given their room for clearance. There is more surface area on this radiator by up to 23% (as per ARCTIC).
The cable management is done in the factory and two cables run under the jacket of the tube toward the block where they are internally connected to the PCB. The rubber tube has a white color sleeve over it and the ID/OD of the tube is the same i.e 6.0/12.4mm.
ARCTIC has revamped the block design and they have not ditched the VRM fan but rather improved it. The 60mm VRM fan is now on the removable pump cover. This cover has a magnetic attachment to the housing of the block. The pump cover has vents over the top that are RGB backlit. They provide an air inlet for the fan so that it can throw air toward near-socket components, particularly VRM.
The block is in a right-angled design with the pump being located vertically where the tubes are also connected. The base has a redesigned fin stack over a cold plate with improved channels for coolant flow. The copper base measures the same 40x44mm. The VRM fan is rated for up to 2500RPM whereas the pump is rated for up to 2800RPM. There are 12 ARGB LEDs on the pump cover.
ARCTIC has used 2x P12 PWM PST ARGB white fans. They are rated for up to 2000 RPM speed generating a mediocre 48.82 CFM and a static pressure of 1.85mmH₂O. This is so because the FPI count of the radiator’s fins tack is 14 hence these fans make sense. These fans are using Fluid Dynamic Bearings. MTTF is not known. Each fan has 5x translucent blades for even RGB lighting. Each fan has a standard 4-pin PWM connector and dual 5V, 3-pin standard ARGB connectors. However this time, I have another gripe. I wish ARCTIC would have provided a separate lighting control on the pump and the fans so that users who would want to control these two regions separately could do that including the functionality of turning the lights on or off of both regions independently.
The installation on AMD AM5 platform is simple and it involves 10 items to install the mounting hardware in 4 steps. Apply some MX-6 thermal paste and place the block over the CPU with the tube side facing the PCIe slot. Use a screwdriver to install the pre-loaded screws into the mounting holes on the mounting brackets. Tighten them alternatively. Installation over the Intel socket is somewhat convenient since you are required to remove the Intel ILM and install the contact frame that can only be used with Liquid Freezer III or new Freezer A36 coolers. Also, You need to keep the stock ILM secure with you so that you can install it in case of changing the cooler or sending the motherboard for a warranty claim. I think removing or altering stock configuration on the motherboard would violate the warranty. Also, I am not sure if there is a guesswork involved in installing the contact frame like the other models. Just keep in mind that Intel stock backplate should not bend.
ARCTIC has given a massive discount till May 2024 on the new coolers. The MSRP of LF-III 240 ARGB White is €115.99. However, it is retailing at €71.19. It is a perfect time to grab these coolers while the price is down. I am a bit confused. If I evaluate this cooler at €71.19 the performance evaluation would be different than comparing it to the original MSRP which eventually be the pricing of this cooler.
The thermal performance of this cooler is too good. It even manages to beat the EK-AIO Nucleus CR240 Dark which is arguably among the best-performing 240mm CLC in the market. And ARCTIC Cooler has done it in quite some style. We have a silent sound profile on this cooler which is backed by a stunning ARGB lighting effect and further augmentation comes from an embedded VRM fan which is effective and runs silent. This cooler at its current price tag of €71.19 is a win-win combination and it has won our Must Have award. However, standing at €115.99, I would give it a performance award.
Pros:
- Excellent Thermal Performance
- 60mm VRM Fan
- Removable Top Cover
- Integrated Cable Management
- Ability to control all fans and pump individually
- Ability to control all fans and pump using a single cable
- Pre-Installed Fans
- Compatible with Intel LGA1700/1851 sockets
- Compatible with AMD AM4/AM5 sockets
- Improved Cold Plate and pump design
- Easy Installation
- Excellent Noise Output
- 6-Year Warranty
- Price
Cons:
- Intel Contact Frame should be optional
- ARCTIC branding is fixed on the pump cover
- Motherboard Compatibility
- No independent Lighting Control for the pump and fans
