W
e werebigfansofARCTIC’slastforayintoliquid
cooling,withtheLiquidFreezer 120 grabbingthe
topspotinseveralgrouptestswithitslowprice,
quietoperationandgoodcooling.WiththeoriginalFreezer
lineofliquidcoolersnowend-of-life,ARCTIChasfinally
usheredina newrangeofliquidcoolers,ratherunimaginably
calledtheLiquidFreezerII series.
Therearemoremodelsthistime,with120mm,240mm
and360mmradiatormodelscovering120mmfansizes,
buttheLiquidFreezerII 280alsocovers140mmfansizes.
We’relookingattheLiquidFreezerII 240,whichcosts£65
incVAT– a veryreasonablepricefora 240mmall-in-one
(AIO)liquidcooler.The120mmversioncostsunder£50inc
VATtoo,soit seemsARCTICis maintainingits
greatvaluehere.
TheLiquidFreezerII rangealsokeepsits
thickerthanaverageradiators.At38mmthick,
they’recertainlybeefierthanyourtypicalAIO
liquidcooler– Corsair’sH100iRGBPlatinumis
only27mmthick,forexample.However,
they’renotaslargeasthatontheoldLiquid
Freezer120,whichsatat49mmthick.Of
course,thickerisn’talways
better– it takesfarmorestatic
pressureandairflowtoreach
efficientthermaltransferin
thickerradiators,requiring
high-powerfansormultiple
rowsoffansforthemost
effectiveperformance.
Witha 38mm-thick
radiator,ARCTICis goingfor
a happymedium,shavinga
centimetreoffthedepthandARCTIC LIQUID
FREEZERII 240/
£65incVAT
SUPPLIER scan.co.uk240MM ALLINONE LIQUID COOLER
allowing the two included fans, which can spin up to
1,800rpm, to work more effectively throughout their speed
range, but in particular at lower speeds. You’ll have to check if
your case has enough clearance to house its thickness,
although the length of 277mm is typical, and identical to that
of the Corsair H100i RGB Platinum.
Meanwhile, the fans are from ARCTIC’s P-fan range and
sport a reasonable claimed static pressure of 2.2mm H20.
However, just as importantly, hearing them isn’t unpleasant
at full speed, unlike the monstrous noise from the
2,400rpm fans included with Corsair’s cooler at top speed.
At lower speeds the cooler drifts back to
practically inaudible sound levels, and the
pump is exceptionally quiet too.
The pump looks a little like it has a
missing fascia and an exposed impeller,
but those blades are actually part of an
integrated fan that dishes out air to cool
your motherboard’s VRMs. Thankfully, it
was barely audible even at full speed, but
it didn’t seem to shift a great deal of air.
Even so, the VRMs on our LGA2066
motherboard took noticeably longer to
reach a peak temperature of 89°C with this
impeller, although they did still hit that
temperature after our lengthy stress test.
At this price, though, it’s a welcome if
slightly limited feature. The pump and fans
are all PWM-controlled and ARCTIC has
also wired the pump and radiator fans
together, routing the cables within the
braided tubing. This means you just need toREVIEWS / CPU COOLER
SPEC
Compatibility
Intel: LGA2011/v3, LGA2066,
LGA115x; AMD: AMD: Socket AM4,
AM3/+, AM2/+, FM2/+, FM1
Radiator size with fans (mm)
120 x 277 x 63 (W x D x H)
Fa ns
2 x 120mm
Stated noise
0.3 Sonecc
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CCP
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