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

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 The increased cooling challenges posed by Raptor Lake mean that we’ve had to change some of the ways we test coolers. Some coolers were able to pass Cinebench R23 multicore testing with Intel’s 12th Gen i9-12900K when power limits were removed (although only the strongest models were able to pass that test). The 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)

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. In conclusion, the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB is a solid AIO cooler, providing remarkable cooling performance and aesthetics, making it a great value at its price point.

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. It’s time to connect the cables after everything is in its proper spot. Connect the 4-pin PWM connection to any available Fan header on your motherboard, then connect the 3-pin A-RGB header to an RGB header. Apply some of the included MX-4 or MX-5 thermal paste to the top of your CPU. Remember to remove the plastic label from the copper base before attaching the pump head to your CPU. In BIOS, we set the i9-12900k voltage to 1.15V, the P-Cores to 4.9 GHz, and the E-Cores to 3.9 GHz. By forcing usage of roughly 140W, we enable comparison with basic heatsinks. We then ran the test in Aida64 for 5 minutes with the processor and memory boxes turned on. Finally, delta temperatures between the ambient temperature and the related test are considered for the ranking.

To test the limits of a cooler's thermal dissipation capabilities, I run two primary stress tests: Cinebench and OCCT each for 10 minutes. While this may be a short amount of time, it is sufficient to push most coolers–air and liquid–to their limits. 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-RGB

Quiet, capable and cool

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. These tests demonstrated that the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB is more than just a good cooler. The cooler is capable of outperforming any 240mm cooler on the market while competing with 360mm AIOs. Should You Buy It? 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.

With the review out of the way, let’s clearly discuss who the cooler is for and who it isn’t for. Buy It If: 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.” Tier 3: These coolers are able to keep the i9-12900K under TJ max with CPU power limits of 140W enforced. Testing Methodology

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

I'll be testing Arctic’s Liquid Freezer II 240 with Intel's i9-12900K. Due to the increased thermal density of the Intel 7 manufacturing process, as well as changes to core and component layouts, Alder Lake CPUs are more difficult to cool than previous generation CPUs in the most heat-intensive of workloads. While stress testing in Cinebench, I run both with power limits removed and with an enforced 200W CPU power limit. In this test setup I’m using MSI’s z690 A Pro DDR4 Motherboard and Be Quiet’s Silent Base 802 Computer Case. Only the best coolers are able to pass Cinebench testing when power limits are removed. 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.