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

You value build quality and aesthetics: The cooler has a sturdy build and an attractive design with RGB lighting on the fans. It adds a touch of style to your PC while providing efficient cooling. 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).

You prefer an easy-to-install pump design: Despite its unique appearance, the pump design doesn’t interfere with RAM or PCIe clearance and is easier to work with, making installation hassle-free. Don’t Buy It If: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. 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. 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.”

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.

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 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: 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. 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. 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.