Previously we tested the MR36 from InWin and this cooler was included in our 2024 Round Up content of 360mm AIOs. This AIO packs some good features and performance. The Neptune fans are silent yet effective. This time, the brand has launched a new series named AR and we are taking a look at AR36 White from InWin.
The AR36 is compatible with Intel 115x/1200/1700/1851 and AMD AMx/FMx/AM4/AM5 sockets and comes with the same Neptune fans. This is InWin’s mainstream offer in which the brand aims to provide a balanced cooling solution.
This AR36 has MSRP of €134.99.
Specifications
Packaging and Unboxing
The main packing box is made of cardboard material. The packing box has a vivid black and blue color theme. InWin is using the same box for white and black colors. The serial number label will confirm if it is the black variant or the white. There is a picture of the cooler on the front showing the A-RGB lighting.
The contents are placed inside an egged carton in the main packing box.
It is time to take a look at what is provided in the accessories container:
- 1x Cooler
- 3x Fans
- 1x Intel Mounting Bracket
- 1x AMD Mounting Bracket
- 1x Intel LGA1700 Backplate
- 1x Intel LGA1200/115x Backplate
- 4x Intel LGA1700 Screws
- 4x Intel LGA20xx Screws
- 4x Intel LGA115x/1200 Screws
- 2x AMD Clips
- 4x Spring-loaded Thumb Screws
- 12x Fan Screws
- 12x Radiator Screws
- 1x 4-pin PWM connector extension cable
- 1x Digital RGB extension cable
- 1x Tube of Thermal Paste
Closer Look
Let’s start taking a look at this cooler starting with the radiator.
The InWin AR36 has a 360mm radiator made of aluminum. Its dimensions are 397x120x27mm, and the radiator is 27 mm thick. The complete housing is finished in white.
There are 12 channels for the coolant flow. The fin density is 20 FPI. After installing a 120x25mm fan the overall thickness of the unit will be 52mm approximately including the thickness of the fan’s screw head. InWin has done a good job with fin stacking as there are no broken or bent fins.
The main connections between tubes and barbs are well concealed using metallic clamps. These clamps are white. There is what seems to be a flushed cover over another fitting. Seems like there is some port that is reserved for factory use only. I would not tamper it. There is a serial number sticker label.
I am now showing a side view of the unit. If I remember correctly, the MR36 has no branding on the radiator side. The same is the case with AR36. I think the OEM of AR series coolers is the same as of MR series. This is because, I am seeing no change in mounting hardware.
InWin is using rubber tubes on this cooler. These tubes have nylon braided mesh sleeves for aesthetics and avoiding kinking. The tube length is 450mm.
Pump Housing/Block
Unlike the MR36 which has integrated pump in radiator, the AR36 has more traditional design. Main housing has a dimension of 65x65x56mm. It is not a circular or ring design. This design is square. The top lid has some magic to it. It has InWin branding in infinity mirror design which looks quite appealing. The surface finish is reflective in multiple colors almost like a rainbow under light.
The top lid protrudes a bit from the main white housing. The edges are angular and well-rounded on the main housing. There is a black color base with an inset. The mounting bracket is slided into this inset area.
Here is another peek on the top view.
Here is a picture showing the infinity mirror design on the block. While it looks pleasant, there is a catch. The block can only be installed with tube side at 3’o clock position. This could limit the cooler’s installation orientation depending on the configuration.
This block has copper base measuring 55x55mm which is enough for any consumer CPU on supported sockets. There is a protective cover. Don’t forget to peel if off during installation.
The tubes are installed at 90° angle on rotary barbs. This connection is well concealed using white color clamps. White fittings would have been even nicer. Two cables are coming out from this section.
The pump is powered by a 3-pin connector hence it is a DC control. For A-RGB LEDs, there are standard 3-pin, 5V female connectors. The pump speed is 3100±10% RPM taking 12VDC at 0.28A typical. ().30A Max).
Neptune Fans
InWin has provided 3x Neptune AN120 A-RGB white fans with this cooler. These fans got my praise when I tested MR36 cooler. InWin has wisely used the same fans on the new cooler. This suggests that the only differentiating factor here is the pump. Anyhow, I digress. Coming back to the topic, these fans have a large diameter center which is probably due to ARGB LEDs being housed inside.
There is an outer ring to which all 9x blades are connected. This ring also rotates along with the rotation of the blades. InWin is referring these fans as Silent Static Pressure Fans. I agree with InWin that these fans are indeed silent even at full speed.
The frame of these fans is neither circular nor squraish. There are cut-to-size anti-vibration pads on the mounting corners. The mounting corners are designed in such a manner that these don’t seem to be the part of central frame.
There is an arrow indicator on the main frame showing the direction of airflow through the fan. These fans are rated for up to 2200 ±10% RPM speed. The airflow rating is 60.1 CFM and static pressure rating is 2.27 mmH₂O. The noise level is rated at 20.5 dB(A) [Normal].
There is Neptune text printed on one side of the frame.
Looking at the backside of the fan, we can see a 4-arms assembly. One arm has extended catchers to hold the wires coming out from the center. These fans are made in China. The power rating of the fan’s motor is 0.17A at 12VDC whereas the LEDs are rated for 0.28A at 5VDC. These fans are using Sleeve Bearings.
Each fan has a 4-pin PWM connector and a 3-pin socket. This allows easy daisy-chain.
Each fan has standard ARGB connectors having 3-pin interface operating at 5VDC. These cables have a short length to make daisy-chaining and cable management convenient.
The male connector has an anti-slide buckle to lock the cables. This is a lock-n-go design which is a smart move by design team.
Installation
We are no longer covering the installation steps. Please refer to the user manual for that. We only cover the observations recorded during the installation and removal of the cooler. I have tested the cooler on AMD AM5 socket. InWin uses the push pin style mounting on the AMD. I would suggest them to switch to screw based mounting mechanism. For LGA1700/1851, InWin still uses the same mounting as on the MR36. I made an observation earlier about it and mentioned it in the dedicated review of MR36 and even in the round up content. I am repeating my observation from MR36, hoping InWin listen to the feedback.
These long studs have a slim base. You need to grab or hold this base for removal or installation. Take a closer look at the top right most corner of the CPU socket’s nearby area. The mounting hole sits closer to the capacitors. Not only we have to be careful when installing the stud there but the removal of stud is even trickier. Due to the applied pressure during installation, it will not come off easily from the standoff of the backplate. This problem is further extended by using a slim profile extender or gripper however you want to name it. We ended up using a plier to unscrew this stud. This could have easily scratched the motherboard making it un-useful or damaged the nearby capacitors.
I would request InWin to go back to the drawing board and come up with a different yet better mounting mechanism like where the studs or pillars are pre-installed on the backplate or installed on the backplate before installing the backplate on the motherboard.
Digital RGB Lighting
InWin uses standard A-RGB connectors using a 3-pin interface and operating at 5VDC making this cooler compatible with RGB sync technology of the motherboard manufacturers including:
- ASRock PolyChrome Sync
- ASUS AURA SYNC
- GIGABYTE RGB FUSION 2.0
- MSI Mystic Sync
This also includes InWin RGB technology. I have tested the cooler on GIGABYTE X670E AORUS MASTER. The D-RGB elements were responding well to the changes in the RGB Fusion app. Here are a few pictures.
Thermal Testing
The following configuration is used for thermal testing:
- AMD Ryzen 7950X
- GIGABYTE X670E AORUS MASTER
- Kingston Renegade Fury 32GB 6400MHz CL32 DDR5 kit
- ASRock Phantom Gaming RX 7600 Graphics Card for Display
- Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB NVME SSD
- Be quiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
- Praxis Wetbench
Here is the settings table for testing:
| Clock (MHz) | Auto |
| Voltage (V) | Auto |
| PBO | Advanced |
| PPT | 200000mW |
| TDC | 480000 |
| EDC | 640000 |
| Boost Clock Override | +75Hz |
| Platform Thermal Throttle Limit | Auto |
| Thermal Paste | Stock |
| Thermal Paste Application | Stock |
| 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.
Result
The InWin AR36 White cooler has performed quite well. The reason for my praise is the noise performance. The sound meter recorded near 40 dB(A) which is impressive as this cooler is silent and still able to provide a competitive performance.
Conclusion
I have tested a new cooler from InWin, the AR36 White. This cooler is also available in black color and probably in 240mm size as well. The basic foot print is same as of MR36 but key changes include pump integration inside the block and revamped block design with stunning infinity mirror effect on InWin logo and A-RGB lighting.
The AR36 has an aluminum made radiator having a dimension of 397x120x27mm (LxWxH). Size with fans would be 397x120x52mm. This radiator has 12 channels for coolant flow and the FPI count is 20. InWin uses rubber tubes with nylon braided sleeves in a 450mm length. There is no branding on the side frame of the radiator.
The block has a beautiful design. It is not a typical circular or ring style. It is more squarish. The housing is made of ABS material and the top lid has a display. This lid is bit protruded over the white housing. The mounting bracket is slided in inset above the black color base.
The pump in this cooler is integrated in the block. It is DC controlled and is rated for 3100±10% RPM. The power consumption is rated for 12VDC with 0.28~0.30A. The unit has a copper base measuring 55x55m. InWin has used standard 3-pin A-RGB, 5V connectors for the A-RGB backlighting.
MR36 has accentuated aluminum cover that can rotated to keep the InWin brand up right. However, the AR36 does not have any mechanism to rotate the logo hence we are locked in terms of block’s orientation which is 3’o clock from tube side.
InWin has used the same Neptune fans that we saw on the MR36 cooler. These fans have out praise due to silent operation. InWin refer to these fans as Silent Static Pressure fan. Their static pressure is 2.27 mmH₂O at 12VDC. The maximum airflow is 60.1 CFM. The noise level is at 20.5 dB(A) normal. These fans are using Sleeve Bearings. Maximum speed rating is 2200 RPM ±10%. Each fan has short length cables.
InWin has used standard connectors like 4-pin PWM connector, 3-pin, 5V D-RGB connectors on this cooler making this cooler compatible with RGB sync technology of motherboard manufacturers. We have tested this cooler on GIGABYTE motherboard and used RGB Fusion 2.0 to control the lighting which was working perfectly fine.
The cooler is tested on AMD AM5 socket. You would need a total of 4 items to install the block on AMD stock mounting brackets. This is a push pin style. I would suggest InWin to consider switching to the screw based mounting on AMD platform.
Also, there is no change in Intel mounting mechanism as there are still same design studs that are installed on the backplate. The removal of these studs is challenging and InWin needs to address this. For more details, please check the Installation section above.
The InWin AR36 has MSRP of €134.99 in European markets. I admire this cooler for its competitive performance, silent operations, friendly pricing. The only thing lacking is 5-year warranty as InWin offers a 3-year warranty on this cooler. This cooler is for mainstream market. In this case, the 3-year warranty may make some sense.
Pros:
- Thermal Performance
- AMD AM5 and Intel LGA1700 Socket Support
- Infinity Mirror Design with Vivid A-RGB Lighting on the block
- Standard RGB and PWM Connectors
- Locking Buckle on A-RGB Connectors
- Noise Performance
- Price
Cons:
- 3-Year Warranty Period
Also Read: MechLands Blade75 Aluminum Mechanical Keyboard Review
