Arctic Cooling Liquid Freezer 240 AIO CPU Cooler Review @ [H]

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
Staff member
Joined
May 18, 1997
Messages
55,532
Arctic Cooling Liquid Freezer 240 AIO CPU Cooler Review - Arctic Cooling claims its new Liquid Freezer 240 is "Extremely Powerful yet Quiet," "Designed for Extreme Cooling Performance" and that it has "Optimal Heat Dissipation." This All-In-One CPU cooler has a 240mm radiator that is poised to do great things with a stock Push/Pull 4-fan configuration and excellent cold plate.
 
Perfect and directly reflects exactly my experience with this cooler. Keeping my i5 4670K overclocked to 4.6 at ~60c under load blows me away. And it's damn quiet while doing it. It's a shame, but not all that much of one, that they raised the price as I bought mine off Amazon for $80 shipped with Prime. Still, at $100, this is a must buy for anyone looking for an AIO cooler to get the most out of your CPU.

Something to keep in mind if you have a mid-tower case, like my Antec GX700, is that you won't be able to fully mount it internally. I had to move two of the fans to the outside of the case in order for the radiator and other two fans to clear RAM and mobo power plugs. She stacks deep with the push/pull config.

(y)
 
JUST as i was looking for a review of this thing, [H] delivers. thanks!

back when i was still using air coolers i exclusively bought AC units (and still do in my server). they've always been quiet, cheap, and high-performance. glad to see this one falls in line, too.
 
Tempting. Any idea if it's compatible with the NZXT G10? Looks like it from the pictures, but might be of slightly different size.
 
Read page 2 of the article.

The reason I ask is that the spec sheet on the Arctic web page does not specify support for LGA1366 motherboards (nor does the Amazon listing).

Just looking for confirmation that it can indeed be attached.
 
The reason I ask is that the spec sheet on the Arctic web page does not specify support for LGA1366 motherboards (nor does the Amazon listing).

Just looking for confirmation that it can indeed be attached.

If the specs say no, then assume no. Although, anything can be made to work depending on how good you are at modifying or have an existing threaded back plate.
 
I have both the 120 and 240 versions. I have the 120 on my i7 930. The top mounting bracket will fit both 115x and 1366. The backplate only fits 115x. I recycled the 1366 backplate from the TRUE 120 I had on the board, and the AC mounted perfectly.
 
I have both the 120 and 240 versions. I have the 120 on my i7 930. The top mounting bracket will fit both 115x and 1366. The backplate only fits 115x. I recycled the 1366 backplate from the TRUE 120 I had on the board, and the AC mounted perfectly.

Awesome. I think the Corsair H60 I have on it now required a threaded back plate. While it probably doesn't make sense to put more money into an older platform, those hexacore Xeons are just so much fun to overclock.
 
Questions: I did not see anything on the fan speeds. Did you just run the fans at the default setting? Also - for the fans and the pump, did you use the fan headers on the MB for power and to control the fan speeds? I currently run a Corsair 100i but I really don't like the the software. Plus, this cooler should be a lot quiter.
 
Odd off-the-wall question: If one buys this and their case can't handle the extra room of two layers of fans, how much worse would this honestly run with just one layer of two fans?
 
Questions: I did not see anything on the fan speeds. Did you just run the fans at the default setting? Also - for the fans and the pump, did you use the fan headers on the MB for power and to control the fan speeds? I currently run a Corsair 100i but I really don't like the the software. Plus, this cooler should be a lot quiter.

I think the fans are 1200 RPM, and I run them full speed off a mobo fan header. Pump is run off a fan header as well.

Odd off-the-wall question: If one buys this and their case can't handle the extra room of two layers of fans, how much worse would this honestly run with just one layer of two fans?

Not sure it would be as efficient. I couldn't find all 4 inside my case and had to mount two on the outside of the case.
 
are those sound levels at full bore and at idle? or an average? 40db is nice but would like to know what the worst and best case sound levels really are. Any whine or mechanical noise from the pump?
 
are those sound levels at full bore and at idle? or an average? 40db is nice but would like to know what the worst and best case sound levels really are. Any whine or mechanical noise from the pump?

Fans only run at one speed, max. At like I said they're like 1200 rpm fans. So, at full bore they are quiet.

No noise at all from the pump that I can hear.
 
I'm interested in this. (I have a Kraken x60 (replaced by the newer x61)), and it's either this or the Kraken x61 for my new build. Kraken is good, but mine has a problem in that the pump stays at full rpm. I've had it for ~2 years running that way. The Arctic Cooler is cheaper and just as good (or better?), but I am curious about the fan and pump.

Looking at the install manual from the AC website, it seems like you need two PWM headers on the mobo: one for the pump, one for the fans (which are daisy-chained together). As long as your mobo PWM fan headers can sustain the current requirements. So, given a CPU FAN and a CPU OPT header, you can use the BIOS fan controls to set the pump and fan profiles. Does that work?

Thanks.
 
I love this coolers performance, just wish it didnt require me to mount it atop my case externally. I will be buying its smaller sibling though.
 
Went Kraken x61. My case (fractal xl r2) only has 68mm clearance to mobo. 2 layers of fans makes this 88mm thick. Gotta go bigger (280mm) if I only have one layer. I don't want anything outside the case.
 
I love this coolers performance, just wish it didnt require me to mount it atop my case externally. I will be buying its smaller sibling though.

That's one drawback. I'll be switching out my case for a full tower so I can fit it all inside.
 
I'm interested in this. (I have a Kraken x60 (replaced by the newer x61)), and it's either this or the Kraken x61 for my new build. Kraken is good, but mine has a problem in that the pump stays at full rpm. I've had it for ~2 years running that way. The Arctic Cooler is cheaper and just as good (or better?), but I am curious about the fan and pump.

Looking at the install manual from the AC website, it seems like you need two PWM headers on the mobo: one for the pump, one for the fans (which are daisy-chained together). As long as your mobo PWM fan headers can sustain the current requirements. So, given a CPU FAN and a CPU OPT header, you can use the BIOS fan controls to set the pump and fan profiles. Does that work?

Thanks.

IIRC, usually the CPU_OPT will run at the same power level as the CPU_FAN header, the idea being if you have a cpu cooler with multiple identical fans, you use the CPU_OPT header for the secondary fan(s) to make sure they're controlled in sync. Plus, I'm guessing the pump can't be controlled via the motherboard the way the fans can(for example, Corsair's pump speed can only be adjusted via the USB interface, through their Link software or another utility like SiV). So if you've got the fans connected to one of the CPU headers, and the pump to another, I don't know how the motherboard would behave.

My main concern with this cooler is that it appears to have all four fans chained together to run on a single fan header. Are most motherboards going to have enough juice going to their fan headers to handle that? I know two fans per header shouldn't be an issue for decent motherboards, but I've never tried chaining more than that. Would it be safer to connect 2 of them to CPU_FAN, 2 to CPU_OPT, and the pump to a CHA_FAN header?
 
I have an extra pwm splitter. It's probably better to power it off the PSU than the mobo headers but control the set speeds from the mobo.
 
I have an extra pwm splitter. It's probably better to power it off the PSU than the mobo headers but control the set speeds from the mobo.

...and that's where the problems kick in. If fans (and pumps) are plugged into the mobo fan headers, then the speeds can be controlled by the BIOS settings. If they are plugged into the psu, then how does the mobo control the speed?

Putting the pump on the CPU header and the fans on the CPU OPT header allows you to control them separately. The pump may not have the ability to run as slowly (percentage-wise) as the fans. The sound profiles may be different. Most headers are good for 1A, so total draw shouldn't be a problem.
 
I'm still at a loss as to why you'd want to run the pump slower? It's inaudible at full speed. Really. The fans I can understand.
 
...and that's where the problems kick in. If fans (and pumps) are plugged into the mobo fan headers, then the speeds can be controlled by the BIOS settings. If they are plugged into the psu, then how does the mobo control the speed?

Putting the pump on the CPU header and the fans on the CPU OPT header allows you to control them separately. The pump may not have the ability to run as slowly (percentage-wise) as the fans. The sound profiles may be different. Most headers are good for 1A, so total draw shouldn't be a problem.

You can control everything with just one header. Much more efficient.

CONNECTIONSx600.jpg
 
I'm putting together a new 6700K build, and like the look of this cooler a lot. Planning on using a Corsair 780T full tower case. Would this cooler fit entirely inside the case without having to remove the top cover or have anything sticking out? If so, I'll probably go with this instead of the H110 I was originally thinking of.
 
I have always wonder the same, is it possible for H to test both of them (H105 and liquid freezer 240) with the same fans, speed and everything for an apple to apple comparison?
Exactly what I was thinking.. would be a great test. The rad looks a lot like the 105 without counting fins and they're both asetek anyway.
I run two H105s (one for 4690K, one for a 980Ti) but with gentle typhoon AP14s and I bet even in pull they would be a good match for the Arctics in push/pull (based on the difference corsair vs GT).. another test comparision I wouldn't mind seeing.
 
H105 still costs more and comes with half the fans.

Having owned the H80i which comes with the SP120 fans I can tell you the AC fans are better.
 
To HardOCP: When top mounting the AC Liquid Freezer 240, did you run it in exhaust or intake configuration?

To everyone: What cases have you found have enough clearance to top mount this push/pull beast?
 
Anyone have experience mounting this to the top position in a Phanteks Enthoo Evolve case? Will it fit?
 
Yeah, its a mid tower. It has a pull out bracket on the top that has mounting holes pushed forward for RAM clearance. Because of the thickness of the cooler Im just concerned about it hit the RAM. I guess I could always install the cooler in the front of the case....
Phanteks Evolv PH-ES515E_AG Anthracite Gray Aluminum / Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

You'd probably have to do what I did and put two of the fans on the outside. Fans, case, rad,fans.
 
You'd probably have to do what I did and put two of the fans on the outside. Fans, case, rad,fans.

Hmm, yeah I'm probably wouldn't go that route. I'll more than likely pick up the 120 version if that's the case.
 
Back
Top