ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB - Multi-compatible all-in-one CPU AIO Water Cooler with A-RGB, Efficient PWM-controlled pump, Fan speed: 200-1800 rpm, LGA1700 compatible - Black

Product Information

Modern AMD & Intel CPUs are designed to run fairly hot without any problems– up to 95 degrees Celsius for AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs, and up to 100 degrees C for Intel’s Core i9-13900K. Similar behavior has been standard in laptops for years due to cooling limitations in cramped chassis.

The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer is seen crushing all of its competitors by maintaining a maximum temperature of 41.6 degrees under PWM settings, while other coolers were spotted crossing 45 degrees. The cooler managed to drop 2-3 degrees more at the Max settings, down to 38.3 degrees, which was far from amazing. Tier 2: These coolers are able to keep the i9-12900K under the TJ max threshold with CPU power limits of 200W enforced. I expect most liquid coolers and the best air coolers to meet this standard. While it was fairly easy with previous generations of CPUs for coolers to keep the flagship i9 processor well under TJ max (the maximum temperature a CPU can sustain without throttling) in tough workloads, this is no longer realistically possible with the Core i9-13900K without extreme cooling (or enabling power limits). While in the past a CPU hitting its peak temperature was cause for concern, enthusiasts are going to have to learn to accept high temperatures as “normal” while running demanding workloads with Raptor Lake and Ryzen 7000 CPUs. The majority of Liquid Coolers on the market today are based around Asetek designs, but the Liquid Freezer II features a pump which was designed in-house by Arctic, with the goal of quieter operation and higher efficiency. Like its fans, the water pump is PWM-controlled and will adjust its speeds. This decreases power consumption and leads to lower noise levels in lighter workloads.Tier 3: These coolers are able to keep the i9-12900K under TJ max with CPU power limits of 140W enforced. Testing Methodology We tested the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB on the Intel i9-12900K to test the cooler to the limits. The tests were conducted in the Thermaltake View 71t, which has 5 intake fans on the front whilst 3 fans are used for exhaust including the ARCTIC P12 PWM PST A-RGB Fans on top. We used the original MX-5 paste that came with the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB in the box. Test System Install the radiator in the desired direction of airflow onto the top or front of your case using the 8x screws and flat washers provided. In the graph above, we can see that the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB outperforms a lot of other competitors. We put the coolers up against the Noctua air coolers and the Thermaltake Toughliquid 240 A-RGB.

In addition to testing Cinebench without power limits enforced, we’ll also be showing results when the CPU’s power consumption is limited to a more reasonable 200W. We’ll also show results at 125W for those who prefer whisper-quiet cooling, at the cost of some performance. For both of these results, we’ll show traditional delta over ambient temperature results.

Silent and strong performance make Arctic’s 360 AIO a compelling cooling option.

This means that coolers that kept previous generation products like the i9-10900K nice and cool sometimes struggle to keep Intel's i9-12900K under TJ max–the maximum temperature before the CPU starts to throttle. Many coolers that I’ve tested fail to keep the i9-12900K under TJ max when power limits are removed in workloads like Cinebench and OCCT when I’ve tested them, including many coolers I previously considered “top of the line.”

You want excellent cooling performance: The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB offers outstanding cooling capabilities, especially for its price range, making it a solid choice for keeping your PC cool and optimized. Thanks to ARCTIC for sending out their ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB for Review. Awards Received By The Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGBThe benchmarks were taken twice: once with the PWM settings and again with the fans and pump set to full speed. Benchmark Results Benchmarks (Image by Tech4Gamers)