Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 ARGB review: there’s only room for one kingpin

Keen not to rest on its laurels, Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 is proof that an artisan’s work is never truly finished. With nips and tucks from top to bottom alongside an outfit of new fans, the brand has surpassed its already-impressive range of AIOs with a revision that’s worthy of its pro moniker.

Aside from a new matte black logo on the VRM module and darker inner ring, not much has changed on the surface since last year’s Arctic Liquid Freezer III. The 360mm model still features a 398×120×38mm (L×W×H) radiator with 450mm of tubing adorned with a trio of flashy 120mm fans.

Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 ARGB

£93.49

Pros

• Unrivalled thermals
• Incl. leading thermal paste
• Beautiful RGB
• Unbeatable launch price
• Six-year warranty

Cons

• Short, bottom-loaded cables
• Can’t rotate faceplate

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Look closer, however, and you’ll notice these aren’t the same blowers as before. Tagging in three of its brand-new P12 Pro, these fans are designed from the ground-up for radiators, featuring seven blades instead of five. Such innovations increase the 360mm model’s airflow from 56.3CFM to 77.0CFM and static pressure from 2.2mmH₂O to a significantly loftier 6.9mmH₂O – over triple that of its predecessor. In fact, this even dethrones the larger 420mm version’s 69.9CFM and 2.0mmH20, respectively.

Of course, this is hardly a surprise given the top fan speeds reach a blistering 3,000RPM, a substantial increase over 1,800RPM on the original. Granted, you’ll rarely catch me running them flat out due to their expected noise profile, but it’s nice to have the option to crank things up should the need arise. Fortunately, the benefits aren’t just at full pelt, as our tests show uplifts all the way down to the fans’ base 600RPM.

Arctic has also improved PWM control to minimise deviations between the speeds you set in your fan curve and the actual RPM. I still find it finnicky to get the exact speeds I want, but your mileage will vary depending on your BIOS.

The final improvement comes from installation. While the copper cold plate is indistinguishable from its forebear, Arctic has modified the bundled contact frame to more evenly distribute pressure on the CPU, better covering hotspots.

Keeping the upgrades under the hood is a smart choice, as I’m a particular fan of the returning aesthetic, including the glowing VRM cooler. Switching the system on for the first time gives you a dazzling light show with 12 LEDs per fan, each synchronising to your motherboard.

Initially, Liquid Freezer III Pro will only be available in the 360mm version, but you will get a choice of a stealthy black or an ARGB-clad black or white with the bleached model coming at a slight premium. As usual, Arctic extends a warm welcome to its new coolers with a series of launch discounts, chopping €45 off its MSRP – and this applies worldwide.

Eventually, the series will grow to include its usual 240mm, 280mm, and 420mm options, which are on the way in Q2 alongside the ability to purchase the new Pro fans in 120mm and 140mm variants. Arctic has yet to confirm prices or an exact date, but good things come to those who wait. No matter which you choose, you’re treated to an ample six-year warranty.

Installation

You won’t be shocked to read that installation is identical to its predecessor and as simple as can be. Fans are already preinstalled and ready to go with the RGB cable integrated into the piping, no faff needed. You can replace them if you fancy, you’ll simply brave two exposed headers hidden around the rear, but I’d stick with what’s on offer.

Regardless of whether you’re in the red or blue corner, the first step is to remove the stock brackets and retention clips using the included tool. AM4/AM5 requires spacers and two side mounts for AMD Ryzen CPUs, guiding you as to which is left and right with distinct L and R markings. As for Intel Core chips, you’ll first need to place the processor on top of the contact pins before pinning it with the noticeably bulky LGA1700/1851 block. Both use the motherboard’s own backplate, so make sure not to lose that in the process.

Once everything’s where it should be, dot the supplied Arctic MX-6 thermal paste. The tiny tube is just enough for one application regardless of whether it’s the blob or sausage methods. Like rolling a five on a six-sided die, I’m partial to a central dab flanked by four globules in each corner.

Turning attention to the heatspreader, you’ll first need to attach one of the two power cables and hook it around the chassis. The simplest method uses an all-in-one cable that controls the pump, CPU fans, and VRM headers at the same time, but it’s worth putting the extra effort into routing the splitter to adjust curves individually. Then, simply screw each side into the prepared mounts evenly and pop on the magnetic VRM cover.

The Pro revision doesn’t fix the sins of its predecessor in that there is just one orientation, which positions both the piping and the wires at the bottom. Each has just enough slack to reach top-loaded RGB and fan headers, so you’ll need to map out your system ahead of time.

In the case of the split cable, this leaves a spaghetti of wires crawling up the right side that could’ve otherwise been avoided had Arctic shifted cables above the pump. Fortunately, with enough forethought, you can keep things neat, and it is a one-and-done hinderance.

Performance

Stacked atop our Intel Core i9-13900K, the main goal is to test how Arctic Freezer III Pro 360 handles the chip’s advertised 253W ceiling. Maintaining such a lofty power draw makes most coolers weak at the knees, but this is no ordinary AIO if its name is anything to go by.

Going up against our usual run of tests in the Club386 test bench, I’ve used Cinebench to push the CPU to its limits and recorded both noise and temperatures at 600, 1,200, 1,900, and its max 3,000RPM.

Noise levels

Cranking up the fans as high as they’ll go isn’t exactly a fair fight. The new lot is 67% faster than the original 120mm alternatives and 58% quicker than the standard 140mm featured on Liquid Freezer III 420. With an 11.7dB increase over the latter, it gives the sense of being more than twice as loud according to decibels’ logarithmic scale, although I wouldn’t recommend the full whack unless your processor truly needs the extra cooling. Sure, you might hear Arnie yelling “get to the choppa,” but it’s nice to have the ability to scale, unlike previous models.

Bringing Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 down to its predecessor’s level at a static 1,900RPM puts it on par at 46dBA. This is what I’d consider comfortable only when 13900K is firing on all cylinders, although the benefits only increase the lower you go. 1,200RPM is nearly silent, being 19% quieter than its forebear, going as far as to rival the original’s best acoustics at double the speed. There’s no real need to go lower and risk the higher temps.

Otherwise, the 2,500RPM VRM fan and 2,800RPM pump haven’t changed because they didn’t really need to. Both are fantastic at their job without the whirr or whine you get with others on the market. No need to fix what’s not broken.

Temperatures

The original Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 was the first time we’ve seen an AIO cooler steer a full 253W Intel Core i9-13900K under 80ºC for a sustained ten-minute run. Liquid Freezer III Pro marks another milestone, not only being the first 360mm to achieve the same at its barnstormer top speeds, but coming extremely close at just 1,200RPM. Keep in mind the whisper-quiet acoustics, and this is a mighty fine proposition.

If you’re wondering exactly how Liquid Freezer III Pro 360mm fares at the same 1,900RPM as the standard 420mm model’s max, then good news. It undercuts its predecessor with 54.0ºC at 153W and 77.6ºC at 253W, both of which aren’t a million miles from its own 3,000RPM. Such harshly diminishing returns make you wonder whether the extra horsepower is worth it, especially when optimisations rule the roost here.

Conclusion

There’s a new best CPU cooler in town, as Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 ARGB takes a tried-and-tested design I didn’t think could get much better and leapfrogs over the bar it set just last year. Both temperatures and noise profiles see significant improvements with wiggle room to scale to your preferences, not simply taming the beast that is Core i9-13900K, but making it purr instead.

As newer processors place efficiency on a pedestal, there’s less of a need for such muscular AIO solutions, but Liquid Freezer III Pro Series doesn’t just offer spectacular performance. Starting at €84.99 / £79.49 thanks to a launch discount that’ll likely last its lifetime if previous release prices are anything to go by, it’s also a value challenger that undercuts the majority of alternatives.

In the UK, you can grab a Pro for roughly £12 more than its corresponding forerunner, which is nothing compared to the benefits it affords. Looking at rivals, similar models in this performance bracket tend to run double the price. It certainly helps that Arctic keeps everything in-house without relying on pumps from third parties like Asetek, as there are no royalties or external overheads. It also means the brand can chuck in some of its own industry-leading thermal paste to sweeten the deal.

The only sting is that you’ll need to wait for other sizes as well as separate fans to come to market. I can’t help but let my mind wander to the potential capabilities of Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 ARGB and its P14 Pro fans. But if you can fit a 360mm in your case, I see no reason to hang fire with unrivalled price-to-performance.