Valkyrie Syn 360 AIO Liquid Cooler Review: A strong AIO marred by beta-level software

Thermal results without power limits

Without power limits enforced on Intel’s i7-14700K, the CPU will hit its peak temperature (TJ Max) and thermally throttle, even with strong coolers. When the CPU reaches its peak temperature, I’ve measured the CPU package power to determine the maximum wattage cooled to best compare their performance.

Valkyrie’s SYN 360 was able to cool 260W on average when paired with Intel’s i7-14700K, just a few watts from full unthrottled performance. It’s important to note how well the cooler scales can vary with different CPUs – earlier this year I tested the SYN 360 on the i7-13700K, and it was able to keep the CPU from reaching its maximum temperature, allowing full unthrottled performance. 

To achieve this level of performance, the unrestricted fans run up to 49.2 dBA. This is a bit loud and I don’t think there’s any reason for fans to run so noisily. 

Thermal results with noise normalized to 38.9 dBA 

Finding the right balance between fan noise levels and cooling performance is important. While running fans at full speed can improve cooling capacity to some extent, the benefits are limited and many users prefer a quieter system. With this noise-normalized test, I’ve set noise levels to 38.9 dba. This level of noise is a low volume level, but slightly audible to most people. 

The noise-normalized performance of this cooler is much more impressive, cooling 251W on average. This is only 6W less than the best result we have for this test with NZXT’s Kraken Elite!

165W CPU + 275W GPU results

I’ve updated my testing methodology to better represent the scenarios a user might actually encounter in real-life use. The first of these new tests is designed to emulate a CPU-intensive game with a full GPU load. Because the CPU load is constant, this test is a bit more difficult than an actual game would be – I consider these results to be more comparable to what someone might see after overclocking.

Valkyrie’s SYN 360 did well here, tied for third place with ID-Cooling’s FX360 INF and Arctic’s Liquid Freezer III 360. To sustain this performance, the noise level of the fans averaged 45.3 dBA – a bit on the louder end compared to our other results, but an acceptable noise level in my opinion.

110W CPU + 275W GPU results

Our second round of CPU + GPU testing is performed with a lower CPU power limit and, in theory, should be similar to games that are moderately intensive for a CPU. Syn’s 360 performed acceptably well here, with a temperature of 59 C.

120W Cinebench Noise Levels

With my previous testing methodology, I used to record the temperatures and noise measurements using a 125W CPU-only test. And I would emphasize how temperatures do not matter in this scenario.

As such, for this section, I’m only going to report noise levels here. The temperature of the CPU in this scenario is largely irrelevant, but the results for liquid coolers are similar to those reported above in the 110W + GPU tests if you are particularly concerned about this information.

Valkyrie’s Syn 360 reached a noise level of 40.9 dBA for this test. This is in line with many other coolers on the market, but a little louder than I’d prefer in this scenario. Ideally, I feel that noise levels should be under 38.9 dBA in this test.

Conclusion

There’s a lot to like about Valkyrie’s SYN AIO. It offers quieter performance than competitors in low-power scenarios, has the unique distinction of supporting upgradable storage, and the packaging is much fancier than any other AIO on the market (if that matters to you). However, the “beta” feel of the software and the unit’s high $209.99 USD price tag make it hard to recommend against competitors.