Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 AIO CPU Cooler Review

1. Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 4202. Test Results3. Closing Thoughts4. View All Pages

Test System Specifications:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
• Motherboard: ASRock Phantom Gaming X870E Nova WiFi
• Memory: 32GB (2 x 16GB Modules) Kingston Fury DDR5-6000
• Graphics card: MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X
• Storage: 1TB Corsair MP600 Elite PCIe Gen4x4 NVME M.2 SSD
• Power Supply: Seasonic Prime TX-1600
• Chassis: Open Test Bench
• Thermal Compound: Arctic MX-6
• O/S: Windows 11 Version 24H2

Testing Methodology:

We are primarily focusing on the performance of each cooler at 100% fan speed and also when locked to 40dBA noise output. We will focus on cooling performance using a manual overclock with all-core frequency and VCORE locked to 5.2GHz/1.3V (AMD) and 5.5GHz/1.3V (Intel) and Precision Boost Overdrive performance.

• The test data is logged using HWINFO and the final 10 minutes of the data is calculated to find the average CPU temperature and CPU clock multiplier (AMD PBO Test) and then plotted in the charts.
• For testing, we use a 30-minute looped run of Cinebench R23 and record the steady-state CPU temperature at the end of the test. This ensures that the CPU has had ample time to warm up and reach a steady state under all of the coolers.
• The ambient is maintained at 19-21 degrees Celsius. Where there is variation beyond this temperature range, we add extra repeated tests to ensure consistency. However, this is well controlled now with A/C.
• We also test each cooler with at least two fresh installs (typically three) to mitigate the likelihood of poor mounting spoiling results.
• Ambient temperature and humidity are controlled via a mini split air conditioning system inside the test room. Ambient temperature is maintained between 19-20°C; temperature delta figures are shown in the charts (ambient temperature is deducted from the measured component temperature).

Test Results:

Acoustics

Let's start by looking at noise output, as this will give us a good indication of thermal performance based on the noise.

At 51dBA, the Pro version of the Liquid Freezer III is louder than the non-Pro due to the high fan speed, but it still seems to run at a reasonable noise level with fan speed maxed out when compared with other 420mm coolers. However, the be quiet! 420mm Silent Loop3 is significantly quieter, but it runs at a lower max fan speed.

Thermal Performance: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

With fans still at maximum rpm and the CPU running in a locked frequency mode, the Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 shows solid thermal performance at 59°C over ambient. It's up at the top of the chart, equalling the performance of the Silverstone IceMyst 420 and trading blows with much more expensive coolers.

Reducing the cooler's fan speed to hit the 40dBA noise target puts everything on a level playing field, and the true thermal performance can be measured.

The Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro is even more impressive here as it hits 40dBA with the fans running at almost 1600 rpm, which means it produces great thermals with an average CPU temperature of 61°C over ambient, beating all of the opposition.

In the PBO test, the important metric is clock speed as the CPU automatically adjusts frequency based on a target temperature threshold so the temperature delta between coolers is very small.

Again, the Liquid Freezer III Pro PBO performance is up there with some of the best coolers we have tested so far. It hits the same clock frequency as the Silverstone IceMyst 420 but at a few degrees C lower average temperature while cooling 254W package power, which is great performance from a budget AIO option.

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