[PR] Arctic releases new Liquid Freezer III AIOs with a hefty discount with its launch

[filpo]

Summary

Earlier today Arctic released their new Liquid Freezer III series to the market and for testing with a new contact frame only for Intel 

 

Quotes

Everything new

Quote

Developed for high cooling performance, the Liquid Freezer III boasts further developments of distinctive features such as a more efficient cold plate, an enlarged VRM fan and more radiator surface area for heat dissipation.

 

Another new feature is the possibility of individual control options: via different connection cables, the pump, VRM fan and radiator fan can be controlled and
monitored All-in-One as with the Liquid Freezer II – but also independently of each other.

 

The Arctic Liquid Freezer III 240 Black shares many features of its predecessor, including being pre-assembled and pre-wired for an easier install. Arctic opted to evolve what didn't need revolution, focusing on optimization. From the larger VRM fan for better airflow, to a new pump and cold plate design, everything including the installation hardware has received an overhaul. Even the appearance as a whole has a received a makeover resulting in a more aesthetically pleasing design.

 

Quote

 

Performance, note - none of these benchmarks use a contact frame unless specified 

Quote

200W Noise Normalized Thermals

 

Quote

100% Fan Speed Thermals

 

Quote

VRM Fan Airflow (higher is better)

 

Quote

Intel 250W Thermals for Contact Frame

 

Quote

Intel Contact Frame pressure testing

 

Pricing with current discounts (valid until May 20th)

Quote

 

MSRP pricing

Quote

 

My thoughts

The new pump is sure to excite people seeking for aesthetics. Seems to be rivalling the lt520 or lt720 in terms of looks but performance seems to be much better. Then again, Deepcool did just release their mystique AIO which doesn't seem too bad itself. Overall, seems like a good product and with these discounts, I'd say it's great

 

Sources

Arctic Liquid Freezer III 240 Black Review - Intel Contact Frame Included | TechPowerUp

Arctic Freezer III AIO CPU coolers for AMD AM4/AM5 and Intel LGA1700/1851 launched with big discount - VideoCardz.com

 

Edited February 20 by filpo

[Agall]

32 minutes ago, filpo said:

Summary

Earlier today Arctic released their new Liquid Freezer III series to the market and for testing with a new contact frame only for Intel 

 

Quotes

Everything new

 

 

Performance, note - none of these benchmarks use a contact frame unless specified 

 

 

 

 

Pricing with current discounts (valid until May 20th)

 

MSRP pricing

 

My thoughts

The new pump is sure to excite people seeking for aesthetics. Seems to be rivalling the lt520 or lt720 in terms of looks but performance seems to be much better. Then again, Deepcool did just release their mystique AIO which doesn't seem too bad itself. Overall, seems like a good product and with these discounts, I'd say it's great

 

Sources

Arctic Liquid Freezer III 240 Black Review - Intel Contact Frame Included | TechPowerUp

Arctic Freezer III AIO CPU coolers for AMD AM4/AM5 and Intel LGA1700/1851 launched with big discount - VideoCardz.com

 

Nyet, NH-D15 is fine.

[filpo]

4 minutes ago, Agall said:

Nyet, NH-D15 is fine.

is it really though? If you want an air cooler then just get a thermalright Peerless assassin and if you have a higher end chip, like the 14900k, which will destroy the PA120, then the Arctic LF3 is the best for temps. NH-D15 will suffice, but at its price? it's not great value, especially considering the 360 LF3 is the same price and performs much better. The improvement from LF2 to LF3 wasn't huge but 3 degrees at 200w (noise normalized) isn't bad considering the great prices

 

I believe we'll have to wait for NH-D15 V2 for noctua to be a viable option again

Edited February 20 by filpo

[Shimejii]

Those mounting issues are a bit concerning, hopefully its fixed pretty quick. Otherwise its nice to see they had some headroom and made them better.

[Mark Kaine]

i just realized my case wouldn't even fit a 240mm rad without compromising airflow completely (would have to be intake, the only one?)

 

but also it don't even show temps what's the point then? 

 

otherwise looks tempting due to the cost of a couple of coffees i guess, but I'll just keep rocking my noctua, its fine and doesn't "leak"

 

[Mark Kaine]

1 hour ago, filpo said:

is it really though? If you want an air cooler then just get a thermalright Peerless assassin and if you have a higher end chip, like the 14900k, which will destroy the PA120, then the Arctic LF3 is the best for temps. NH-D15 will suffice, but at its price? it's not great value, especially considering the 360 LF3 is the same price and performs much better. The improvement from LF2 to LF3 wasn't huge but 3 degrees at 200w (noise normalized) isn't bad considering the great prices

 

I believe we'll have to wait for NH-D15 V2 for noctua to be a viable option again

noctua AIO, when? /s

[filpo]

7 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

noctua AIO, when? /s

if I know noctua it'll have a heatsink on the pump. Then an extra 200mm fan on the pump 'just to be safe'

[Agall]

2 hours ago, filpo said:

is it really though? If you want an air cooler then just get a thermalright Peerless assassin and if you have a higher end chip, like the 14900k, which will destroy the PA120, then the Arctic LF3 is the best for temps. NH-D15 will suffice, but at its price? it's not great value, especially considering the 360 LF3 is the same price and performs much better. The improvement from LF2 to LF3 wasn't huge but 3 degrees at 200w (noise normalized) isn't bad considering the great prices

 

I believe we'll have to wait for NH-D15 V2 for noctua to be a viable option again

I don't think a V2 would be necessary since heatpipes aren't getting major evolutions without a major advancement in material science.

 

NH-D15 is simply a big and well designed heatpipe and tower based CPU cooler. So is the PA120, but its smaller with cheaper fans. Where the NH-D15 shines is they're constantly improving the other aspects, like making offset brackets and delidding kits to support their existing customers.

 

Not to say Thermalright couldn't do the same, but its a different tier of product. I own 3 Thermalright coolers, including a PA120, but its simply not as good as an NH-D15, just a better value.

 

Watercooling is cool and all, but its unnecessarily complex for little gains in most scenarios in my opinion. I still have Corsair AIOs from 2015/2016 time that're still effectively cooling processors like my 4790k, which can still OC to 4.6GHz on it at like 75C in R23.

 

I'd rather delid at this point than attempt to get lower CPU temperatures through brute force with an AIO, really its solving the problem at its source, being the unnecessary two extra heat transfer layers an IHS adds. That's assuming CPU temperature in general is a problem which it generally isn't outside of people on the extreme.

 

 

[Brooksie359]

38 minutes ago, Agall said:

I don't think a V2 would be necessary since heatpipes aren't getting major evolutions without a major advancement in material science.

 

NH-D15 is simply a big and well designed heatpipe and tower based CPU cooler. So is the PA120, but its smaller with cheaper fans. Where the NH-D15 shines is they're constantly improving the other aspects, like making offset brackets and delidding kits to support their existing customers.

 

Not to say Thermalright couldn't do the same, but its a different tier of product. I own 3 Thermalright coolers, including a PA120, but its simply not as good as an NH-D15, just a better value.

 

Watercooling is cool and all, but its unnecessarily complex for little gains in most scenarios in my opinion. I still have Corsair AIOs from 2015/2016 time that're still effectively cooling processors like my 4790k, which can still OC to 4.6GHz on it at like 75C in R23.

 

I'd rather delid at this point than attempt to get lower CPU temperatures through brute force with an AIO, really its solving the problem at its source, being the unnecessary two extra heat transfer layers an IHS adds. That's assuming CPU temperature in general is a problem which it generally isn't outside of people on the extreme.

 

 

Honestly I think the AK620 is a super good option for most people and if you need anything more than that you likely want an AIO anyways. Pretty sure the AK620 has similar temps as the D15 if I remember correctly. 

[Salted Spinach]

Interested in the regular LF3 280 due to sale price (EUR 68.39). However they charge EUR 41 for international shipping

 

I can get a LF2 280 locally for the equivalent of EUR 80.5

 

Arctic's AIO are much cheaper than the more heavily marketed gaming branded competitors in my country. I don't know how much LF3 is going to be priced when it gets sold here, or if that will even happen any time soon because the LF2 is selling for less here than on Arctic's site.

 

What should I do? Is it normal for exported AIOs to drop in price like what I am seeing here? Do they decay/depreciate when shelved for too long or something I am not aware about

[paddy-stone]

8 hours ago, Salted Spinach said:

Interested in the regular LF3 280 due to sale price (EUR 68.39). However they charge EUR 41 for international shipping

 

I can get a LF2 280 locally for the equivalent of EUR 80.5

 

Arctic's AIO are much cheaper than the more heavily marketed gaming branded competitors in my country. I don't know how much LF3 is going to be priced when it gets sold here, or if that will even happen any time soon because the LF2 is selling for less here than on Arctic's site.

 

What should I do? Is it normal for exported AIOs to drop in price like what I am seeing here? Do they decay/depreciate when shelved for too long or something I am not aware about

Go on Amazon to see if it's as cheap there. I went on Amazon.uk and can get the 240 Arbg for £62

[Doobeedoo]

It's such a great cooler and to add same for price. I have prior series and it's awesome works great.

[Salted Spinach]

4 hours ago, paddy-stone said:

Go on Amazon to see if it's as cheap there. I went on Amazon.uk and can get the 240 Arbg for £62

Thanks for the suggestion. I found out the LF2 series had 7 (!) revisions in circulation, and the included MX-4 is replaced by MX-5 in the 5th revision. Whereas LF3 incorporates all previous improvements and comes with MX-6.

 

Ordered a LF3 280 without RGB for $86 ($103 after shipping) from Amazon US. Shipping cost is way more reasonable there.

 

Its to replace my old Corsair AIO that was not cooling as well as I'd like. Both CPU and VRMs. It also had annoying RGB lighting up my room at night when computer is turned off.

[GuiltySpark_]

Teardown from today.

 

 

[Middcore]

On 2/20/2024 at 11:30 AM, filpo said:

is it really though? If you want an air cooler then just get a thermalright Peerless assassin and if you have a higher end chip, like the 14900k, which will destroy the PA120, then the Arctic LF3 is the best for temps. NH-D15 will suffice, but at its price? it's not great value, especially considering the 360 LF3 is the same price and performs much better. The improvement from LF2 to LF3 wasn't huge but 3 degrees at 200w (noise normalized) isn't bad considering the great prices

 

I believe we'll have to wait for NH-D15 V2 for noctua to be a viable option again

The cult of the NH-D15 (and Noctua in general) is becoming tedious.

 

Anyway, very satisfied with my LF2 240 on the 5800X3D, certainly not going to replace it for the sake of a degree or two and better looks, but it is undeniably better looking. 

 

To be honest I wish Arctic had brought out new high-end air coolers to take on the Peerless Assassin and NH-D15 rather than refreshing their liquid lineup. 

[GuiltySpark_]

11 minutes ago, Middcore said:

To be honest I wish Arctic had brought out new high-end air coolers to take on the Peerless Assassin and NH-D15 rather than refreshing their liquid lineup. 

Thermalright is certainly a force to be reckoned with right now in that space. 
 

Hell, on the water front you can get a 360 for $58 shipped on Amazon from them. 

[RevGAM]

On 2/20/2024 at 12:30 PM, filpo said:

Arctic LF3 is the best for temps

Huh? No... Galahad, Mystique,  EK Elite outperform it when things get really hot. It's only when you noise normalize that the LF 2/3 outperforms most others.  You'd have to put better fans on it for it to beat the rest. 

17 hours ago, GuiltySpark_ said:

Hell, on the water front you can get a 360 for $58 shipped on Amazon from them. 

The water front?

[GuiltySpark_]

Just now, RevGAM said:

 

The water front?

Yep. 

 

[filpo]

2 hours ago, RevGAM said:

Huh? No... Galahad, Mystique,  EK Elite outperform it when things get really hot. It's only when you noise normalize that the LF 2/3 outperforms most others.  You'd have to put better fans on it for it to beat the rest. 

Ye I meant noise normalised. Tbh the fans on the LF3 are quite quiet. Pretty sure they’re quieter than the LF2 fans. In terms of that, but ye for raw performance it gets beaten

[RevGAM]

My question is if it's worth it to get the LF3 now while it's on sale and replace the fans once Arctic fixes it, or just get an LF2?

[filpo]

1 minute ago, RevGAM said:

My question is if it's worth it to get the LF3 now while it's on sale and replace the fans once Arctic fixes it, or just get an LF2?

depends on the system and current cooler

[RevGAM]

40 minutes ago, filpo said:

depends on the system and current cooler

For testing...

[filpo]

31 minutes ago, RevGAM said:

For testing...

Considering the price of the LF3 I'd say that. the deals are on until mid may I think

[RevGAM]

1 hour ago, filpo said:

Considering the price of the LF3 I'd say that. the deals are on until mid may I think

I wish they'd have used better fans on it. 2.2 mmAq just isn't good enough.

[Salted Spinach]

4 hours ago, RevGAM said:

I wish they'd have used better fans on it. 2.2 mmAq just isn't good enough.

Arctic's choice of fan seems to be for the silence. You can always swap them out for ones that you prefer.

 

If they were as powerful as a leaf blower, would probably also sound as loud. And then it would forever be ranked worst in all noise normalized tests