AI GPU maker Nvidia just announced a “hotter than a hot tub” liquid cooling system that it says will cut water and electricity use. According to the company, this new solution will run coolant — composed of 75% water and 25% propylene glycol — at 113 degrees F (45 deg C). By comparison, the water in hot tubs hovers at 100 to 104 degrees F (38 to 40 deg C). This feels counterintuitive, but the company says that the “cool” water is enough to handle the heat generated by Nvidia’s Rubin chips and exit the system at 131 degrees F (55 deg C).

Traditional water-cooling methods, especially those that use chillers, often account for nearly 40% of a data center’s power consumption. Aside from that, these systems must often deal with water loss through evaporation. On the other hand, air-cooled facilities also use a considerable amount of electricity, plus they also generate noise pollution. On the other hand, Nvidia says that this new solution uses a lot fewer resources because of its higher base temperature.

Since 113 degrees F is often higher than ambient temperature, data centers can simply rely on outdoor dry coolers to expel the heat to the environment. This is also a closed-loop system; Nvidia claims an up to 100% reduction in water consumption — it’s “filled once and runs closed for the life of the facility.” This solution is most effective in regions with cooler climates, but it should still be effective in warmer areas as long as the ambient temperature is below 113 degrees F.

Data centers that face occasional temperature swings that exceed this limit may still be required to turn on their chillers. Nevertheless, this should still reduce resource consumption, as it only needs to run them a few times per year. Aside from that, this should also allow these systems to run more efficiently, as the chillers don’t have to work as hard to hit the target temperature. It’s estimated that increasing a chiller plant’s target temperature by 1.8 degrees F (1 degree C) would reduce electricity costs by 4%. This means that data centers would save significantly on power consumption if they set their chiller units to the 70 to 75 degrees F (21 to 24 degrees C) that traditional chillers run, according to Vertiv, to the 113 degrees F (45 degrees C) that Nvidia recommends for its Rubin chips.

This solution addresses several of the issues that many local governments raised that led to the delay of more than 75 data centers earlier this year. However, it will likely take time for this cooling system to roll out to new and existing projects, so we expect the delays and resistance to continue until Nvidia’s liquid cooling system gains wider adoption. Furthermore, this only addresses the water use of the data center itself — the GPU servers themselves still require massive amounts of electricity.

Unfortunately, most of the power used by data centers, at least in the United States, comes from fossil fuel power plants, which themselves consume a lot of water. Developments that aren’t tied to the grid and get their electricity from natural gas turbines may not need as much water, but residents are concerned about the pollution they generate. Still, this new cooling solution is a step in the right direction to help make AI more sustainable.

The world is getting warmer every year due to worsening climate change. If you live in certain parts of the world affected by El Nino, you're likely seeing your devices overheat right now if you live without an air conditioner. So, what if you could devise a solution to keep your computer cool regardless of ambient temps? That's precisely what YouTuber TrashBench did by altering a standard countertop ice machine to work as a GPU cooler.

We've covered TrashBench's escapades before, such as that time they used car antifreeze to cool a GPU, or when they put the entire test bench inside a freezer, or even the video where they dunked the entire graphics card into transmission fluid. In this case, the idea of using an ice machine actually came from fellow modder MrYeester who already cooled a CPU with a smaller one — now, it was time to take the concept to another level.

The YouTuber began by disassembling an RTX 3060; he removed the stock cooler and mounted a custom retention frame over the die to fit the liquid-cooling tubes. He then put a submersible water pump inside the ice machine and simply filled it up with water to create the loop. The hot water from the GPU falls into the bucket where it should be cooled before being looped back to the card.

Just for the sake of it, the modder tested the GPU without turning the ice machine on and it actually achieved around 44°C in benchmarks. The temperature wouldn't stabilize because nothing is cooling the water, so he turns on the machine, and the temps actually fall by more than 10 degrees. However, the GPU is heating up faster than the water can cool it down because the ice machine is on a fixed clock cycle.

Basically, the compressor only runs for a few seconds at a time before turning back off once the ice has been discharged into the water. This interval is controlled by a thermostat that can't be adjusted, so it was time to rip it out entirely and replace it with another one. TrashBench luckily had another one that will bypass the internal logic and force the compressor to stay on perpetually.

But just running the compressor longer doesn't result in better cooling. The evaporator coils are responsible for facilitating the heat exchange and they weren't submerged enough in the water. To fix this, the YouTuber simply put a small plastic bowl under the coils to the point they were completely drowned. Hot water coming from the GPU will now hit the evaporator, which helps improve the cooling efficiency, while the new thermostat ensures the compressor doesn't turn off.

Once everything was ready, TrashBench ran the numbers once again and the results were a success, to say the least. Before the modding began, the RTX 3060 was reaching around 60°C in Cyberpunk 2077. Now, it was casually chilling at 22-23°C, and it was stable. The GPU hot spot was sitting at 75°C before, while the modified ice machine brought it all the way down to just 34°C.

There were some leaks in the middle that the YouTuber dealt with, and the entire modding process was a bit too involved for a quick and fun experiment. Not to mention, messing with the internal componentry of an electrical device that's carrying water isn't exactly the safest thing to do. Still, the results speak for themselves, and we can only wonder how far you could take this RTX 3060 now with extreme overclocking.

For a very long time, many of us have been begging Noctua to build a liquid cooler. In a time when CPUs are becoming ever more powerful, their power consumption is also rising, and air-coolers are often no longer up to the task. However, this was a problem for Noctua’s customers, as the brand has stubbornly not built a liquid cooler – at least until now. Meet the NL-LC1-36, Noctua’s first liquid cooler.

Today we’re reviewing the 360-mm variant, but it also comes in 240mm and 420mm flavors.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: At its core, this is not a liquid cooler designed 100% in-house by Noctua – it’s an Asetek cooler with some Noctua touches. This may be a bit of a let-down, especially for Noctua purists – up until now, every product that had a name in Noctua’s nomenclature, such as NL-LC1-36, or NH-D15 G2, or NF-A12x25 G2, was 100% designed and built in-house by Rascom and Kolink, the two owners of the Noctua brand.

Keen readers will note that there is a Noctua case, Noctua PSU, and Noctua GPUs, but that’s not entirely accurate. The Antec Flux Pro Noctua Edition, Seasonic Prime TX-1600 Noctua Edition, and Asus Noctua Edition GPUs are all, as their name implies, Noctua-Edition products, which are not strictly speaking a core part of Noctua’s own lineup, and they do not carry Noctua’s typical nomenclature.

What’s really going on here is something we’ll get into later, but for now, let’s dive into the box and see what we’ve got on the test bench.

Specifications

Product Walkthrough

The cooler comes packaged in a typical Noctua box with a matte finish and product details written on it. Noctua also sells an auxiliary fan, the NL-ACF1, which can clip onto the pump block to cool the area surrounding the CPU.

Open the box, and we’re presented with a nice appetizer – the large Noctua plaque that can later be installed onto the pump block if you’re not using the auxiliary fan.

This is a truly beautiful plaque, and quite large too – a bit unusually large for Noctua. Is Noctua trying to emphasize its own brand to distract us from Asetek?

An included accessory box contains the mounting brackets, cleaning wipe, instructions, TIM guard, and the classic Noctua Torx screwdriver. Both the AMD and intel mounting brackets come with -7mm offset holes so that the cooler is better placed over the CPU’s hotspots.

The three fans come in their own box too. Here we have three NF-A12x25 G2s, two of which are the PPA variant and one PPB, which have 50 RPM offsets to prevent harmonics from forming between them. These fans spin at such consistent speeds, that if you mount two next to each other on the same fan splitter, they can sing in harmony.

The fans all come equipped with the full rear gasket for a perfect seal on the radiator.

Moving on to the pump assembly, here we find the pièce de résistance, the NL-PNA1. PNA stands for Pump Noise Absorber, and this is a custom pump cover designed by Noctua that features multiple layers of foam, sound barriers, and silicone mounts, all to quiet down the pump.

At its heart, the NL-CL1 is based on Asetek’s Emma Gen8 V2 pump platform that, although very powerful, isn’t the quietest pump on the market. However, the combination of its power and the PNA1 cap means that Noctua is happy to stand behind the product, and we’ll see in testing whether this stance is justified.

This pump cap isn’t only engineered to absorb and deflect noise, however – it’s also a tuned mass damper. Sitting on silicone mounts, its own mass and positioning is engineered such that it dampens mechanical noise. This damping essentially shifts the higher, more annoying frequencies pumps typically produce toward deeper, more pleasant frequencies that typically bother human hearing less.

The cold plate is beautifully milled, and the exposed copper should do a great job at transferring heat.

Hidden between the two tubes is a dip-switch with three positions. They’re not marked, but it’s easy to tell whether you’re in the quiet, balanced, or unrestricted mode. These limit the pump’s RPMs to 2100 or 2600 for the quiet and balanced profiles. Within these profiles, you can use the motherboard’s PWM control to guide the pump. However, the pump’s internal coolant temperature sensor will override the PWM signal at certain duty cycles or beyond certain coolant temperatures and push to 100% duty anyway, which may lead to the pump running louder than you want. In practice, however, we haven’t found this to be a problem.

For full control, you’ll want to use the unrestricted mode, where you have the pump’s full 3700 RPM at your disposal.

What I find a bit of a let-down here, is that there is no two-pin thermal probe output. I have a lot of experience with custom water cooling, and my preferred method of managing pump and fan speeds is by using the coolant temperature as the source value. It’s great that this AIO’s pump will manage itself and I’m stoked to see this feature finally coming to numerous AIOs, but I’d like access to the coolant temperature so that the fans can be controlled by this too.

The AIO’s radiator is a relatively standard aluminum type, but it’s 30mm thick which is an improvement over thinner 25mm radiators on more budget-friendly coolers.

Lastly, the loop is filled with Glycol, and is not user-serviceable.

Optionally, for $20, you can add an auxiliary fan to cool the VRM and memory surrounding the CPU, but this honestly feels like an afterthought and doesn’t look very charming compared to the rest of the cooler. I don’t doubt that it works, but it’s not nearly as neatly integrated into the pump block as we’ve seen with much of Noctua’s premium competition.

Testing Part 1: Pump speed vs. dBA

To test the NL-CL1, we decided to deviate from our usual procedure. Usually, we take AIO’s as they come and pit them against each other in a real-world scenario using a closed case and standard onboard fan curves. However, with the improvements Noctua has made to the pump assembly, we wanted to really focus on the impact of this different pump on both acoustic and thermal performance.

To do this, we’re pitting the NL-CL1 against the Phanteks Glacier One M25 G2 and the Lian Li Hydroshift II LCD-C 360N – but instead of using their included fans (the Lian Li doesn’t come with any), we’re installing the three NF-A12x25 G2 fans that come with the Noctua.

The reason we’re testing this way is because I feel that the primary audience that would be interested in this AIO, is also the type that would fan-swap an existing cooler. It’s also to take the fan variable out of the equation – we know Noctua’s fans are better than any other (they sit atop our Best PC Fans list just for that reason), and what we really want to know is how much better this pump unit really is.

These two competing coolers cost about $150 each, and if you were to install three NF-A12x25 G2’s on them, that brings the total cost to about $250, which is in-line with Noctua’s pricing. So, what do you get for the same money with the old method, vs the new, official Noctua cooler?

Meanwhile, for the purists among you, we’re also adding the legendary NH-D15 G2 air cooler to the test at the end. The main reason to contemplate a Noctua AIO is to minimize pump noise – and for a few, up until today, that simply meant not using an AIO at all, rather sticking to air cooling with fewer moving parts.

Test Setup

We’re using an MSI Godlike X870E motherboard with a 9950X3D CPU and some Kingston Fury Renegade DDR5-6000 memory. We also have a PNY RTX 5080 installed, though it’s there only for display purposes and will be kept at its zero-RPM mode.

We’re doing these tests on an open test bench, as to expose as much of the pump as possible.

Testing Part 1: Pump speed vs. dBA

For the first series of tests, I ran the three AIO’s pumps through their RPM ranges independently, by themselves. To get the system quiet enough, we ensured the GPU’s fans were not spinning, there was no load on the CPU (and thus no whining VRMs or PSU fan), and disconnected the CPU fans – the only moving part was the pump itself – that’s all we’re trying to figure out here.

What’s clear from the results is that the Noctua pump is notably quieter at most speeds, right up until about 2300 RPM, where Phanteks’ Glacier One becomes quieter, and Noctua’s pump actually makes a big jump up in noise levels.

What’s also interesting is that up until about 1900 RPM, the pump on Noctua’s cooler is almost indistinguishable from the noise floor of the room. That’s very impressive if you consider that the dB meter was placed at a mere 20cm from the pump, at night, in a room treated for acoustics.

I debated testing with dB-C weighting, as this is more sensitive to low frequencies, but decided against this. C-weighting spans across a wider range of frequencies, which technically speaking, would offer results more representative of the entire sound spectrum.

However, dB-A weighting is geared more toward the sensitivities of human hearing – and Noctua specifically engineered the pump cover to shift the pump’s sound profile towards lower frequencies, where they would be less bothersome.

With that in mind, I do want to mention that the dB reading alone really doesn’t tell the whole story. As mentioned, the Noctua pump ends up louder than the Phanteks, at least as far as decibels are concerned.

As I was testing, I saw these numbers, and I thought: that’s not right. How can that be? The Noctua sounded much quieter to my ears.

So, I went back, re-installed the Phanteks, and lo-and-behold, it put out the exact same figure it did before – quieter than the Noctua on the dB meter, but my ears told a different story.

Using dB(A) weighting should have compensated for that difference, but it didn’t. So, perhaps my dB meter is wrong, or Noctua knows more about human hearing than dB(A) weighting accounts for.

However, what may also play a role is the differences in pump assembly and how they impact flow rate. If, for example, the Phanteks pushes more fluid per rotation than the Noctua, then it’d be only logical that it’s louder too – but I doubt it does.

Either way, we’ll be going back and testing with subjective noise levels in addition to these objective figures for a complete picture.

Testing Phase 2: AIO Objective Noise-Normalized, + Min and Max

In order to account for the pump’s engineering, I’ll be running a noise-normalized test that has the NF-A12x25 G2 fans spinning at the same 1200 RPM speed on each cooler, on every test. I’ll be running the three pumps at speeds that have matching noise levels, which we’ve figured out in the previous testing phase with the dB meter.

This is not a test meant to simulate real-life performance -- we run the fans at a fixed speed of 1200 RPM, and keep the CPU at stock settings to limit power draw to exactly a hair under 200 watts under all scenarios, so that all coolers make it through the test and to remove any variables. The only factors influencing the thermal results are the pump, its mounting offset, the flow resistance, and the radiator – all factors over which we ultimately have no influence.

This is where things started to get very interesting. Let us start with the minimums and maximums – you’ll note that at the minimum pump speed, the Noctua has the CPU running much hotter than the other two coolers. I’d like to clarify that the minimum and maximum tests are not noise-normalized, but have the pump running at their minimum and maximum speeds. Noctua’s LC1 has an extremely wide RPM range to work with, which the other two coolers don’t. And running a 200W workload with a pump running at just 750 RPM isn’t going to do great things for thermals. It does, though, mean that in low-load situations, the pump can run completely quietly.

However, in the noise-normalized test between 29 dB(A) pump noise and 32 dB(A) pump noise, we saw some shocking results. Noctua’s cooler, even when it has its pump running at a barely perceptible noise level of just 29 dB(A), still runs significantly cooler than both the Glacier One and the Hydroshift with their pumps running at full speed.

Of course, it must be noted that there are more factors at play here than just the pump – the LC1 offers a 7mm offset mount for Ryzen systems which we used, a different cold plate design, and a radiator that’s slightly thicker than its competition.

Testing Phase 3: Subjective Noise-Normalized

As mentioned earlier, according to my ears, some of the pump’s acoustics don’t match up with what my dB meter shows. For this reason, I’m repeating the previous batch of tests, but instead of looking at the dB meter, I’m trusting my ears to guide me in picking an RPM setpoint for each pump that I deem fits the description. If you see a result missing, it’s because the criteria weren’t met. The RPMs of the pumps are in the chart below.

To determine the RPM levels, I first ran the pump at the highest speed at which it was still completely inaudible. I then figured out a middle point where I was happy to tolerate the noise level under load. And finally, I pushed the pump speed up further, and found the lowest value at which its noise started to annoy me.

To give some additional context, I’d like to emphasize that I have highly sensitive hearing, and I’m someone that likes to run their gear as close to inaudible as possible. This is also a very subjective test – you may hear something where I didn’t – but on the flipside, what annoys me, you may be just fine with, so do take these findings with a grain of salt.

Then, with those numbers, I ran the thermal tests again, all with the fans at 1200 RPM to remove any other variables.

Here, the Noctua started to really stand out from the crowd. Even pushing the Glacier one to annoying noise levels couldn’t make it keep up with the thermals produced by Noctua pump running inaudibly. That’s honestly quite staggering.

I contemplated for a moment whether to adjust the fan speeds in this test to match the annoyance factor, but this would make comparison difficult, and I really am trying to focus on the difference the pump makes here, and nothing else.

What’s really important to note here, though, is that from my experience, I can truly say that the dBA figure means almost nothing in practice. The subjective noise profile of the pump matters way more than the dBA, and whereas the Noctua might, strictly speaking, be louder than the Phanteks at higher speeds, it’s also far smoother. Whatever they did with the PNA1, it’s working.

Meanwhile, though, from the results it’s also clear that there is no need to run the Noctua at these higher pump speeds, as there is very little additional benefit.

And that’s not to even mention the Lian Li pump, which is always audible. Consequently, I had to omit it from the inaudible category entirely, and I can tell you from experience, there are many AIOs that are unable to run their pumps at inaudible levels. This is not an isolated case.

Testing Phase 4: Air vs Water (Noise-Normalized)

As mentioned, we also added the NH-D15 G2 to the mix, as it is Noctua’s most powerful air cooler and the most surefire way to avoid pump noise entirely, and I’m sure many of you who want nothing except Noctua, actually want to know how the new liquid cooler compares to Noctua’s finest air cooler – not a bunch of AIO’s you wouldn’t buy anyway.

TheD15 air cooler has – as its name implies – much larger 150mm fans. Consequently, to test fairly against the NH-D15, we decided to set two noise targets, based on the AIO’s internal pump limiters selected with the switch on quiet and balanced.

The test we’re performing here is more representative of real-world performance than the previous bunch. For the quiet and balanced pump profiles, I set the AIO’s fans to a speed that I felt matched up nicely, where the fan and pump noise blended smoothly. I measured the total dB(A) produced, then figured out which fan speed the NH-D15 G2 had to run at to produce the same overall noise level.

For the maximum speed test, dB(A) figures were ignored – all gear was run at full speed.

The results speak for themselves. Noctua’s NL-LC1-36 offers vastly superior performance to the NH-D15. Even with the NH-D15 G2 air cooler running at full tilt, producing a highly annoying 43.9 dB(A), it still runs 6 degrees hotter than the LC1 running in the quietest profile with the fans barely even trying at just 1000 RPM, producing only 29.6 dB(A).

Noctua has been defeated. Long live Noctua.

When I first heard that Noctua’s first liquid cooler would be an Asetek unit with some Noctua sprinkles added to it, I had some major doubts about its efficacy and, quite frankly, Noctua’s business decisions.

I grew up knowing Noctua as a company that prides itself on its standards, and designing its products entirely in-house. With that in mind, the Noctua NL-LC1 is a bit… unlike the classic Noctua that we know and love – at its core, it’s not a Noctua cooler in any way we’ve seen before.

However, if you look at the history of companies that have tried to build their own AIO’s, you’ll be met with a very long list of fallen soldiers -- whether that’s due to being unable to build a reliable pump, or because of litigation from Asetek when their patent was still valid. If history has taught us anything, it’s that it’s surprisingly difficult to build a good AIO with no liquid cooling experience.

In that sense, I somewhat doubt whether the LC1 is the liquid cooler Noctua actually wanted to build. The company is also still working hard on its pumpless Thermosiphon cooler. But in the meantime, the market still wants what the market wants.

With CPUs becoming ever-more powerful, and consumer demands increasing, Noctua either had to find a way to give the people what they wanted, or get left behind in the CPU cooling space – a space they once dominated.

With all this in mind, I believe that the LC1 is the result of Noctua making a compromise – they won’t design the cooler entirely in-house, but instead work with Asetek for the pump and radiator, but adding their own pump cover, mounting bracket, and fans to bring the total package to a new industry standard.

However, this compromise is proving to pave the way to greatness. From my brief testing, I can safely say that this is an absolutely fantastic AIO – and I’m glad to finally see somebody making a liquid cooler that focusses on what really matters: noise and performance.

Priced at $220 to $280, it’s not the cheapest AIO, but certainly isn’t the most expensive either. So, despite the fact that it’s not 100% Noctua, this one comes highly recommended to anybody looking for a high-quality AIO with fantastic performance and a stellar 6-year warranty.

So, as much as I may not feel like this AIO appeals to me as a Noctua purist, as a hardware enthusiast, I really quite like it, and it’ll certainly be finding its way into a personal system.

Noctua’s highly anticipated AIO cooler is finally available, and PC builders can get it in three sizes — 240mm, 360mm, and 420mm. These all-in-one water-cooling solutions start at $219.95 on Amazon for the smallest 240mm two-fan solution. The larger 360mm version costs $249.95, and is slightly more affordable than the converted European price of US$289.95 (based on the current conversion rate for EUR 250), while the largest 420mm, equipped with three 140mm fans, is priced at $279.95.

• Get the Noctua NL-LC1-24 240mm Quiet All-in-One Water Cooler on Amazon
• Get the Noctua NL-LC1-36 360mm Quiet All-in-One Water Cooler on Amazon
• Get the Noctua NL-LC1-42 420mm Quiet All-in-One Water Cooler on Amazon

Given that this is a Noctua cooling solution, you can expect it to stay silent while still offering performance. It achieves this with the NL-PNA1 pump noise absorber — a mass damper that sits on top of the pump and water block featuring multiple layers of acoustic foam, a dense sound barrier, floating silicone mounts, and an outer shell with a metal faceplate. The pump itself also has three available speed profiles; it’s set by default to quiet mode, ensuring that it remains inaudible during operation. You can set it to balanced mode if you want additional performance headroom at the cost of some noise, while veteran users can switch to manual mode for full control over the AIO.

You can also purchase the optional NL-ACF1 80mm auxiliary cooling fan that mounts directly on the water block. This small add-on can make a big difference to other components, as we saw in Noctua’s booth at Computex 2026. It claims a VRM temperature reduction of nearly 40%, allowing your case fans to run at a slower RPM and further reduce noise. You can check out the Noctua video below if you want to see the company’s deep dive into its first AIO cooling solution.

Aside from these new innovations, the company also includes its legendary A-series fans with the AIO coolers. The 240mm comes with two NF-A12x25 G2 PWM 120mm fans, while the 360mm model boasts three of these fans, which are also found in our best PC case fans of 2026. The larger 420mm AIO trades in the 120mm fans for three NF-A14x25 G2 PWM 140mm fans. All three AIO models are equipped with the SecuFirm2+ mounting system, allowing you to use them on the latest and current-gen sockets on the market, including AM4, AM5, LGA 1700, and LGA 1851. This also means that you can easily swap a Noctua air cooler with this AIO solution if you already use a brown and beige air cooler like the Noctua NH-D15 G2.

The Noctua NL-LC1 series of AIO coolers is admittedly quite expensive, with its starting price of $219.95 on Amazon. This is especially true as there are numerous more affordable options out there, with the best AIO coolers starting at around $120. But if you’re either going for an all-Noctua PC build or want to have a silent PC at all costs, then the Noctua NL-LC1 AIO is your best bet for achieving that.

The latest liquid cooler from MSI to land on our test bench is the new MPG Coreliquid P22 360. While it packs a budget price of only $129.99, it doesn’t cut corners, featuring good thermal performance, low noise levels in common scenarios, and a fancy 2.1-inch IPS display.

Let's take a look at the specifications and features of this eye-catching AIO, then we’ll go over thermal and noise benchmarks, and decide if MSI’s MPG Coreliquid P22 360 deserves to make our list of the best CPU coolers.

Cooler specifications

Features of MSI’s MPG Coreliquid P22 360

▶️ Frame compatible with both AMD and Intel systems

Usually when you purchase an AIO, there’s at least one frame included, designed for a specific AMD or Intel socket.

MSI has simplified the install process here, with a single-frame design that’s compatible with both AMD AM4/AM5 and Intel LGA 1700/1851.

▶️ 2.1-inch 540x540 IPS display

A 2.1-inch IPS display with a resolution of 540x540 is included with this AIO, allowing users to observe performance metrics by glancing at the screen. Four preset backgrounds are included with the AIO’s software, and custom images and videos up to 500MB are supported.

To customize the AIO, you’ll need to download MSI’s EZ Display software, which is simple to use but a little rough around the edges. You can set it to use one background by enabling the “repeat” button, or you can have it alternate between the images and videos you have loaded in the software.

My biggest complaint here is that you can’t disable or remove the preset images, which means they’ll be included in the rotation of images displayed unless you’ve set the AIO to show only one image or video by selecting the “repeat” button.

▶️ RAM Clearance

As with most liquid coolers, the design of thisAIO is such that the CPU block doesn’t overhang or interfere with the DIMM slots in any manner, ensuring that all sizes of RAM, no matter how tall, are compatible.

▶️ 120mm fans

There’s more to a cooler than just the radiator and pump. The included fans have a direct impact on aesthetics, noise levels, and overall thermal performance. Conveniently, the trio of fans here arrive pre-installed, saving a few moments during installation. They also feature a daisy-chaining quick-connect system, designed to eliminate cable clutter.

▶️ Packaging

The outer packaging is a bit flashy, at least, in comparison to your normal AIO box. It features a rendering of the cooler against a background of black, blue, purple, and pink.

The inner packaging is typical of most liquid coolers, with molded foam, cardboard, and plastic coverings protecting the contents during shipping.

Included with the package are:

• Mounting hardware for AMD and Intel platforms
• Aesthetic cover for mounting hardware
• A small tube of thermal paste
• 360mm radiator and pre-installed 120mm fans
• 2.1-inch display

▶️ AM5 Installation

This section assumes you’ve already mounted the 360mm radiator. Installation of AIOs is much easier when you have already secured the radiator to your case.

To begin putting things together, you’ll first need to remove the default AM4/5 retention.

The next step is to screw in the mounting studs, followed by an application of thermal paste to the CPU. If you’re not sure how to do that, we have a handy thermal paste application guide that covers the different methods you can use.

After thermal paste is applied, take the CPU block and press it against the studs, using the included screws and a screwdriver to secure it in place.

There are two final steps. First, place the aesthetic cover on the CPU block. Then attach the USB, PWM, and ARGB connections to their corresponding motherboard headers.

Real-world testing configuration – AMD AM5 platform

We’ve tested coolers with both the Ryzen 9950X3D and its non-V-Cache sibling, the 9950X. There are some differences in how the 9950X and 9950X3D CPUs are impacted by thermal events. While the heat output of the CCDs of AMD’s 9950X3D is relatively balanced, the 9950X I used has one CCD that runs much hotter than the other, with a difference of over 10 degrees Celsius in some scenarios, shown below.

We’ve since returned to using a 9950X3D for cooler testing, as it has a more balanced heat profile, and is almost certainly a more widely adopted CPU. The benchmark results shared in these reviews may differ from others because I emphasize results that are comparable to real-world use. This means I generally test CPU coolers inside of a closed desktop case, which increases cooling difficulty compared to other testing methods.

Many reviewers test on open test benches, which have a combination of lesser airflow needs and lowered ambient temperatures. This results in making weak coolers appear stronger than they really are. Some have also used generic thermal plates to test cooling solutions. I reject both of these methods because they don’t accurately reflect real-world cooler conditions.

Our latest testing setup uses the FLOVA F50 computer case from Tryx.

This case features a unique “crossflow” fan that pulls air from the side, which the company claims is more effective than traditional intake fans. For air cooling tests, we’ve added a single Noctua NF-A12 G2 intake fan.

PBO Performance and maximum noise levels

We’re going to start this review’s benchmark section by focusing on a traditional maximum performance test, with the CPU cooler’s fans allowed to reach their fastest speeds, for the best cooling possible.Turning on PBO allows AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D to stretch its legs to an extent and consume over 260W. Enabling PBO incrteases max power consumption and heat output. We use MSI’s X870E Carbon Wifi motherboard, and often the CPU will reach its TJ Max (peak temperature) of 95 degrees C (203 F) and thermally throttle to some extent with most coolers. When this throttling occurs, I’ve measured the average power consumption to determine performance.

High-end AIO liquid coolers, however, are expected to be able to keep AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D under TJ Max during the duration of the benchmark – in these cases, we compare the CPU’s actual temperature.

Today’s review is a bit unique, in that we have the results from a prototype and final version of the AIO being reviewed today – giving us some insight into how these products evolve during the design and manufacturing process.

Both the prototype and retail versions of MSI’s MPG Coreliquid P22 360 handle this test with ease, with an average temperature of 84.7C (184.5F) – one of the best results we’ve seen on this test bench.

Some coolers perform well in maximum-strength tests, but run loudly at full speeds. Noisy fans in this scenario aren’t necessarily a bad thing; some folks prefer to hear them as a way to be aware when the CPU is getting hot.

One issue I raised when I tested the prototype of this AIO was that it ran louder than it needed to. 48.9 dBA is pointlessly loud for most users. MSI took that feedback to heart, and the fans included with MSI MPG Coreliquid P22 360 reach 44.9 dBA at 100% RPM, a moderate volume level that is much quieter than the maximum noise levels of competitor liquid coolers. Those who prefer to implement speed restrictions for silent operation need not worry; our noise-normalized benchmarks show good performance even when the fans are set to run quietly.

200W thermal benchmarks

For the next thermal test, I leave the motherboard settings at their defaults, which results in a power limit of 200W when running Cinebench R23.

In this test, with a standard power limit enabled, MSI’s Coreliquid P22 performs in the middle of the results we have from other liquid coolers – 1.2 degrees C behind our best result, and 3.6 C cooler than the worst result from another AIO.

150W + GPU thermal results, noise levels

Our next test runs Cinebench on the CPU with a 150W power limit, while also running Furmark on MSI’s RTX 4070 Ti Super Ventus 3x OC. This causes the GPU to consume ~295W of power. This test is designed to emulate the thermals of games, which stress the CPU and GPU.

In this test, designed to emulate the thermal conditions of a CPU-intensive AAA game, MSI’s P22 continues to deliver outstanding performance – the result of 37.1 C over ambient (59.1 C actual temperature) is our third-best result, and an improvement of one degree compared to the prototype of this AIO.

Noise-normalized testing

Most testing is performed with the cooler tied to the default fan curve of our MSI X870E Carbon motherboard, but some of y’all prefer to see tests when the noise levels of coolers are equalized. This is especially important to those of you who prefer silent computers. This next test has the CPU cooler noise-normalized to 38.9 dBA, with PBO enabled for the Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU. Most coolers will not be able to keep the CPU from reaching its peak temperature (TJ Max) in this stress test. So we’ll look at this in terms of average CPU power consumption, which averaged 255.8 watts.

This test is especially difficult, because in addition to the reduced noise from the CPU cooler, our current test bench’s system fans are configured to run extremely silently, below the floor of the noise meter I use to measure dBA.

While I prefer to look at the power consumption in a scenario where the CPU reaches TJ Max (the processor’s peak temperature), I’ve also included the average CPU temperature in the chart below.

Karhu DDR5 RAM thermals testing

Your CPU cooler does not operate in isolation. It has an impact on not just your CPU’s temperatures, but also the other components in your build, like your RAM and GPU. To that end, I’ve run the Karhu RAM stress test. This places a load of ~153W on the CPU and ensures system RAM (DDR5 in my case) is fully stable. In this type of scenario, most AIOs tend to produce worse results than air coolers.

DDR5 temperatures were excellent in this test, on par with ASRock’s Steel Legend, which features an integrated VRM fan. The only result showing better performance is from Silverstone’s IceMyst Pro, with fans that directly cool system DIMMs.

Conclusion

MSI is back in the AIO game with the MPG Coreliquid P22 360. This AIO has a relatively low price tag while featuring a 2.1-inch IPS display, excellent thermal performance, and low noise levels in common scenarios. It’s a solid choice if you’re after a cooler with a round display that cools well. Just note that if you can live without a display, there are excellent options that cost quite a bit less, like Arctic’s Liquid Freezer III Pro, which sometimes sells for less than $85.

Frore Systems is showing off its LiquidJet Nexus at Computex 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan. The LiquidJet Nexus is a monolithic water block with innovative coldplates, designed to cool two Blackwell GPUs and a Grace CPU, that can replace the complex water block used today. Based on tests conducted by an ODM, the LiquidJet Nexus outperforms the default cooling solution used today and reduces GPU temperatures by around 6ºC, which increases token generation by 10%. Frore intends to build LiquidJet Nexus for Nvidia’s Rubin platforms and is ready to produce them for other accelerators, too.

Earlier this year, Frore introduced its LiquidJet, a coldplate for AI accelerators, tailor-made for exact models of processors using tools originally meant to make semiconductors, in a bid to maximize cooling performance. The LiquidJet Nexus water block builds upon these principles, integrating them into a monolithic unit designed to cool down both GPUs and a CPU inside a server tray. For now, Frore is demonstrating LiquidJet Nexus for Nvidia’s Grace Blackwell superchip, though a version compatible with Vera Rubin is also incoming, we're told.

Frore’s LiquidJet coldplates are made using tools designed to produce semiconductors — using etching and bonding steps — and are architected in accordance with actual thermal maps of CPUs and GPUs they are meant to cool. As a result, they remove heat precisely from hotspots of these processors, and therefore enable better cooling performance than coldplates made using traditional milling methods. Based on tests conducted by a major ODM, Frore’s LiquidJet Nexus reduces the temperature of Blackwell GPUs by 6ºC compared to default cooling solutions, which in turn increases their token generation by 10%.

While a 6ºC temperature drop and a 10% performance improvement may sound humble, these performance improvements impact billion-dollar deployments, where such improvements could mean hundreds of millions in savings. Also, since Frore’s Liquid Jet Nexus is monolithic, it is less prone to leakage. This means less downtime and fewer damaged servers, which means more profits and fewer losses for their owners. Again, since we are talking about billion-dollar deployments, there are significant amounts of money at stake when it comes to cooling and efficiency.

Frore says it is working with the majority of hyperscalers to build LiquidJet-based cooling solutions for their custom hardware. Since LiquidJet is designed to remove 400W – 600W of thermal energy per square centimeter, it can cool down very hot components. Furthermore, since these components tend to scale horizontally, it is not a problem to scale LiquidJet’s performance by increasing its dimensions.

In addition to being more performant and potentially significantly more reliable than existing liquid-cooling solutions for Nvidia Blackwell, Frore’s LiquidJet Nexus also weighs 65% less than rivals and is twice as thin (17 mm vs 34 mm), according to Frore.

While this may not be a significant advantage today (unless you ship your servers by plane), this will be a dramatic advantage for Nvidia’s next-generation Kyber chassis that places servers on their edge rather than horizontally, which will make the importance of LiquidJet Nexus’s weight a bigger factor, as the cooler must adhere to the cooling surface of the integrated heat spreader thoroughly. Meanwhile, it is hard to adhere a massive cooler to a vertically standing motherboard, so one with a lower weight should be easier to attach to the motherboard and chassis without worrying about longer-term deformations.

Speaking of Nvidia’s Kyber chassis, it is worth noting that they are designed for the Vera Rubin Ultra platform, which ups the TDP of GPUs all the way to around 3kW per unit, making its cooling a challenge. Meanwhile, Rubin Ultra GPU scales horizontally by employing a quad-chiplet design, so Frore can address its TDP by reinventing its coldplate, which is easy assuming the company is provided a thermal map of the unit. The same method can be applied to other processors, which is why Frore is indeed working with hyperscalers with custom silicon, in addition to other merchant silicon providers, aside from Nvidia.

Noctua originally announced and showed off its first liquid cooler last year, promising to bring the same performance and aesthetics of its iconic air coolers to AIOs. Today at Computex 2026, the company has officially unveiled the NL-LC1, putting a name on the lineup that features 240mm, 360mm, and 420mm variants. The NL-LC1 will hit store shelves two weeks later, on June 16, starting at 220 Euros (around $250).

This AIO was originally intended to launch in Q1 2026 but was delayed to Q2 late last year. Hence, we already know most of the details about this product, including the available sizes, mounting, pump solution, fan setup, and more. Most importantly, the NL-LC1 uses Asetek's Emma V2 platform for its pump rather than an in-house solution, but Noctua has developed a custom noise-suppression system around it.

There are three layers of insulation meant to ensure quiet operation, and an integrated mass damper called the "NL-PNA1" (Pump Noise Absorber) to reduce vibrations. Noctua is not only limiting the amount of noise but also ensuring the pitch isn't annoying, even for what little you might be able to hear. The company's own charts show a notable difference with and without the top cover that provides this soundproofing.

The cooler comes with Noctua's legendary NF-A12x25 G2 (120mm) fans for the 240mm and 360mm models, while the 420mm features the NF-A14x25 G2 (140mm) fans instead. Similar to Silverstone's IceMyst Pro coolers we reviewed a couple of months ago, there's also an option for an additional auxiliary fan that can channel airflow to motherboard VRMs, RAM, or M.2 SSDs. It's called the "NL-ACF1" and costs 20 EUR ($23).

Noctua has equipped the NL-LC1 with its SecuFirm2+ mounting system, which supports all current-gen and recent CPUs on the market — AM4, AM5, LGA 1700, and LGA 1851. If you're already using a brown and beige air cooler, it should be a simple swap for you without needing to replace the mounting bracket. Lastly, there are three pump profiles corresponding to different fan speeds and noise levels.

By default, the pump runs at a minimum of 750 RPM, but it can be dialed up to 3,400 RPM manually, using the "Manual" profile. The "Quiet" profile limits the speed to 2,100 RPM, while the "Balanced" profile lets it reach 2,600 RPM. The moment the liquid temperature exceeds 30°C, the Balanced profile will dynamically increase the pump speed up to 3,400 RPM at 45°C to maintain a balance between cooling and noise.

Available from June 16, the NL-CL1 will cost 220 EUR for the 240mm version, 250 EUR for the 360mm version, and 280 EUR for the top-end 420mm version. Converted to USD, that's a ~$250 starting point. Today, you can get high-quality Thermalright AIOs for $50, and spending a bit more will get you their fancy LCD options, too. The 420mm variant comes out to $325 — Arctic's Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 costs around $100, and we gave it a positive review earlier this year.

Even if reviews paint the NL-LC1 in a glowing light, that pricing is a tough pill to swallow for anyone but hardcore Noctua fans. Moreover, it's important to mention that this is different from the pumpless AIO that the company has been showing off. That's still in the prototype stage and not intended for mainstream markets, though the company did say that in the "Quiet" profile, the NL-LC1 is beaten by the pumpless model.

Chinese PC hardware manufacturer Tryx gained popularity back in 2024 when it launched its first all-in-one liquid cooler featuring a unique panoramic curved OLED display. The company is now preparing a new model called the Tryx Holo that appears to take things a step further by integrating a holographic-style effect display built right into the pump block.

According to the official product listing on its Chinese website, the upcoming AIO cooler features a special system that creates a virtual image with physical depth similar to a hologram. Instead of using a display and mirrors, the holographic effect is achieved using professional-grade beam splitters that are said to improve image visibility, brightness, and contrast while also eliminating the electronic layering effect commonly associated with conventional LCD screens. The pump block also has an adjustable hinge that supports 60-degree angle adjustments to ensure the optimal viewing angle.

Notably, the projected holographic image will have a limited resolution of 640 × 480. Users will be able to configure the holographic display using the Kanali software, with options to showcase system statistics alongside personalized content in JPG, MP4, and GIF formats. Additionally, the software will offer a regularly updated built-in GIF library powered by Giphy, while an audio linkage feature for video playback is also listed as part of a future OTA update.

The Tryx Holo will be using the latest pump solution from Asetek, capable of dissipating heat up to 280W with an operating rate of 800 to 2800 RPM. The AIO also comes with three 120mm FOBR fans with ARGB lighting and a single frame solution to reduce cable clutter. These new fans feature SLF (Silent-Lubricating-Fluid) bearing technology that is claimed to reduce high-frequency shaft noise and extend the mechanical lifespan of the fan compared to ordinary hydraulic bearings, achieving an MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) life of 50,000 hours. As for CPU compatibility, the Tryx Holo will support Intel LGA1851, 1700, 1200, and 115X sockets as well as AMD AM4 and AM5.

Currently, the AIO liquid cooler is listed as a 360mm option, with 240mm and 280mm options expected to launch at a later period. Pricing and availability are yet to be confirmed; more details may follow at Computex 2026 next week.

Peltier liquid cooling has always been exotic and niche, but only CPU coolers have adopted the technology, leading to the question of whether or not GPUs can benefit from this cooling solution as well. TrashBench on YouTube answered that question in a recent video, putting an RTX 4060 and RTX 3070 to the test using a homemade Peltier liquid cooling system using AIOs, a custom loop, and homemade DC controllers. Sadly, testing revealed that despite having thermoelectric properties, the results were underwhelming.

For the uninitiated, Peltier liquid cooling takes advantage of the thermoelectric effect to achieve sub-ambient temperatures. A semiconducting material is attached to a liquid cooling system and an electric power source. Electricity cools one side of the semiconducting material but generates heat on the other side. In practice, liquid coolers with this tech rely on the semiconducting material to cool the chip, while the liquid cooling portion is largely focused on removing heat from the semiconducting material itself.

TrashBench's homemade Peltier cooling solution was comprised of a complex arrangement of controllers, radiators, tubing, and even AIO liquid coolers. Two Arctic 360mm AIOs were used to cool the Peltier units alone, and two homemade DC controllers were attached to the Peltier units to regulate power. Waterblocks were attached to the other side of the Peltier units to cool the liquid coming from the GPU waterblock. Both Peltier coolers together consumed 360 watts of power.

To start, TrashBench benchmarked an RTX 4060 with the Peltier coolers active to get a baseline, achieving 38 °C on the GPU core, and 24 °C liquid temperature with 23 °C ambient air. With the twin Peltier coolers active, the RTX 4060's GPU temperature dropped by 10 °C to 28 °C, and liquid temperatures dropped by 10 °C as well, down to 14 °C after 20 minutes of load in 3DMark Time Spy. These temperatures were taken after the Peltier coolers were given 20 minutes to cool the loop before activating a GPU stress test.

The YouTuber also ran a "warm start" in which the Peltier coolers were turned off, then back on, to see whether the loop could cool itself back to the same temperatures. Temperatures were slightly warmer with this method, achieving 32 °C on the GPU core and 18 °C liquid temperatures after 20 minutes running 3DMark TimeSpy. Regardless, both tests saw the GPU achieve sub-ambient temperatures.

Next, the YouTuber tested a more power-hungry RTX 3070 to see if his homemade Peltier cooling solution could handle the higher thermal output. Baseline results for the RTX 3070 test saw the GPU reaching 40 °C on the core and 29 °C liquid temperatures. With the Peltier coolers engaged, the RTX 3070's GPU core reached 33 °C and the liquid temperature 21 °C after 20 minutes in 3DMark Time Spy.

TrashBench's testing reveals that Peltier liquid cooling is not worth it, despite its potential to achieve sub-ambient cooling. The YouTuber's testing demonstrates the Achilles heel of Peltier cooling solutions: extreme power inefficiency. To achieve effective cooling, the cooler alone has to consume almost as much power as the chip it is cooling. The cherry on top is that the liquid cooler responsible for cooling the Peltier material has to dissipate that same amount of wattage as well for the system to be effective.

This is why Peltier coolers have not received much attention. The last cooler we reviewed with this technology was the Cooler Master ML360 Sub Zero, which we rated three stars, criticizing its cooling performance and power consumption. The cooler achieved inferior multi-core performance to regular AIOs while consuming nearly 200 watts on its own.

Introduction to Silverstone IceMyst Pro 360 Pro

SilverStone has been busy churning out coolers, power supplies, expansion cards, and other PC equipment since its founding in 2003. The company is perhaps best known for its computer cases, like the retro-inspired PC FLP02.

A few years ago we tested the company’s unique IceMyst 360 AIO with Intel’s Core i7-13700K. Since then, the bar for AIOs has been raised – we’ve seen improvements in affordability and performance of high end AIOs, with the best liquid coolers becoming stronger and more competitive every year.

Today we’re looking at Silverstone’s IceMyst 360 Pro, which, like its predecessor, features the ability to add multiple VRM fans to provide direct cooling to specific motherboard components. This feature will be appreciated best by those who overclock their RAM, as DDR5 is more sensitive to temperature than older DDR4.

Will this liquid cooler make our list of the best CPU coolers? You betcha! But let's take a look at the specifications and features of the cooler, then we’ll go over thermal and noise benchmarks so you can decide if this is the right AIO for your next build.

Cooler specifications

Features of the IceMyst Pro 360 AIO liquid cooler

● Packaging

The outside of the box is brown and blue, highlighting the cooler’s image on the top. As with most AIOs, the inner contents are protected with molded carboard and plastic coverings.

Included with the AIO are the following parts:

● 120mm fans

There’s more to an AIO than just the liquid pump and radiator. The fans included have a direct impact on noise levels and cooling performance. Silverstone includes three model CC12025H12S fans, which are 120mm in size and feature nine fan blades.

To simplify cable management, these fans feature a quick-connect that integrates ARGB and PWM into a single cable.

● 360mm radiator and liquid pump

The radiator is that it includes an accessible refill port, which will come in useful if you ever need to refill the liquid coolant after the unit’s three-year warranty.

This “Pro” version of the IceMyst 360 features a new pump with a three-phase, six-pole motor. Silverstone claims that this pump delivers twice the flow rate of its previous products.

● A small tube of thermal paste

● Hardware ARGB Control Box

Included with the AIO is a hardware ARGB controller that lets you control and power the lighting without needing an available motherboard connection.

● Mounting for modern AMD and Intel platforms, and even ThreadRipper Pro!

Like most other liquid coolers, the Silverstone IceMyst Pro 360 supports modern AMD and Intel consumer platforms. It includes a very large copper CPU contact plate, because the cooler also includes mounting hardware for Threadripper Pro systems.

● The killer feature: (Optional) IMF70 VRM/DDR5 fans

The feature that sets the IceMyst Pro 360 Pro apart from competitors is the ability to mount mulitple IMF70 fans on top of the CPU block.

You can install as many or few fans as your case will fit, and you can move the fans to cover different spots on your motherboard as appropriate. For the purposes of this review, we’ve tested the AIO in multiple fan configurations above our TeamGroup T-Force Xtreem DDR5-7200 RAM. And we’ve run the ultimate RAM stress test, Karhu, to benchmark thermals and determine how effective these fans are.

● AM4/AM5 Installation

The installation of this liquid cooler is simple, but it doesn’t come with the fans pre-installed. So first you’ll want to secure the fans to the radiator, and then mount the radiator to your computer’s case.

Next, you’ll remove the default AM4/AM5 mechanism, and then place studs on the mounting holes.

It’s time to apply the included thermal paste now. If you’re not sure how to do that, we have a handy thermal past guide. Once the paste is applied, simply place the pump block on top of the CPU and secure it with the included parts.

With that step completed, you have the option to install an optional IMF70 VRM/DDR5 fan.

The last step is to connect the PWM and ARGB headers and power on your system.

Real-world testing configuration – AMD AM5 platform

The 9950X3D setup that we were testing coolers with last year has suffered an early death, likely caused by electrically defective equipment. While we were waiting for the CPU to be replaced, we tested coolers with AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X instead and observed some interesting findings.

There are some differences in how the 9950X and 9950X3D CPUs are impacted by thermal events – while the heat output of the CCDs of AMD’s 9950X3D are relatively balanced, the 9950X I use has one CCD that runs much hotter than the other, with a difference of over 10 degrees Celsius in some scenarios, shown below.

The benchmark results shared in these reviews may differ from others because I place an emphasis on having results that are comparable to real-world use.

This means that I generally test CPU coolers inside of a closed desktop case, which increases cooling difficulty compared to other testing method. Many will test CPU coolers outside of a case, on an open test bench. Open benches have lowered ambient temperatures, which in turn makes weak coolers appear stronger than they really are. Some publications have used generic thermal plates to test cooling solutions. I reject both of these methods because they don’t accurately reflect the real-world PC cooler conditions.

Our latest testing setup uses the FLOVA F50 computer case from Tryx.

This case features a unique “crossflow” fan that pulls air from the side, which the company claims is more effective than traditional intake fans.

PBO Performance

We’re going to start our benchmarks section by focusing on traditional thermal tests, and at the end, we’ll cover DDR5 thermal tests with Silverstone’s IMF70 VRM fans.

While some of y’all prefer to run coolers at low noise levels, I know a lot of you just want maximum performance. This first test lets the fans run at their max speeds, to test the full potential of the AIO’s cooling capabilities.

Turning on PBO allows AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D to stretch its legs to an extent. With the Ryzen 9 9950X (non-3D), the CPU will guzzle as much power as possible and hit TJMax no matter what cooler is paired with. However, at least with MSI’s X870E Carbon Wifi motherboard, power consumption averages ~250W with peaks of up to ~265W.

The result shown here of only 84.9 degrees C is one of the best on the market, providing cooler temperatures than the vast majority of competing liquid coolers. There have only been four AIOs I’ve tested capable of such thermal excellence. When I first tested Sudokoo’s Proteus 360 on our last 9950X3D setup and encountered similar thermal performance, I was first worried that there was something wrong with my system, because I had a hard time believing my own results!

I’ve included those results below, but keep in mind we’re using a different case for testing now – so thermals aren’t 100% comparable.

200W thermal benchmarks

For the next thermal test, I leave motherboard settings at their defaults, which results in a power limit of 200W when running Cinebench R23. CPU temperatures averaged 68.4 degrees Celsius, which is again one of the strongest results from any liquid cooler I’ve tested.

150W + GPU thermal results

Our next test runs Cinebench on the CPU with a 150W power limit, while also running Furmark on MSI’s RTX 4070 Ti Super Ventus 3x OC, which causes the GPU to consume ~295W. This test is designed to emulate the thermals of games, which primarily stress the CPU and GPU (but do not stress RAM).

With a CPU temperature of only 58.6 C, Silverstone’s IceMyst Pro 360 continues to demonstrate industry-leading thermal performance. I’ve included the results of this same test on our last 9950X3D testing system below, but please keep in mind they are not 100% comparable, as we’re using a different computer case.

Noise levels

To give you an idea of much noise this cooler creates when running, we’ve measured noise levels at full speed and in a scenario emulating high-intensity gaming.

Looking at this from a dBA perspective alone, you would think that the IceMyst Pro runs very loudly – but this chart doesn’t account for factors like the pitch of the fan noise. And regardless, it runs very effectively even when set to low noise levels, as you’ll see in the next section featuring noise-normalized tests.

In a scenario that emulates the thermal load of a high-intensity game, the noise level only reaches 38.9 dBA (when tied to my motherboard’s default fan curve). This is relatively quiet, and means that in most scenarios the cooler will run whisper-quiet.

Noise-normalized testing

Most testing is performed with the cooler tied to the default fan curve of my MSI X870E Carbon motherboard, but some of y’all prefer to see tests when the noise levels of coolers are equalized. This is especially important to those of you who prefer silent computers.

This next test has the CPU cooler noise-normalized to 38.9 dBA, with PBO enabled for the Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU.

With a result of only 85C, Silverstone’s IceMyst Pro shows some of the strongest thermal performance possible – despite the fans running at low noise levels. What’s more is that there’s only a 0.1C increase compared to our full speed results, which means there’s no point in letting the cooler run loudly – at least with a consumer CPU. The IceMyst Pro features support for hotter, more powerful Threadripper Pro CPUs – which would likely benefit from the fans working harder.

Karhu DDR5 RAM thermals testing

One of the principles I’ve tried to explain in my reviews is that your CPU cooler does not operate in isolation. It has an impact on not just your CPU’s temperatures, but other components in your build as well, like your RAM and GPU. The optional Silverstone IMF70 fans, which cost about $25 each and can be added to this cooler, are designed to help cool your RAM and VRMs, ideal for users who prefer to overclock their memory to the fastest possible speeds.

To that end, I’ve run the Karhu RAM stress test. This places a load of ~153W on the CPU and ensures system RAM (DDR5 in my case) is fully stable.

In this type of scenario, most AIOs tend to produce poorer results than air coolers. Adding a single fan drops DDR5 temperatures by 9 degrees Celsius, which can significantly improve stability while overclocking. Using more than one fan doesn’t seem to make much of a difference, with temperatures dropping by only 0.1C.

But that’s not all – I’ve also tested Karhu while also running Furmark. This should be similar to a high-intensity gaming scenario that stresses the GPU and RAM, such as e-sports titles.

When you add the heat of a GPU to the mix, air coolers seem to lose the advantages shown in the previous chart. Adding the IMF70 VRM fans drops temperatures almost 9 degrees C here, which is important if you’re considering DDR5 overclocking.

Conclusion

Silverstone’s IceMyst Pro 360 is one of the strongest thermal solutions available for consumer CPUs – and it supports professional processor in the form of Threadripper Pro. It runs very quietly in normal scenarios and has excellent noise-normalized performance.

The optional IMF70 fans provide excellent cooling for VRMs or DDR5 RAM, dropping temperatures by 9 degrees C (21 degrees Fahrenheit) – a capability not offered by most competitors. Just note that you’ll need to pay extra for those IMF70 fans. They’re currently for sale at Amazon for $25 each, and that’s on top of the $189 cost of the cooler itself.

We’re looking at an eye-catching AIO like none other today, sent to us by a relatively new player in the cooling game: Tryx. While the company only started in February 2023, its team of cooling experts has years of experience. We’ve previously reviewed the Panorama lineup of AIOs, finding them to be extremely strong in thermal performance.

Today we’re testing one of the company’s most recent AIOs, the Stage 360 ARGB. Like previous Tryx AIOs, it features a large screen. Technically, it’s two large screens, with a mirror base. This makes for some quite interesting customization options.

Will the Stage 360 ARGB make our list of the best CPU coolers? Let's take a look at the specifications and features of the cooler, then we’ll go over thermal and noise benchmarks so you can decide if this is the right AIO for your next build.

Cooler specifications

Features of the Tryx Stage 360 AIO liquid cooler

● Packaging

While Tryx’s packaging isn’t hugely different from others, it tends to be a bit more eye-catching, just like its coolers. When you open the box, you’ll find a yellow-green cover that highlights the CPU block.

The inner contents are protected by molded foam and plastic coverings.

● Rota SL ARGB 120mm fans

Tryx includes three Rota SL ARGB 120mm fans, which are pre-installed on the radiator for your convenience. This is an extra step I appreciate for two reasons: It saves the system builder a few minutes, and it cuts down on unnecessary packaging waste.

These fans have seven blades, and are rated for up to 65.6 CFM (airflow) and 2.5 mmAq (air pressure).

The fans connect to each other via metal pins, eliminating cable management clutter. One combined ARGB and PWM cable connects at the end.

If you look closer at the connection, you’ll see it isn’t marked – and you might wonder which way to attach the cord. Well, it connects to the fans magnetically and it’s polarized. So if you try to attach it the “wrong” way, it will be magnetically repulsed and won’t attach.

Included with the AIO are the following parts:

• 360mm radiator with three Rota SL ARGB 120mm fans pre-installed
• Dual-screen 4-inch IPS displays

• Mounting for modern AMD and Intel platforms
• Pre-applied thermal paste
• Cable management velcro ties

• Pre-installed and extra α-01 thermal paste

● AM4/AM5 Installation

The installation of this liquid cooler is very simple. First, you’ll remove the default AM4/AM5 mechanism, and then place the plastic studs on top of the holes of the mounting bracket.

Next, you screw in the metal standoffs.

Tryx includes pre-applied thermal paste on the CPU coldplate, so you don’t need to worry about thermal paste application on the initial installation.

Place the pump and CPU block on top of your AMD Ryzen CPU, and then secure it with the included screws.

The CPU block itself is very simple and thin, without any bling. I think this is what most AIO CPU blocks should look like, assuming they don’t include something fancy like a giant screen (or two).

Speaking of screens, the last step is to place the display section on top of the CPU block.

You can optionally secure it using the knob highlighted below in blue, but it isn’t strictly necessary.

The last step is to connect the screen’s USB header and SATA power connection, and connect the PWM and ARGB connections. Power on your computer, and the hardware installation is complete – but you’ll need to install Tryx’ Kanali software if you wish to customize the display.

● The killer feature: Dual IPS screens with a mirror below

Unless you’re blind, you can easily see what the standout feature of the Tryx Stage 360 is: the included cube-shaped screen. It features dual four-inch IPS displays, each with a 720x720 resolution (1440x720 combined resolution), and a mirror on the bottom. The mirror has two sides – one with a mirror to show reflections, the other side is solid – and you can flip it over to customize the look as you please.

To control and customize the screen, you’ll need to download the Tryx Kanali software. Before I delve into the features of this software, let’s start with my singular complaint about it : the installation process.

As shown above, Tryx asks you to accept a user agreement and a privacy policy. I don’t know about you, but this seems ridiculous to me. Why does software that only serves to control a display need a privacy policy and an extensive EULA?

Worse yet, when I attempted to view the text of these “agreements”, Tryx’s web server kept timing out (as shown in the screenshot above), which means I wasn’t able to see what I was “agreeing” to. That alone might invalidate it in courts, but I’m no lawyer.

With that out of the way, let's look at the features included with the Kanali software. Currently, there are only four presets available. This will likely be updated with more n the future. When I first tested the Tryx Panorama AIO, it only included a few presets at launch. One year later when I tested the Tryx Panorama SE AIO, the number of preset options had greatly expanded.

What I really like about the Kanali software is the ability to easily record custom videos from your computer to use with the AIO’s display. To do this, you’ll click the “customization” button on the main screen (shown below).

A new screen will pop up afterwards, allowing you to control the recording. I loaded up a song from YouTube and recorded it. Once the recording is complete, it will save to a file.

You’ll then need to manually upload it using the “customization” tab.

Real-world testing configuration, AMD AM5 platform

The 9950X3D setup that we were testing coolers with last year has suffered an early death, likely caused by electrically defective equipment. While we were waiting for the CPU to be replaced, we tested coolers with AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X instead and observed some interesting findings.

There are some differences in how the 9950X and 9950X3D CPUs are impacted by thermal events – while the heat output of the CCDs of AMD’s 9950X3D are relatively balanced, the 9950X I’m used has one CCD that runs much hotter than the other, with a difference of over 10 degrees Celsius in some scenarios, shown below.

The benchmark results shared in these reviews may differ from others because I place an emphasis on having results that are comparable to real-world use.

This means that I generally test CPU coolers inside of a closed desktop case, which increases cooling difficulty compared to other testing methods - many will test CPU coolers outside of a case, on an open test bench. Open benches have lowered ambient temperatures, which in turn makes weak coolers appear stronger than they really are. Some publications have used generic thermal plates to test cooling solutions. I reject both of these methods because they don’t accurately reflect the real-world PC cooler conditions.

Our latest testing setup uses the FLOVA F50 PC case, also from Tryx.

This case isn’t just stylish and classy; it features a unique “crossflow” fan that pulls air from the side, which the company claims is more effective than traditional intake fans.

PBO Performance

While some of y’all prefer to run coolers at low noise levels, I know a lot of you just want maximum performance. This test lets the fans run at their full speeds, to test the full potential of the AIOs cooling capabilities. Turning on PBO allows AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D to stretch its legs to an extent. With the Ryzen 9 9950X (non-3D), the CPU will guzzle as much power as possible and hit TJMax no matter what cooler is paired with. However, at least with MSI’s X870E Carbon Wifi motherboard, power consumption averages ~250W with peaks of up to ~265W.

At first glance, the result of 89.4 degrees Celsius might seem poor – but you need to keep in mind that all four of the AIOs shown here are among the best performers on the market. While the temperature shown here is higher than the competitors I tested it against, it is strong enough to keep the CPU under its maximum temperature for the duration of testing – a feat which many weaker liquid coolers are incapable of passing.

200W thermal benchmarks

For the next thermal test, I leave motherboard settings at their defaults, resulting in a power limit of 200W when running Cinebench R23. CPU temperatures averaged 73 degrees Celsius, which again shows very good thermal performance.

150W + GPU thermal results

Our next test runs Cinebench on the CPU with a 150W power limit, while also running Furmark on MSI’s RTX 4070 Ti Super Ventus 3x OC, which causes the GPU to consume ~295W.

Noise-normalized testing

Most testing is performed with the cooler tied to the default fan curve of my MSI X870E Carbon motherboard, but some of you prefer to see tests when the noise levels of coolers are equalized. This is especially important to those of you who prefer silent computers.

Let’s first look at noise-normalized results with PBO enabled, in terms of CPU temperature.

You’ll notice that the MSI prototype AIO and Silverstone’s IceMyst Pro are rendered in blue, indicating the Ryzen 9 9950X3D stayed under its peak temperature (TJ Max) of 95 degrees Celsius! The Tryx AIO, however, is rendered in red – indicating that the CPU reached its maximum temperature. This means it failed testing, right? Well… yes and no.

When comparing the power consumption levels of Tryx Stage 360 to MSI’s prototype AIO, they’re basically the same measurement, with only 0.2 watts of difference between the two results. That’s a margin-of-error difference, which means performance should also be more or less the same.

Noise levels

In terms of maximum noise levels, the Tryx Stage 360 AIO is about typical for liquid coolers on the market. What this chart can’t show you, however, is the pitch of the fans. The noise frequency of the fans here is pleasant, making the cooler “feel” quieter than the dBA measurement would indicate.

I’ve also measured noise levels with a 150W CPU load. This should be similar to the noise levels you’d experience while running CPU-intensive games – and the result here was simply perfect.

Tryx’s cooler measured 36.4 dBA, which is the lowest measurement my noise meter is capable of reading. This means it’s actually running quieter than this chart would indicate. We’re working on a new solution for measuring noise levels that will allow greater accuracy below 36 dBA, but it isn’t ready yet.

One last thing

One interesting thing about these liquid coolers that have detachable screens is… that they’re detachable. You don’t necessarily need to place them on top of the CPU block; you can place them in another spot in your computer’s case, or even outside of the case, as the cable for the display is approximately 1 meter (3 feet) long. This allows for non-traditional setups that could be more eye-catching than your standard configuration.

Conclusion

The Tryx Stage 360 liquid cooler is a premium AIO with a unique display, and its software is designed well, allowing you to easily customize the screens’ looks. Noise levels in common scenarios are whisper-quiet, making it ideal for the most sound-sensitive of users. This is a great AIO for users who aren’t sensitive to budget constraints and want the best-looking, quietest-running AIO cooler.

German company be quiet! (henceforth referred to as Be Quiet) is well known in PC builder circles for its coolers and cases, which (as the company’s name implies) focus on low noise levels. The Dark Rock Pro and Elite air coolers performed excellently in our testing, and the Dark Base Pro 901 is personally my favorite PC case.

The Silent Loop 3 420 is the company’s largest AIO, and the latest to land on our test bench. Will it make our list of the best CPU coolers? Let's take a look at the specifications and features of the cooler, and then we’ll go over thermal and noise benchmarks so you can decide if this is the right large AIO for your next build.

Cooler specifications

Packing and included contents

The Silent Loop 3 arrives in a black box, showcasing the product on the front.

Included with the product are the following:

● 420mm radiator

● Three 140mm fans

● Mounting for AMD and Intel platforms

● Thermal Paste

● Extra coolant

● Cable management ties

Features of the Silent Loop 3 420 AIO liquid cooler

▶️ 140mm Silent Wings 4 fans

Three black Silent Wings 4 140mm PWM fans cool the radiator, featuring rated speeds of up to 1900 RPM, 78.4 CFM, and up to 2.36 mm H20 air pressure. As we’ll see in our testing, they deliver solid performance while running at lower noise levels than most competitors on the market.

▶️ Large CPU block suitable for Threadripper

The CPU block included with this AIO is large, and it supports AMD’s TR4 and TR5 Threadripper platforms. The tubes are fully rotatable, as is common with most AIOs.

▶️ Extra coolant

The cooler is DIY and user-repair friendly, with extra coolant and an accessible refill port in case you want to service the AIO after years of use.

▶️ (Optional) ARGB lighting on the CPU block

For those who prefer illumination, ARGB lighting is supported on the CPU block. Of course, if that’s not your thing, you don’t have to plug in the ARGB header. It has a sleek grey and black aesthetic without the lighting enabled.

AMD AM5 installation

1. First, you’ll need to connect the fans to the radiator, then secure the radiator to your PC’s case.

2. Next, remove the default AM5 brackets and place the included rubber standoffs.

3. Take the included mounting bars and place them on top of the standoffs, and then secure them with a screwdriver and the included screws.

4. Apply the included thermal paste to your CPU. If you aren’t sure how to do this properly, please refer to our handy guide on how to apply thermal paste.

5. Press the pump block on top of the CPU, and secure the built-in screws using a screwdriver.

6. Once complete, connect the PWM and ARGB headers to your motherboard, then installation is complete.

Real-world testing configuration – AMD AM5 platform

The 9950X3D setup that we started testing coolers with last year has suffered an unfortunate death. So we’ve begun to test coolers on a system with AMD’s 9950X.

There are some differences in how the 9950X and 9950X3D CPUs are impacted by thermal events – while the heat output of the CCDs of AMD’s 9950X3D are relatively balanced, the 9950X I’m using has one CCD that runs much hotter than the other, with a difference of over 10 degrees Celsius in some scenarios, shown below.

The benchmark results shared in these reviews may differ from others because I place an emphasis on having results that are comparable to real-world use.

This means that I generally test CPU coolers inside of a closed desktop case, which increases cooling difficulty compared to other testing methods - many will test CPU coolers outside of a case, on an open test bench. Open benches have lowered ambient temperatures, which in turn makes weak coolers appear stronger than they really are. Some publications have used generic thermal plates to test cooling solutions. I reject both of these methods because they don’t accurately reflect the real-world PC cooler conditions.

That said, this review bends this rule a little: The MSI Pano 100R PZ case that we use for cooler testing doesn’t technically support 420mm radiators. So I had to place it on top of the case to make it fit. This likely affects thermals and acoustics at least somewhat, but short of re-testing all our coolers in a different case, we didn’t have a better option.

We tested Arctic’s competing Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 in this same way for comparison, while the smaller 360mm coolers were tested in a typical fashion, with the radiator and fans inside the case. If there is heavy interest in large 420mm cooler testing, we will revisit these results in a larger case later this year.

Noise-normalized testing

Most testing is performed with the cooler tied to the default fan curve of my MSI X870E Carbon motherboard, but some of y’all prefer to see tests when the noise levels of coolers are equalized. This is especially important to those of you who prefer silent computers.

We’ll start with the “easiest” of these tests, which runs Cinebench R23 with a “stock” power limit. On our motherboard, this means the CPU will consume ~200W. The results are pretty much within expectations – outperforming all competing 360mm AIOs tested here, but falling a few watts behind Arctic’s Liquid Freezer III Pro 420.

The next test is a bit harder, with PBO enabled to allow the CPU to use as much power as it can handle – it handled an impressive 257W on average.

For the next test, we’ve added the heat of a GPU to the mix – which contributes 295W of thermals into the PC case. The results are similar to our other noise-normalized tests, and Be Quiet maintained its second-place position once again.

Noise levels

We’ve measured noise levels at two points to give you an idea of how the cooler operates when tied to a motherboard’s default fan curve. Our first measurement is when the fans are allowed to run at full speed, delivering the loudest noise levels possible.

In terms of maximum volume, Be Quiet’s Silent Loop 3 420 reaches 45.3 dBA – quieter than most AIOs that we’ve tested.

Our next acoustic measurement is the cooler’s volume when the CPU consumes 150W. This might be similar to your “worst case” gaming scenarios, especially if PBO is enabled. Noise levels are very good here, reaching only 37.3 dBA. This means the cooler runs virtually silent in most common workloads, and will only become audible in stressful scenarios.

PBO Performance – full fan speeds

While some of y’all prefer to run coolers at low noise levels, I know a lot of you just want maximum performance. This test lets the fans run at their full speeds, to test the full potential of the AIOs cooling capabilities. Turning on PBO allows AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X to stretch its legs and guzzle power, pushing the limits of any CPU cooler on the market.

The Silent Loop 3 420 cooled more than 260W in this test, just a few watts behind the best results we’ve recorded – maintaining its overall second-place position.

200W thermal benchmarks and noise levels

For the next thermal test, I leave motherboard settings at their defaults – which results in a power limit of 200W when running Cinebench R23. CPU temperatures averaged 73.7 degrees C, which is rather impressive when you consider that our best result – with Arctic’s Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 – was only 0.1 C cooler.

150W thermal benchmarks and noise levels

For the next thermal test, I’ve set the power limit to 150W.

In this lower-intensity scenario, Be Quiet’s Silent Loop 3 slipped to third place – with an average temperature of only 59.7 C.

100W thermal results

Our next test is the least difficult benchmark featured in this review, with a workload consuming only 100W. As with the previous low-intensity test, Be Quiet’s ranking slipped – this time taking our fourth-place result. However, noise levels were dead silent – quieter than the noise meter we’re using is capable of measuring!

Conclusion

Be Quiet’s Silent Loop 3 420 offers a great combination of strong cooling and quiet performance. In stressful scenarios, it outperforms competing 360mm AIOs on the market – and in low-intensity workloads, it runs whisper-quiet – quieter than our noise meter is capable of measuring. If you’re interested in this AIO, it has an official MSRP of $189.90, but is frequently available for only $139 on Amazon.

Thermalright is well known for delivering some of the best coolers on the market, usually available at extremely competitive prices. So today’s review of a Thermalright AIO featuring a price tag of $260 USD might come as a shock to some of our readers.

What makes this AIO different from the lower-priced, value options we’re accustomed to seeing? Well,it has a large 2400x1800 6.7-inch anamorphic screen with a slightly oversaturated look that makes colors “pop,” a wide variety of preset customization options – and the screen can be detached and mounted elsewhere in (or outside) the case.

Will this unusual option make our list of best CPU coolers? Well, let's just say we might have to make a new category covering curved LCD AIOs in our recommendations list.

Cooler specifications

Packing and included contents

Thermalright’s Wonder Vision 360 is packaged in a reflective, jet-black box.

The inner contents are protected by molded foam, carboard, and plastic coverings.

Included with the product are the following:

• 6.7-inch anamorphic display
• 360mm radiator with pre-installed fans
• Mounting for AMD and Intel platforms
• Thermal Paste

Features of the Thermalright Wonder Vision 360 UBB ARGB Black

▶️ Impressive 6.7-inch curved display

The standout feature of this AIO is the beautiful 6.7-inch display, featuring an ultrawide 2400x1080 resolution with a curve for an anamorphic 3D effect with moving media. The display’s colors seem slightly oversaturated, making them “pop,” or seem more vivid than reality.

▶️ TRCC Software

To control the display, you’ll need to install Thermalright’s TRCC software. There are an insane number of preset visuals to choose from here — over 200 by my count!

And of course, there are multiple ways to display performance metrics, in addition to the visual themes.

▶️ The screen is detachable

The included screen is detachable and doesn’t have to be connected to the cooler in order to function. This means that you can place the screen in any location inside of your PC’s case, or even externally. If the included USB cable that attaches to the motherboard isn’t long enough, you can simply replace the cable with a standard USB cable and connect it to an external USB port.

Still pictures don’t quite do this screen justice. This is a seriously eye-catching display, which makes the ability to mount it wherever you want all the more appealing.

▶️ Fully rotatable tubing, management clips

The AIO’s tubing is fully rotatable in any direction.

Three management clips are included to keep the liquid tubing organized and clean-looking.

▶️ Pre-installed fans

There’s more to a cooler than just the heatsink or radiator. The bundled fans have a significant impact on cooling and noise levels, as well as how the cooler looks in your case.

The fans included with this cooler have a unibody design, with a single cable for ARGB and PWM connections – simplifying cable management.

The blades of the fans are solid black, but there are ARGB strips along the sides of the fans and on the sides of the radiator.

AM5 installation

The installation of this cooler is simple, and assumes the you’ll have secured the radiator to their case before these steps. This guide will go over the installation on AMD systems.

1. Remove the default AM4/AM5 mounting mechanism.

2. Place the rubber standoffs around the screw holes surrounding the CPU.

3. Take the included mounting bars and place them on top of the standoffs, and then secure them with a screwdriver and the included screws.

4. Apply the included Arctic MX-6 thermal paste to your CPU. If you aren’t sure how to do this properly, please refer to our handy guide on how to apply thermal paste.

5. Press the pump block on top of the CPU, and secure the built-in screws using a screwdriver.

6. Once complete, place the 6.7-inch display on top of the CPU block and connect the included cable to a USB header, as well as the AIO’s PWM and ARGB cords.

Real world testing configuration – AMD AM5 platform

The 9950X3D setup we started testing coolers with last year has suffered an unfortunate death. As such, we’ve begun to test coolers on a system with AMD’s 9950X.

There are some differences in how the 9950X and 9950X3D CPUs are impacted by thermal events. While the heat output of the CCDs of AMD’s 9950X3D are relatively balanced, the 9950X I’m using has one CCD that runs much hotter than the other – with a difference of over 10C in some scenarios, shown below.

The benchmark results shared in these reviews may differ from others because I place an emphasis on having results that are comparable to real-world use.

This means that I generally test CPU coolers inside of a closed desktop case, which increases cooling difficulty compared to other testing methods. Some reviewers will test CPU coolers outside of a case, on an open test bench. Open benches have lowered ambient temperatures, which in turn makes weak coolers appear stronger than they really are. Some publications have also used generic thermal plates to test cooling solutions. I reject both of these methods because they don’t accurately reflect the real-world conditions where a CPU cooler is.

Noise-normalized testing

Most testing is performed with the cooler tied to the default fan curve of our MSI x870E Carbon motherboard. But some of y’all prefer to see tests when the noise levels of coolers are equalized. This is especially important to those of you who prefer silent computers.

We’ll start with the “easiest” of these tests, which runs Cinebench R23 with a “stock” power limit. On my motherboard, this means the CPU will consume ~200W. The results here aren’t quite as impressive as we hoped, falling behind other 360mm AIOs.

The next test is a bit harder, with PBO enabled to allow the CPU to use as much power as can be handled – where it handled 237W, on average.

For our last test, we’ve added the heat of a GPU to the mix, which contributes 295W of added thermals into the PC case. This result is similar to our other noise-normalized tests, and isn’t very impressive. However, when tied to a typical fan curve, this AIO performs much better – as you’ll see in the last section.

Noise levels

We’ve measured noise levels at two points to give you an idea of how the cooler operates when tied to a motherboard’s default fan curve. Our first measurement is when the fans are allowed to run at full speeds, the loudest noise levels possible.

In terms of maximum volume, Thermalright’s AIO reaches 47.2 dBA. This is louder than I would prefer, but seems to be about “middle of the road” in comparison to other high-performance liquid cooling systems these days.

Our next acoustic measurement is the cooler’s volume when the CPU consumes 150W. This might be similar to your “worst case” gaming scenarios, especially if PBO is enabled. Noise levels are very good here, reaching only 38.9 dBA. This means the cooler runs quietly in most common use cases, and will only become noisy in high-intensity workloads.

PBO Performance – full fan speeds

While some of you prefer to run coolers at low noise levels, I know many just want to see maximum performance. This test lets the fans run at their full speeds, show the full potential of the AIO’s cooling potential. Turning on PBO allows AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X to stretch its legs and guzzle power, pushing the limits of any CPU cooler on the market.

The Wonder Vision 360 UB cooled 255W in this test, only 3W behind the best results we’ve had from a 360mm AIO thus far.

200W thermal benchmarks and noise levels

For the next thermal test, I leave motherboard settings at their defaults, which results in a power limit of 200W when running Cinebench R23. CPU temperatures here averaged 74.7C, which is rather impressive when you consider that our best result – with Arctic’s Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 – was only 1.1C cooler!

150W thermal benchmarks and noise levels

For the next thermal test, I’ve set the power limit to 150W.

In this lower-intensity scenario, the Wonder Vision 360 UB showed off, delivering the best temperatures we’ve seen on this AMD Ryzen 9 9950X system, reaching an average of only 59.1 degrees Celsius.

100W thermal results

Our next test is the least-difficult featured in our cooling reviews, with a workload consuming only 100W. In this lower-intensity scenario, Thermalright’s Wonder Vision 360 UB again had the best results of the 360mm AIOs we’ve tested on this system, with a temperature averaging a ‘chilly’ 47.6 degrees C.

Conclusion

With the Wonder Vision 360 UB ARGB Black, Thermalright has shown that the company isn’t just an effective competitor for budget cooling – it’s also fully capable of producing high-end, premium products.

This AIO’s price of $205.90 might seem steep at first, until you consider that curved-screen competitors from Tryx and others often have prices closer to $300 or more. The included 6.7-inch ultrawide display is gorgeous, and features hundreds of visual theme options, courteously of Thermalright’s TRCC software. And the ability to use the screen independently of the cooler might appeal to those wanting to customize their PC cases in unique ways.

Walk into any modern AI data center, and you’ll immediately be hit in the face by heat. Even before you’ve set your eyes on the racks, you feel the output of rows upon rows of servers pushing air through increasingly dense racks that were never designed for processors drawing the sheer power needed to run huge AI models. Multiply that across dense training clusters, and the thermal envelope becomes one of today’s greatest engineering constraints.

Now, according to reporting by the South China Morning Post, China is accelerating investments in liquid cooling technology. Dozens of Chinese companies — including Envicool, whose shares have more than tripled over the past year — have announced plans to expand into liquid-cooling systems to prevent AI racks from overheating. With thermal envelopes riding, this isn't a problem unique to Chinese data centers, either.

Since 2022, Beijing has pushed its “Eastern Data, Western Computing” strategy, which shifts data processing toward western provinces with access to renewable energy. According to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the country has already built 42 “10,000-card” intelligent computing clusters, with total capacity exceeding 1,590 exaflops. Those clusters aren’t populated with low-power CPUs but built around high-end AI accelerators that concentrate enormous heat loads into increasingly compact footprints.

Air cooling won’t cut it

As an example, Nvidia’s B200 operates at more than 1,000 watts per processor, and its GB200 NVL72 rack-scale platform, which integrates 72 Blackwell GPUs and 36 Grace CPUs, ships in a liquid-cooled configuration as standard and out of necessity.

As chip thermal design power continues to climb, air cooling faces two limits. First, the volumetric heat capacity of air constrains how much thermal energy can be removed per unit time without driving airflow and energy use to impractical levels. Secondly, high airflow requirements complicate rack density and overall facility design. At multi-kilowatt per rack densities, these air-cooled systems become increasingly inefficient.

Liquid, by contrast, offers orders of magnitude higher heat capacity and thermal conductivity. Direct-to-chip cold plates circulate coolant through sealed loops attached to processors, removing heat at the source. More aggressive approaches, including immersion and spray cooling, place components in direct contact with dielectric fluids. This has created an all-new bill of materials consisting of cold plates, manifolds, leak-detection systems, and cooling distribution units, among other components.

Global suppliers like Vertiv are prominent in this stack, but Chinese firms are racing to localize capabilities. Envicool, whose customers include Nvidia, Alibaba, and Tencent, has become one of the most obvious domestic players, with Goldman Sachs and UBS both raising price targets on its stock, citing demand tied to AI and energy efficiency.

Growing model sizes

China’s tilt towards liquid cooling isn’t driven solely by chip thermals, though. Its national energy and carbon reduction policies impose explicit power usage effectiveness targets on data centers. Power Usage Effeciveness (PUE) is the ratio of total facility energy to IT equipment energy, and becomes harder to optimize as cooling overhead rises. Liquid systems, by reducing fan loads and enabling higher coolant temperatures, can materially improve overall efficiency.

Despite offering renewable energy resources, the country’s western provinces lack the legacy data center infrastructure found in the coastal regions. Building greenfield AI campuses allows operators to design around liquid cooling from the get-go, rather than retrofitting air-cooled facilities. That design freedom will reduce friction in adopting direct-to-chip or immersion cooling architectures at the scale China needs.

Meanwhile, Chinese hyperscalers downstream are piling on the demand pressure. Their model sizes are growing, and their training runs stretch across thousands of accelerators, thereby making thermal reliability a serious performance variable because any temperature gradients across racks can affect clock speeds and error rates.

A new battleground

The narrative around AI hardware has centered on GPUs and memory for years, and now cooling is joining that list. Vendors that can deliver integrated rack-scale solutions that combine accelerators, networking, and liquid thermal management will gain an edge in both deployment speed and operational efficiency.

Vertiv, an Ohio-based data center infrastructure provider, recently reported net sales of about $13.5 billion. It’s also a partner of Nvidia, placing it directly in the path of Blackwell deployments. Chinese counterparts are understood to be pursuing similar alignments within domestic supply chains, particularly as export controls will continue to complicate access to certain U.S. components.

Ultimately, the question is not whether liquid cooling will become the default for AI infrastructure, but how quickly. With Blackwell-class GPUs exceeding 1,000 watts and rack platforms consolidating dozens of these components, air cooling appears increasingly confined to lower-density inference workloads. Even there, analysts expect liquid adoption to rise, albeit at a slower pace than in training clusters.

Returning to China — “10,000-card” clusters pushing 1,590 exaflops will mean that even marginal gains in cooling efficiency via liquid cooling could translate into significant energy savings and better overall stability. China just needs to establish an entire supply chain to achieve it.

Lack of Linux support for internal PC build components, such as RGB lighting and internal LCD screens, is a big headache that Linux users normally have to get around by installing Windows just to install the control software for these devices to make them function. However, a Redditor has decided to fix this problem for his personal Thermalright LCD cooler and has built a full-fledged Linux port of the Thermalright Linux software all by himself. The Redditor's new Linux build of Thermalright's control center software can be found on GitHub.

The software is feature-complete and supports a wide variety of Thermalright coolers, including the Frozen Warframe/SE, Frozen Vision V2/Core Vision/Elite Vision, Frozen Horizon Pro/Magic Pro, LC1/LC2/LC3/LC5 AIO pump heads, AK120, AX120, PA120 Digital, and Wonder Vision CZTV.

This Linux version of the Thermalright app includes all the features necessary to fully utilize Thermalright's supported devices. It comes with a GUI copied from the Windows version "pixel-for-pixel", featuring local themes, and can download extra themes from the cloud. Video and GIF playback is also supported, with options for overlaying hardware information, such as CPU and GPU temperatures, on the screens of supported devices.

The Redditor who created the app has only tested his Linux version on Fedora so far, but states the app technically supports all Linux distros.

Linux's very low consumer population has made it practically invisible to most component manufacturers that build internal PC components that require dedicated software to customize or control. Most of these apps only support Windows and MacOS.

This problem has forced the Linux community to build its own third-party dedicated apps to rectify support issues on Linux. For instance, a well-known RGB application on Linux is OpenRGB, which can interface with lots of RGB devices, including motherboards, RAM, GPUs, fans, mice, and keyboards. With Linux support now present through a third party, Thermalright owners of the aforementioned supported coolers no longer need to have a secondary Windows installation on hand to control their coolers' screens. That said, this Linux version is not an official version supported by Thermalright, so there could be bugs.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have discovered that saturating water with ammonium thiocyanate salt and pressurizing it, and then suddenly releasing the pressure, would allow it to cool by 30 degrees C (54 degrees F) at room temperatures, even going as far as a 50-degree C (122 degrees F) drop in warmer environments. The research paper, published in Nature [PDF], presents this as a greener alternative to current refrigerants, with its theoretical efficiency hitting almost 80% — much higher than conventional refrigerants — making it a great solution for the thermal issues that data centers face.

The researchers compare the system to a wet sponge, with water acting as the sponge and salt acting as the absorbed fluid. When you apply pressure on the sponge (the water), the fluid (the ammonium thiocyanate salt) will be squeezed out and release heat. But when you reduce the pressure, it will quickly reabsorb the solution and reabsorb the heat from its environment, causing a quick temperature drop.

“Cooling systems currently account for nearly 40 percent of a data center’s total electricity consumption,” state media CCTV said. “This finding could provide a more efficient cooling solution for these high-energy-consumption facilities.” The development could reduce the power needed to cool AI chips, especially as we get chips that deliver more performance while requiring higher power. Aside from this, it can also be used in other applications, like HVAC systems.

Although ammonium thiocyanate is a salt, it’s not corrosive to many common metals, meaning you do not have to use special piping to use it for cooling. However, it still faces several challenges. For one, you still need electricity to compress the refrigerant. The salt can also cause burns and irritation, making it more difficult to handle than some compounds. Aside from that, it’s hygroscopic and absorbs moisture, potentially affecting the long-term stability of the solution.

Still, this has the potential to reduce data center electricity consumption — a big problem that many AI tech companies are grappling with right now. Even China, which has ample electricity supply for all the data centers it’s building, is considering this a breakthrough, allowing it to be more cost-efficient and competitive when in the AI race.

Cooler Master, known for producing some of the best CPU coolers on the market, has shared details of its upcoming 360² (360x360mm) AIO liquid cooler at a product launch event in China. According to ITHome, the unnamed cooler has a cooling capacity exceeding 2,000W, which is overkill even for some of the most core-heavy processors on the planet, such as the Intel Xeon, AMD Threadripper, and EPYC series.

The 360² AIO liquid cooler will look familiar to those who attended CES 2026 or saw our coverage of the event. Cooler Master discreetly installed the massive cooler inside the company’s premium Cosmos case. The decision to keep this impressive cooler hidden within the case, rather than featuring it among the company’s main product stack, is puzzling. Regardless of the reason, Cooler Master China has shared details about the extreme cooling solution for high-end workstation and server processors.

The description alone is enough to make you gasp at the cooler’s ambitious design. The concept is straightforward: stack two 360mm radiators to create a massive 360 x 360mm cooling surface with a grid design. It is the largest radiator ever integrated into an AIO liquid cooler, surpassing even today’s 420mm offerings such as the Alphacool Eisbaer Pro Aurora 420 and Corsair iCUE Link Titan 420 RX RGB. If you're a liquid-cooling enthusiast, Cooler Master's radiators will remind you of the German manufacturer Watercool's MO-RA IV series. The difference is that the former comes in an AIO package, whereas the latter is only the radiator and requires a custom loop.

Cooler Master 360² (360 x 360mm) AIO Liquid Cooler Specifications

The large surface area of the Cooler Master 360² cooler should provide exceptional heat dissipation. According to Cooler Master's marketing slide, the entire cooling system flaunts a cooling capacity of over 2,000W. The manufacturer's claim is credible, as larger surface areas improve heat transfer. The 360² radiator has an area of 129,600 mm², which is 43% less than the MO-RA IV. However, it's up to 103% larger than the mainstream 420mm AIO liquid coolers.

Radiator size is only one piece of the cooling performance puzzle. The pump plays an equally critical role. Cooler Master has confirmed that its forthcoming cooler will feature a dual-rotor pump design. Dual-rotor pump configurations have proliferated in modern AIO liquid coolers. They deliver higher flow rates, resulting in superior cooling performance and quieter operation. The trade-off, however, is higher costs, as manufacturers must use two pumps instead of one. The approach still has the primary pump housed within the processor block, while the secondary pump can be mounted along the tubing or integrated into the radiator.

The liquid cooler will utilize four 180mm cooling fans that appear to conform to the 18030 specification. It suggests Cooler Master may be incorporating industrial-grade fans similar to those found in RV furnaces or automotive cooling systems. The company claims these fans deliver up to 600 CFM of airflow, though static pressure is the more important metric for radiator cooling. Cooler Master reports that these fans achieve up to 20% reduction in high-frequency noise compared to conventional designs. Four fans are the standard configuration, but you can add four more for a push-pull setup, for a total of eight, to improve performance; however, it doesn't always deliver significant benefits.

Cooler Master demonstrated the 360² AIO liquid cooler with a 96-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7995WX processor. It's unclear whether the company will support Intel Xeon platforms. Given the cooler's unique radiator design, you'll need a large case with ample space to accommodate it. For now, the Cosmos 700 series, such as the C700P or C700M, has shown to support the cooler.

We've reached out to Cooler Master to inquire about the price of the 360² AIO liquid cooler and when it'll hit the retail market. We'll update the story once the manufacturer responds.

Sama has made a splash this past year, rolling out a number of cooling-related products the company announced at Computex in mid-2025. We covered the A60E air cooler back in August; today’s review will cover Sama’s latest AIO, the L70 AIO.

At first glance, this cooler might not seem different from alternatives on the market, with its standard infinity mirror CPU block and RGB fans like many others have released, but it also sports a rock-bottom price of only $70 USD. And just wait until you see the thermal performance of this newly released AIO; it delivers performance that’s ver competitive with much pricier coolers.

Will this new cooler make our list of the best CPU coolers on the market? Let’s first take a look at its specs, along with what comes in the box. Then you can decide for yourself if it’s worth putting in your next build.

Cooler specifications

Packing and included contents

Sama’s AIO is protected with molded cardboard, soft coverings, and a foam top to keep the cooler protected during shipment.

Included with the product are the following:

• 360mm AIO with pre-installed fans
• Freezee thermal paste
• Mounting for AMD and Intel platforms
• Installation manual
• Pre-installed tube clips

Features of SAMA’s L70 AIO

▶️ Low MSRP of only $69.99

It’s not just the thermal performance of this cooler that’s good – the price is extremely enticing at only $69.99. This is very competitive with the cheapest offerings from ID-Cooling, Thermalright, and other manufacturers.

▶️ Top performing Freezee thermal paste

Sama includes its high-performance Freezee thermal paste with the L70 AIO, and this among the best thermal paste on the market – outperforming competitors like DeepCool’s DM9 and ID-Cooling’s Frost X45 in our testing. Taking our third-place position for traditional pastes, it was only beaten by Arctic’s MX-6 and Thermal Grizzly’s Duronaut!

▶️ Full RAM compatibility, Infinity mirror CPU block

As with most liquid coolers, SAMA’s L70 360mm AIO does not interfere with or overhang DIMM slots. All sizes of RAM, no matter how tall, are compatible.

The bottom of the CPU block features a full-size copper coldplate to move heat away from the CPU.

▶️ Pre-installed 28mm fans with quick-connect system

The fans of this liquid cooler come pre-installed, saving users a few minutes of time during the installation process.

A quick-connect system for the PWM and ARGB connections is also used to minimize cable clutter.

AM5 installation

Prior to following the steps below, you’ll want to secure the radiator to your PC’s case.

1. AMD users will remove the default mounting mechanism, then place the included black metal standoffs around the CPU.

2. Take the mounting brackets and place them on top of the standoffs, using the included screws to secure the brackets. The mounting bars include convenient arrows that should point to the CPU, which makes installation a little simpler.

3. Apply the included Freezee thermal paste to your CPU. If you aren’t sure how to do this properly, please refer to our handy guide on how to apply thermal paste.

4. Press the pump block on top of the CPU, and secure the built-in screws using a screwdriver.

5. Connect the cables – there’s a PWM header for the pump and the AIO’s fans, and ARGB connections for the fans and the infinity mirror on the CPU block.

6. Power on your computer, and you’re good to go.

Real world testing configuration –AMD AM5 platform

My results may differ from others, because I emphasize results that are comparable to real-world use.

This means that I test CPU coolers inside of a closed desktop case, which increases cooling difficulty compared to other testing methods. Many will test CPU coolers outside of a case, on an open test bench. But open benches have lowered ambient temperatures, which in turn makes coolers appear stronger than they really are. Some publications have used generic thermal plates to test cooling solutions. I reject both of these methods because they don’t accurately reflect the real-world conditions in which a CPU cooler is typically used.

The 9950X3D setup that we started testing coolers with last year has suffered an unfortunate death – as such, we’ve begun to test coolers on a system with AMD’s 9950X.

There are some differences in how the 9950X and 9950X3D CPUs are impacted by thermal events. While the heat output of the CCDs of AMD’s 9950X3D are relatively balanced, the 9950X we’re using has one CCD that runs much hotter than the other, with a difference of over 10 degrees Celsius in some scenarios, shown below.

Noise levels

We’ve measured noise levels at two settings to give you an idea of how the cooler operates when tied to a motherboard’s default fan curve. Our first measurement is when the fans are allowed to run at full speed, their loudest noise levels possible.

In terms of maximum volume, SAMA’s L70 is one of the louder units on the market, reaching 47.2 dBA. This comparison chart is larger than others you’ll see in this review because we’re using data collected from previous systems here.

Our next acoustic measurement is the cooler’s volume when the CPU consumes 150W. This is more similar to “worst case” gaming scenarios, especially if PBO is enabled.

SAMA’s L70 reaches 40.3 dBA in this scenario. I think most users will find this level of noise acceptable, but those who prefer the quietest systems may want to manually lower the fan speeds.

Noise-normalized testing

Most testing is performed with the cooler tied to the default fan curve of our MSI X870E Carbon motherboard, but some of y’all prefer to see tests when the noise levels of coolers are equalized. This is especially important to those of you who prefer silent computers.

We’ll start with the “easiest” of these tests, which runs Cinebench R23 with a “stock” power limit. With our motherboard, this means the CPU will consume roughly 200W. SAMA’s L70 kept the CPU at an average of 78.7 degrees C, placing it between ID-Cooling’s FX360 and Thermalright’s Wonder Vision 360.

The next test is a bit harder, with PBO enabled to allow the CPU to use as much power as it wants – that was 242.7W over the course of testing. This is in line with the previous results, placing it again between competitors from ID-Cooling and Thermalright.

For our last test, we’ve added the heat of a GPU to the mix, which contributes 295W of thermals into the PC case. Sama’s cooler handles this test better than the previous two, and doesn’t lose as much thermal capacity with the added GPU heat. As a result, it secures the second-best position of the 360mm AIO coolers we’ve tested in this setup.

PBO Performance – full fan speeds

While some builders prefer to run coolers at low noise levels, I know a lot of you just want maximum performance. This test lets the fans run at their full speeds, to test the maximum potential of the AIO’s cooling abilities. Turning on PBO allows AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X to stretch its legs and guzzle power, pushing the limits of any closed-loop CPU cooler on the market.

SAMA’s L70 does remarkably well for a budget $70 AIO, cooling 258.2W from the CPU, on par (within margin of error) with the best results we’ve seen from pricier 360mm liquid coolers.

200W thermal benchmarks and noise levels

For the next thermal test, I leave motherboard settings at their defaults, which results in a power limit of 200W when running Cinebench R23. SAMA’s L70 continues to punch above its weight here, trailing our best result from a 360mm AIO by only 0.1 degrees C, and at a fraction of its competitors’ prices!

150W thermal benchmarks and noise levels

For the next thermal test, I’ve set the power limit to 150W.

SAMA’s position in this test drops a little bit, but it still performs exceptionally well at 60.6 degrees C, only 2.4 degrees behind Arctic’s larger, more powerful Liquid Freezer III Pro 420mm.

100W thermal results

Our next test is the least difficult benchmark featured in this review, with a workload consuming only 100W. This is a simple test, one that even most SFF coolers should have no issue handling. Results, as expected, are excellent – the average temperature of the CPU measured 47.7C using Sama’s AIO.

Conclusion

Sama’s L70 challenges one of the longest-standing assumptions in the AIO market: that strong 360mm liquid coolers must come with a premium price tag. In terms of raw cooling potential, the L70 stands among the strongest offerings currently available on the market, while carrying a price tag of only $70. It’s not the quietest cooler you can buy, but if you don’t like its noise level, you can dial down the fan speeds somewhat and still get the level of cooling that most users need.

Arctic is a name well-known by many PC enthusiasts for often providing high-value, quality cooling solutions. Arctic’s MX-6 is one of the best thermal pastes on the market, and the Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 showed some of the best liquid cooling results we’ve seen when tested on AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Intel’s i7-14700K.

Since the release of the Liquid Freezer III Pro, many loyal readers have been requesting that we test the 420mm version of this powerful cooler. And so we’ve tested it with AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X.

Not to get ahead of our testing, but this cooler will certainly be a strong contender for a spot on our Best AIO Coolers list. It offers industry-leading cooling performance at a very reasonable price. But before we get to testing, let’s look at the cooler’s specs and what’s included in the box.

Cooler specifications

Packing and included contents

Arctic’s Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 arrives in a triangle-shaped box, a very unusual design decision, which certainly makes it stand out. It also certainly makes it harder to ship, but that shouldn’t be an issue for potential buyers.

Included with the product are the following:

• 420mm AIO with pre-installed fans
• MX6 thermal paste
• Mounting for AMD and Intel platforms
• All-in-one or separated PWM cords
• VRM fan

Features of Arctic’s Liquid Freezer III Pro 420

▶️ 38mm thick radiator

This AIO’s radiator is thick. At 38mm for the radiator and 27mm for the fans, that’s a combined thickness of 65mm. This will present compatibility issues with many cases, so make sure to do some measuring before buying. You probably aren’t considering a compact case with a 420mm cooler. Even with our MSI MAG Pano 100R PZ test case, we had to mount the radiator above the top frame, as it doesn’t technically support coolers this large. More on that below in our testing section.

▶️ Anti-bending frame for Intel systems

Intel LGA 1700/1800 CPUs, especially Raptor Lake, have been known to warp or bend in certain conditions. And as a result, the CPU can become harder to cool. This issue can be avoided altogether with the use of a contact frame, which Arctic includes for users of Intel systems. It’s a nice inclusion, but it also complicates the installation process and is a requirement for mounting Artic’s current-gen AIOs on Intel-based systems.

▶️ Low price

Officially, the LF3 Pro 420 carries a MSRP of $148.99, which is a reasonable price in and of itself. However, this AIO is frequently on sale, making it an even better value. At the time of this writing, it is available for only $103 on Amazon.

▶️ MX-6 thermal paste

Arctic includes a small tube of its MX-6 thermal paste. We’ve tested it on both AMD and Intel systems, and it’s one of the best on the market! Check out our thermal paste benchmarks for more detailed information.

▶️ Improved CPU mounting

Different CPUs currently on the market can have different hotspots, which can impact the effectiveness of a cooler. This is why some coolers seem to do better – or worse – with AMD or Intel. Arctic refined its mounting for AMD AM4/AM5 and LGA 1851 systems, resulting in claimed performance increases of up to 9 degrees Celsius with a 250W power limit. We’ll, of course, see how that shakes out shortly, in our testing.

▶️ New P14 Pro Fans – and a VRM fan too!

There’s more to a cooler than just the heatsink or radiator. The bundled fans have a significant impact on cooling and noise levels, as well as how the cooler looks in your case.

The new P12 Pro fans include seven blades instead of the five-bladed fans included with previous Liquid Freezer CPUs, and are pre-installed for convenience. Arctic claims they perform at the same level as its MAX fans, but at a lower noise level. That’s not to say these fans run quietlym though. As you’ll see in our benchmarks below, they can get pretty loud.

A quick connect system for the PWM and ARGB connections is utilized to minimize cable clutter.

AM5 installation

The installation of this cooler is simple, but a bit of a pain for Intel users, due to the required use of a custom contact frame for the CPU. This guide will go over the installation on AMD systems. Intel users can check out our review of the smaller Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro for installation help.

1. Remove the default AM4/AM5 mounting mechanism.

2. Place the rubber standoffs around the screw holes surrounding the CPU.

3. Take the included mounting bars and place them on top of the standoffs, and then secrure them with a screwdriver and the included screws.

4. Apply the included Arctic MX-6 thermal paste to your CPU. If you aren’t sure how to do this properly, please refer to our handy guide on how to apply thermal paste.

5. Press the pump block on top of the CPU, and secure the built-in screws using a screwdriver.

6. Once complete, connect the cabling to the CPU block’s head. For the purposes of testing, I chose the option with individual PWM control for the fans, pump, and VRM fan. However, some may prefer the simplicity of the all-in-one cable. Connect the cables, place the VRM fan on top of the CPU block, and installation is complete.

Real world testing configuration –AMD AM5 platform

The 9950X3D setup that we started testing coolers with last year has suffered an unfortunate death. As such, we’ve begun to test coolers on a system with AMD’s 9950X.

There are some differences in how the 9950X and 9950X3D CPUs are impacted by thermal events: while the heat output of the CCDs of AMD’s 9950X3D are relatively balanced, the 9950X I’m using has one CCD that runs much hotter than the other, with a difference of over 10 degrees C in some scenarios, shown below.

The benchmark results shared in these reviews may differ from others because I emphasize results that are comparable to real-world use.

This means that I generally test CPU coolers inside of a closed desktop case, which increases cooling difficulty compared to other testing methods. Open benches have lowered ambient temperatures, which in turn makes weak coolers appear stronger than they really are. Some have used generic thermal plates to test cooling solutions. I reject both of these methods, because they don’t accurately reflect the real-world conditions where a CPU cooler is used.

That said, this review bends this rule a little: The MSI Pano 100R PZ case that we use for cooler testing doesn’t technically support 420mm radiators. So I had to place it on top of the case to make it fit. This likely affects thermals and acoustics at least somewhat, but short of re-testing all our coolers in a different case, we didn’t have a better option. We tested Be Quiet’s competing Silent Loop 3 420 in this same way for comparison, while the smaller 360mm coolers were tested in a typical fashion, with the radiator and fans inside the case. If there is heavy interest in large 420mm cooler testing, we will revisit these results in a larger case later this year.

Noise-normalized testing

Most testing is performed with the cooler tied to the default fan curve of the MSI x870E Carbon motherboard, but many of y’all prefer to see tests when the noise levels of coolers are equalized. This is especially important to those of you who prefer silent computers.

We’ll start with the “easiest” of these tests, which runs Cinebench R23 with a stock power limit. On this motherboard, that means the CPU will consume roughly 200W. The Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 achieved the best result we’ve seen yet on this system, with a temperature of only 73.6C – outperforming all of the 360mm AIOs we’ve tested here, and even beating BeQuiet’s Silent Loop 3 420 by 1.4 degrees C.

The next test is a bit harder, with PBO enabled to allow the CPU to use as much power as can be handled, and the cooler handled a whopping 262.3W, on average.

For our last test, we’ve added the heat of a GPU to the mix, which contributes 295W of heat into the PC case. The result of 249.3W is very impressive, outperforming the best 360mm result, with an increased thermal capacity of 16.5W.

Noise levels

We’ve measured noise levels at two points to give you an idea of how the cooler operates when tied to a motherboard’s default fan curve. Our first measurement is when the fans are allowed to run at full speed, their loudest noise levels possible.

In terms of maximum volume, the Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 is quite noisy, at 52.7 dBA. This is the second loudest cooler we’ve tested in the past few years.

Our next acoustic measurement is the cooler’s volume when the CPU consumes 150W. This might be similar to your “worst case” gaming scenarios, especially if PBO is enabled. At 42.4 dBA, it isn’t too loud – but it ain’t quiet by PC standards, either!

PBO Performance – full fan speeds

While some enthusiasts prefer to run coolers at low noise levels, I know a lot of you just want maximum performance. This benchmark lets the fans run at their full speeds to test the full potential of the AIO's cooling potential. Turning on PBO allows AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X to stretch its legs and guzzle power, pushing the limits of any CPU cooler on the market.

Arctic’s Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 stayed true to its name, cooling over 268W here.

200W thermal benchmarks and noise levels

For the next thermal test, I leave the motherboard settings at their defaults, which results in a power limit of 200W when running Cinebench R23. The performance gap between 420mm and 360mm AIOs shrinks at this power level. While the Liquid Freezer III Pro 420’s result of 73.6 degrees C is the best we have seen thus far, it is only 0.9 degrees lower than the best 360mm AIO we’ve tested.

150W thermal benchmarks and noise levels

For the next thermal test, I’ve set the power limit to 150W.

The story for our 150W results is about the same as our 200W results. The LF3 Pro 420 takes the lead with a relatively cool temperature of only 58.2 degrees C, maintaining a 0.9 degree lead over the best 360mm result we have in this chart.

100W thermal results

Our next test is the “easiest” benchmark featured here, with a workload consuming only 100W. This is a simple test, one that even most mainstream coolers should have no issue dealing with. Results, as expected, are excellent once again, with the average temperature of the CPU measuring 44.6 degrees C, an improvement of 3 degrees CC compared to the best 360mm AIOs we’ve tested.

Conclusion

The 360mm version of Arctic’s Liquid Freezer III Pro is among the best AIOs on the market, and the newer 420mm variant only pushes the bar for cooling performance further, delivering the best temperatures we’ve seen from any AIO when paired with AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X CPU. If you have the need for this level of cooling and your case has the space for it, the Artic Liquid Freezer III 420 is an excellent cooler and an excellent value – especially if you can find it on sale significantly below its $149 MSRP.

Cooler Master just introduced a coolant distribution unit, or CDU, with a massive capacity of 900 to 2,500 watts. The Tom’s Hardware team saw the rather compact unit at CES 2026. The company says it is designed for CPUs, GPUs, and ASICs, balancing the ease-of-use of AIOs and the maximum cooling performance you get from open-loop systems. Each unit measures around 10 x 10 x 19.6 inches (255 x 255 x 497 mm) or around 32 liters and weighs between 12 and 18 kg (between 26 and 40 pounds), so you’re not going to fit this inside the case of your gaming PC. Instead, it’s built for specialized desktop systems that need robust cooling, like those that feature multiple GPUs for AI applications.

Another thing that makes the Aquagate MAX an excellent solution is its modularity and scalability. You can get this CDU with either a 240mm, 280mm, or 360mm radiator, allowing you to increase its cooling capacity without drastically taking up more space. And if that is not enough, Cooler Master says that you can connect multiple units in both serial and parallel connections, allowing you to expand your cooling capacity as you add more units to your system.

We don’t expect to see this cooling solution among the server racks you’d find in a data center (Cooler Master has the LTL In Rack CDU for that). Instead, this will probably be located at labs running high-end workstations or on AI and compute development systems where AI engineers are working on next-generation LLMs. Some overclockers might also find this a useful solution, although they might prefer liquid nitrogen cooling over this industrial-grade cooler. Aside from the Aquagate MAX and the LTL In Rack CDU, Cooler Master also showed off a Mini-Charge Tool designed to quickly refill cooling systems with coolant.

For gamers and consumers, Cooler Master released the GPU Shield Adapter Cable, which detects abnormal currents and adjusts power output in real time for improved stability, the MWE Gold V4 power supply with built-in GPU Shield capability, and a variety of fans, air coolers, and AIOs. There are also several PC cases of varying sizes, including the Q300L V3, Qube 540 SP, MasterFrame 500 Mesh V2, and the limited-edition Cosmos Alpha Gold, which only has 199 available units and features a 24K pure gold-plated CM logo.

Tom's Hardware's boots on the ground at CES have yielded an impressive amount of information, and the latest batch comes from the stand of German silence engineers Be Quiet. The company has finally pulled back the curtain on multiple new products and revisions of existing gear. The stars of the show are the Light Loop AIO and Dark Perk mice, arriving with the Dark Rock 6 / Pro 6 coolers, and PowerZone 2 and PurePower 13 M 1,200 W power supplies as entourage.

The Light Loop AIO is currently the apple of Be Quiet's eye. This stylish closed-loop cooler comes fitted with a round LCD display coupled with an RGB LED light ring esconced in the ridges around the pump assembly. That gives it a fairly unique look, further customizable by Bequiet's IO Center software that's getting a new revision around April and is now all web-based.

The display is a 2.1" unit that's capable of 500 nits of brightness, and the spinners on the radiator are 120-mm Light Wings LX PWM units. Be Quiet claims the jet plate and cold plate are bespoke designs, too. The Light Loop will be available on the 14th of April, in black or white colorways. The price is 205 € for the 240 mm and 235 € for the 360 mm variant. Taking away VAT and doing currency conversion, that should be roughly $201 and $231, respectively.

The Dark Perk mouse has been quite a while in the making. It was originally announced at CES 2025 and has finally arrived. Be Quiet says it spent this while tuning the mouse, particularly the battery life for the wireless version. There are two ergonomic takes on the Dark Perk: the standard right-handed Ergo, and the ambidextrous Sym.

Inside, the rodent contains a PixArt PAW3950 sensor capable of reading 32,000 DPI and polling information at a rate of 8 KHz. The switches underneath the main buttons are Omron optical units, and the corded version has an angled cable to avoid snagging. The base weight is a mere 55 g (1.94 oz). Bequiet says the wireless version should be good for 110 hours of gaming. Expect these on February 3rd.

Next up, we have the Dark Rock 6 and Pro 6 coolers. The standard model has six heatpipes and one 135-mm Silent Wings fan, while the Pro 6 variant has two Silent Wings spinners and seven heatpipes. You'll be able to get these on the 19th of May.

Additionally, Be Quiet showed off a prototype of a Dark Rock cooler with a customizable LCD display, the Dark Rock Pro 6 IO LCD. The screen measures 4.5" across and will have the same wide-ranging customization options available as the Light Loop IO. There's no set release date, but the German makers expect to deliver this upmarket variation in the second half of 2026.

Last but by no means least, there are now 1,200 W versions of both the Power Zone 2 and Pure Power 13 M PSUs. The Power Zone 2 is primed for efficiency, carrying both an 80 Plus Platinum badge and a highly demanding Cybenetics Platinum certification. The fan inside is a custom 140 mm Pure Wings 3 model. This power supply is ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 compliant and comes with a 90° angled 12V-2x6 connector. This model will arrive on the 27th of January-

As for the Pure Power 13 M, it has an 80 Plus Gold efficiency logo (up to 93.5%), and is likewise compatible with ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1. Both models use LLC topology, and their voltage regulation should be able to take spikes up to twice their rated power, making these a safe bet for RTX 5090 graphics cards that tend to draw power in quick, high-amplitude bursts. Be Quiet says this version will be in stores on the 10th of February.

Oh, and do check out the gallery below for the full-sized versions. There's a Pretzel PC in there, and yes, it was tasty.

Frore Systems' seemingly magic apparatuses for both air and liquid cooling have long been in the news, claiming to offer performance up to several times that of existing designs. Some companies are already using Frore's designs, like Qualcomm with its Snapdragon X2 Elite reference platform, and many others are integrating the products as we speak. At CES, Tom's Hardware photographed some rather impressive live demos.

The company's wares are the AirJet and LiquidJet lines, each for a different cooling medium as their names imply. The AirJet Mini G2 is the building block, so to speak, of a cooling package that Frore calls an AirJet Pak and includes several Minis with vibrating membranes for near-silent or even fully passive operation. The company is aiming these at ultraportables, laptops, and mini-PCs — roughly any application requiring up to around 45 W. The units are dust-proof, too, and water-resistant.

One of the most impressive demos is this one, an AirJet Pak 5C (five AirJet Mini G2 units) cooling a Nvidia Jetson Orin NX Super machine (40 W steady TDP), with a 300g apparatus containing a cooling package not much larger than a 2.5" hard drive performing the same duty as a massive heatsink weighing in at a whole two kilos.

The same theme carries over to this Galaxy Book 5 Pro 14" that replaces its two-fan, 32-37 dbA bog-standard laptop cooling setup with a design packing four AirJet Mini G2s, offering an even higher TDP (24 W over 20 W), while simultaneously operating silently at the base noise measurement level of 27 dbA. As additional bonuses, theoretically, the AirJet-clad unit won't ever need cleaning, either. Not only is it much quieter, but the AirJet variant also goes significantly faster thanks to the higher steady-state TDP, as shown by the running Cinebench tests.

For servers and other high-performance applications, Frore makes the LiquidJet, essentially a really high-tech cold plate with 3D microscopic water channels that move water through a much shorter path than conventional designs, with far better cooling efficiency and lower pressure. Unsurprisingly, Frore is targeting mainly, but not only, at AI servers, where more efficient cooling directly results in lower power bills and better ROI.

Over at the Big Iron desk, Frore has a big honkin' Nvidia Rubin 2 SoC containing eight HBM modules plus I/O chips (in the center of the picture), for a grand total of 1950 W of heat that must be dissipated. The LiquidJet setup keeps this chip at a balmy 65-70°C, and the radiator-and-fan kit appears to be roughly bigger than an SFF PC, quite an achievement compared to what would otherwise be necessary. We'll bet that the fans weren't nearly as loud as those in a datacenter, too.

Here we see a large ASIC with a 1200 W TDP being cooled by one of its LiquidJet cold plates, remaining pretty chilly at 70-75°C. The inlet water temperature is just 34.5°C, warm enough to take a shower but not even qualifying as "hot".

Finally, a 600 W GPU (105° C), cooled by a LiquidJet with top-mounted inlet and outlets, holding itself steady at a nice 95°C. This displays how Frore precisely designs each block to better suit the hotspots of the chip(s) resting underneath, one of the key features for LiquidJet blocks. Be sure to click the pictures for high-res versions, and check out the gallery below for the whole set.

Asus’ latest ROG Strix LC IV series of AIO liquid coolers not only rival the best CPU coolers on the market, but also introduce the world’s first cable-less design. This innovation is made possible by a proprietary AIO Q-Connector that relies on pogo pins for seamless connectivity, and we got a good look on the ground at CES 2026 in Las Vegas.

The novel AIO Q-Connector is at the heart of Asus' breakthrough, featuring 11 spring-loaded pogo pins organized in two groups—nine for primary connections and two for additional controls. These precision connectors allow the new ROG Strix LC IV coolers to seamlessly receive power and control signals for the pump, ARGB lighting, and, in select models, an integrated 5.08-inch LDC display. Impressively, there’s no need for users to connect any cables to the radiator fans manually; the AIO Q-Connector discreetly transmits PWM and lighting signals through a cable cleverly concealed inside the cooler’s tube sleeving.

To fully benefit from the innovative cable-free design of the ROG Strix LC IV series, you must pair these coolers with a compatible motherboard equipped with the AIO Q-Connector. Currently, Asus has introduced four new AM5 motherboards with the new connector: the ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial, ROG Crosshair X870E Dark Hero, ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi7 Neo, and ROG Strix X870E-A Gaming WiFi7 Neo. Asus may expand the AIO Q-Connector to Intel motherboards in the future, but for now, AM5 users have a unique advantage in creating a next-generation, wireless cooling setup.

While the ROG Strix LC IV series is designed for a truly cable-free experience, Asus has ensured flexibility by including a modular design that allows users to connect standard cables to any motherboard, even if it lacks the proprietary AIO Q-Connector. However, given that the key selling point of the ROG Strix LC IV AIO liquid coolers is its advanced wireless functionality, it would be counterintuitive to invest in this premium product without leveraging its signature feature.

Asus has introduced three distinct base models for the ROG Strix LC IV series, each available in two color variants—providing a total of six configurations to suit various build aesthetics. The ROG Strix SLC IV 360 ARGB LCD and ROG Strix LC IV 360 ARGB LCD stand out with their vibrant 5.08-inch LCD displays, boasting a crisp 720 x 720 resolution. These displays enable users to monitor critical hardware stats, showcase personalized content, or display exclusive ROG animations, enhancing both functionality and visual appeal. Notably, the LCD panel connects to the pump via a dedicated five-pin pogo connector, ensuring reliable data transmission and a streamlined installation process.

The key distinction between the ROG Strix SLC IV 360 ARGB LCD and the ROG Strix LC IV 360 ARGB LCD lies in the tubing length. The SLC model features shorter tubing—an intentional design choice aimed at PC builders seeking a tidier and more organized interior. The small adjustment helps prevent tubing from hanging awkwardly across other components.

Completing the lineup is the ROG Strix LC IV 360 ARGB, which forgoes the LCD display and instead features an ARGB-illuminated logo on the pump housing. This model offers a more budget-friendly option for builders who want to experience the innovative cable-free design of the ROG Strix LC IV series without the additional cost of a display.

Another noteworthy feature of the ROG Strix LC IV lineup is the all-in-one fan assembly. The three cooling fans come fully pre-installed on the 360mm radiator out of the box. The approach, as silly as it may sound, eliminates the need for manual fan mounting, saving PC builders time. The upside of the design is that it allowed Asus to implement its Aura Sync lighting across the triple-fan setup, making it look like an animated billboard.

Asus has yet to announce official pricing or a release date for the ROG Strix LC IV series, keeping eager PC builders in suspense for now. However, the company has confirmed that all models in the lineup will come with a generous six-year limited warranty.

Like its competitor Thermalright, ID-Cooling has made a name for itself with budget-priced cooling products that generally perform well while costing less than the competition. The company’s dual-tower A720 is one of the best-performing air coolers on the market. We’ve also tested the FX360 Pro, which has a rock-bottom price of only $60 USD.

With today’s review, we’re looking at the company’s latest release, the FX 360 Pro. This new cooler features ID-Cooling’s latest Gen-7 Pro liquid pump and an unusually small 1.48-inch display on the CPU block.

Will this new cooler make our list of the best CPU coolers on the market? Let’s go through the features and benchmarks of this cooler, and you can decide for yourself if it is worth buying. First, let’s look at the specs.

Cooler specifications

Packing and included contents

The AIO is protected with molded foam and coverings, a bit fancier than the typical packaging for a liquid cooler.

Included with the product are the following:

• 360mm AIO with pre-installed fans
• Frost X45 thermal paste
• Mounting for AMD and Intel platforms
• Installation manual
• Tube clips
• Stud tool

Features of ID-Cooling’s FX360 LCD

● Low noise levels

Thermal performance isn’t the only thing that matters in a cooler – noise levels matter too, unless you don’t mind your PC sounding like a jet engine. Fortunately, the FX360 LCD provides quiet, virtually silent operation in most common scenarios, only reaching 37.3 dBA in our 150W stress tests.

● Frost X45 thermal paste pre-applied, and an extra tube!

ID-Cooling includes its premium Frost X45 thermal paste, which – as our thermal paste benchmarks show – is one of the best available on the market. The AIO arrives with it pre-applied to the copper coldplate, and an additional tube is included in the accessories box for future applications.

● Full RAM compatibility

As with most AIOs on the market, ID-Cooling’s FX360 LCD does not interfere with or overhang DIMM slots. All sizes of RAM, no matter how tall, are compatible with this liquid cooler.

● Pre-installed AS-120 V2 ARGB fans with quick-connect system

The fans of this liquid cooler are pre-installed, saving users a few minutes during the installation process.

A quick-connect system for the PWM and ARGB connections is utilized to minimize cable clutter.

● 1.48-inch display

The display is the last feature I’m mentioning, because it isn’t very interesting. In terms of size, it’s the smallest display I’ve ever seen incorporated onto a liquid cooler – only 1.48 inches. That’s more petite than the screen of an Apple watch! The resolution is also very low, merely 240x240 pixels – so low that even on a 1.48-inch screen, the pixels are easy to distinguish.

Forget about something fancy like HDR! Color support is limited to only 18-bit color depth and 262K colors. That’s something I’d expect from displays from decades ago, not anything made in 2025. Lighting is officially rated at 300 nits, but it feels less bright – which might be a side effect of having a much brighter ARGB lighting ring around the display.

While I wasn’t impressed with the AIOs screen, the software to control the screen was easy enough to use. The “home” section of the software shows an overview of essential system stats, including CPU usage, temperatures, and more.

There are nine visual presets you can choose from – or you can create your own theme using pictures, gifs, or video files. There’s also a variety of widgets you can use in custom themes for time, weather, date, or sysmon stats.

My one complaint about this software is that it activates a User Account Control (UAC) prompt upon starting, requiring manual approval.

AM5 installation

Prior to following the steps below, you’ll want to secure the radiator to your PC’s case.

1. AMD users will remove the default mounting mechanism and then place the included black and silver standoffs around the CPU.

2. Take the mounting brackets and place them on top of the standoffs, using the included screws to secure the brackets.

3. Press the CPU block with its integrated screen against the mounting bars, and use a screwdriver to secure it.

4. Connect the cables – there’s a PWM header for the liquid pump and the AIO’s fans, ARGB connections for the fans and CPU block, and a USB header connection for the 1.48-inch display.

5. Download the FX LCD Series software from ID-Cooling, and don’t forget to remove the protective peel cover from the CPU block.

Real-world testing configuration with AMD’s AM5 platform:

My results may differ from others because I emphasize having results that are comparable to real-world use.

This means that I test CPU coolers inside of a closed desktop case, which increases cooling difficulty compared to other testing methods. Many will test CPU coolers outside of a case, on an open test bench. Open benches have lowered ambient temperatures, which in turn makes weak coolers appear stronger than they really are. Some publications have used generic thermal plates to test cooling solutions. I reject both of these methods because they don’t accurately reflect the real-world conditions a CPU cooler is used in.

Today’s test bench has more limited results than normal, as our 9950X3D system has suffered an unfortunate death – as such, we’ve begun to test coolers on a system with AMD’s 9950X.

There are some differences in how the 9950X and 9950X3D CPUs are impacted by thermal events. While the heat output of the CCDs of AMD’s 9950X3D are relatively balanced, the 9950X I’m using has one CCD that runs much hotter than the other – with a difference of over 10 degrees C in some scenarios, shown below.

Maximum noise levels

In terms of maximum volume, ID-Cooling’s FX360 LCD has a moderate noise level at 43.8 dBA. This might not be quiet enough for users who prefer silence, but I think most users will find the noise levels to be reasonable. In common scenarios, as we’ll demonstrate in a later section, this cooler runs whisper quiet.

Noise-normalized testing

The above results are tests performed with the cooler tied to the default fan curve of the MSI X870E Carbon motherboard, but some prefer to see tests when the noise levels of coolers are equalized.

We’ll start with the “easiest” of these tests, which runs Cinebench R23 with a “stock” power limit. On this motherboard, this means the CPU will consume about 200W. The FX360 LCD performs especially well here, taking the second-place position, with a result of 77.7C.!

The next test is a bit harder, with PBO enabled to allow the CPU to use as much power as can be handled.

This is another good showing for ID-Cooling, with its FX360 LCD outperforming both Sama’s L70 and Thermalright’s Wonder Vision 360.

For our last test, we’ve added the heat of a GPU to the mix – which in this case is 295W.

PBO Performance

Turning on PBO allows AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X to stretch its legs and guzzle power, pushing the limits of any CPU cooler on the market.

ID-Cooling’s FX360 LCD performs reasonably well here, cooling 254W on average during the course of testing. This is a little behind the competitors from Thermalright, Sama, and Tryx that we’ve tested it against. But it is worth pointing out that the FX360 LCD also runs quieter than these competitors, as shown in the chart below.

150W thermal benchmarks and noise levels

For the next thermal test, I’ve set the power limit to 150W.

Measuring an average temperature of 62.6 degrees C, ID-Cooling’s AIO falls a bit behind the other 360mm competitors we’ve tested – but it does this while operating at a very low noise level, measuring 37.3 dBA with our Pyle PSPl25 noise meter.

100W thermal results

Our next test is the least-difficult benchmark featured in this review, with a workload consuming only 100W. This is a simple test, one that even most SFF coolers should have no issue passing. The FX360 again falls a little behind competitor AIOs – but with a result of only 49.8 degrees C, it is nothing to worry about. Noise levels are more important here, and the FX360 LCD runs whisper silent in this scenario – with audio volumes lower than my noise meter can reliably measure.

Conclusion

The FX360 LCD delivers the essentials where it matters: cooling strength, low noise levels, and a wallet-friendly price of only $90. In every thermal test, it held its own against more expensive competitors. That said, the unimpressive 1.48-inch display feels like an afterthought rather than a true feature. I’d recommend saving $10, skipping the display, and getting ID-Cooling’s FX360 INF instead.

PC hardware manufacturer ASRock has just announced its slate for CES 2026, and it includes all-in-one (AIO) liquid coolers for the first time, marking another entrant into a crowded (and competitive) market. ASRock is known for having some of the best motherboards on the market, alongside producing mini PCs. The company is also a notable AIB partner for both AMD and Intel GPUs.

The company has dabbled in cooling products once before, when it partnered with Cooler Master in 2019 to create a Phantom Gaming-themed AIO, but it wasn't a mainstream release. Now, it's set to debut liquid coolers across the Taichi, Phantom Gaming, Steel Legend, Challenger, Pro, and workstation (WS) lineups at CES 2026.

ASRock says these coolers feature an "industry-leading pump architecture" paired with "expertly engineered flow-path design" that results in maximum performance and efficiency. High-end models will feature large screens capable of displaying telemetry and custom backgrounds (hopefully, there's no AI involved).

No other details were shared yet, but we can make out at least four of the six models with an LCD, which is an ongoing trend in the segment. We also see one model with just a faceplate featuring the company's logo on it, and another sporting a pumpless look. It's unclear whether these are just licensed Asetek designs, or custom-built in-house.

ASRock will take the show floor from 9 AM to 6 PM at the Las Vegas Hotel, between January 6th and January 9th. So, we should learn more about these products very soon.

A few months ago, we covered Thermaltake's "AI Forge" feature for the first time, detailing how it can generate custom backgrounds for you based on AI prompts. At the time, we even highlighted how it must connect to the internet to use some diffusion model instead of running anything locally. Today, Thermaltake has finally given the feature a purpose with its new MAGCurve 360 Ultra ARGB Sync AIO, and it turns out that you do need a paid subscription to either OpenAI or JiMeng to create the images.

The cooler itself looks maximalist in the best ways possible. It's another entry in the line of L-shaped AIOs with curved OLED screens, a trend that the Tryx Panorama kicked off last year. Thermaltake's iteration uses a 6.67" AMOLED panel that wraps around the pump block, and features a resolution of 2240 x 1080, which puts it in the territory of a phone display. It's very sharp, but we don't have info on max brightness or refresh rate.

You need to use Thermaltake's TT RGB PLUS 3.0 software to customize this display, and there you'll find the option for AI Forge. Clicking on it will open up a new window where you can type out a prompt and an image will be generated using one of two available models: OpenAI's Dall-E 3 and JiMeng — both of which require their own setup.

There's an entire FAQs page that tells you how AI Forge works, where you'll also find the manual. For Dall-E, you need to have a paid OpenAI subscription, which you'll need to connect to the TT Plus software with an API key. Each image created with a prompt will cost roughly $0.04 based on OpenAI's pricing structure.

Thermaltake is kind enough to mention that if this is your first time using an OpenAI account (separate from a ChatGPT account), a minimum top-up of $5 is required using your credit card. That $5 can generate up to 125 images. On the other hand, JiMeng is free for the first 200 images, but costs $0.03 per image credit afterward. Either way, you're likely paying up if you want to use AI Forge in the long-term.

On the contrary, you can just use Gemini, ChatGPT, or even Grok to generate images for free, taking the downloaded JPEG and puting it in the TT Plus software manually. The built-in image generation gives you a static image anyway. Funnily enough, the software does include six built-in dynamic backgrounds that don't look far from AI slop to begin with.

Listings for MAGCurve 360 Ultra AIOs have popped up online but there's no official MSRP despite the fact that this cooler was originally unveiled at CES last year. It's available in both black and white. Since it's a brand-new option in the market, there are no reviews for it yet, but the last Thermaltake AIO we looked at ended up placing second in our best AIOs roundup.

PC cooling innovators Billet Labs have taken to social media to tease a new gaming PC build where the radiator is (almost entirely) the PC. The crafty London-based outfit has taken a stubby but incredibly stout 110-pound (~50kg) cast-iron radiator, likely torn from a Victorian-era dwelling, and installed all the usual gaming PC components beneath. At the time of recording, they had just started adding all the copper heatsinks and necessary pipe work to connect the PC’s heat-producing components to this hulking 10L+ vessel.

I think this would probably qualify as a Steampunk design.

We have to admit that, at this time of year, having such a cute yet portly radiator on or near your home office computer desk would be a literally heartwarming experience. The design of this cast iron fixture is almost too handsome to hide away, though, with its broad, rounded, iron-finned structure standing upon ornamentally scrolled feet.

The Billet Labs folk provide a brief tour of this unfinished masterpiece that melds technologies from centuries apart. As indicated in the intro, all the main PC components are to be found underneath the belly of this beast. Looking at it from the rear, starting from the left, there are the graphics card outputs, then the motherboard I/O, and then what appears to be an exhaust from a PSU.

The layout we saw from the rear is confirmed when Billet Labs flipped this pot-bellied cast-iron rad on its back. We now see the copper heatsink and plumbing being assembled in earnest. “By the time I’ve plumbed it all in, this entire thing is going to be covered in copper pipes, and… It's going to be pretty crazy,” reckons the custom cooling PC artisan in the video.

We can’t make out what particular PC components Billet has chosen for this build. However, it wouldn’t do justice to the cast-iron Victorian radiator to use anything other than one of the best gaming CPUs and best graphics cards available. Those tend to require significant power and are demanding when traditionally cooled, so this specialized build might be perfect for keeping them running at full performance, quietly, without throttling. We can’t wait to see further developments.

The rise of AI, hyperscale clouds, and the general need for performance have significantly transformed the design and cooling of data centers in 2025. However, the rapid evolution of AI and adjacent technologies will change the scale of data centers and drive the adoption of even more sophisticated cooling technologies over the next decade, so let's examine what the future holds.

Just 10 years ago, in 2015, data center liquid cooling was primarily limited to specialized applications such as supercomputers and mining farms; its global adoption rate at the time was at best around 5%. Air cooling dominated due to lower upfront costs and simpler infrastructure. But by 2020, the adoption of liquid cooling began to rise and reached around 10% as cloud hyperscalers started to strive for efficiency . However, with power densities of approximately 5 –10kW per rack on average, air cooling was sufficient for most.

Fast forward a few years, and power density per rack increased to 15kW, 20kW, 30kW, or even 40kW (in the case of Nvidia H100-based racks). These soaring power densities led to the steady adoption of liquid, as the technology moved from specialized setups to enterprise and cloud data centers.

By 2024, liquid-based cooling had conquered 46% of the entire data center cooling market, but air cooling retained 54% of the market, according to Mordor Intelligence. Air cooling still accounts for the majority of legacy and mid-tier facilities, but liquid cooling is projected to dominate new builds, especially in AI and hyperscale cloud data centers, as power-per-rack continues to increase. For example, one Blackwell Ultra rack consumes up to 140kW, and this is not the end of the soaring power densities.

As cooling systems get more sophisticated, their costs increase, resulting in more expensive solutions. The global data center cooling market is valued at $10.80 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $25.12 billion by 2031, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 15.11%, according to Mordor Intelligence. This strong expansion is driven by the ongoing shift from air-based to liquid-based thermal systems in AI and hyperscale facilities, owing to factors such as rising AI accelerator heat densities that make air cooling unsuitable.

Air cooling

Traditionally, data centers have used air cooling to keep operations running, and for many operators, that's not going to change any time soon. However, as thermal densities increase, the technology's limitations become more apparent. So, let's examine how it all works in practice.

Air cooling in data centers works by circulating conditioned air to absorb and remove the heat produced by servers and networking equipment. Typically, air cooling keeps intake air around 21°C to 24°C — the range recommended for safe operation — by continuously pushing cool air toward the servers and drawing warm exhaust air back for reconditioning.

Most air-cooled facilities are organized using a hot aisle/cold aisle layout to prevent mixing of hot air and cold air, and to ultimately lower energy bills. Racks are arranged so that the fronts (intakes for cool air) of servers face each other across a cold aisle, while the backs (exhausts for heated air) face each other across a hot aisle. Some data centers go further by enclosing either the hot or cold aisles with physical barriers to completely separate air streams and minimize energy waste.

The hot air rises to return to an air plenum through return grilles, from where it is taken in by actual cooling systems, such as a Computer Room Air Conditioner (CRAC), or Computer Room Air Handler (CRAH) unit. CRAC units use refrigerants to cool air directly, similar to standard air conditioners, while CRAH units circulate air through coils cooled by chilled water supplied from an external chiller device. The cooled air is then distributed through a raised floor supply plenum or overhead ducts and directed into the cold aisles. After absorbing heat from the hot aisle, the air returns through ceiling plenums to the cooling units, where it is further cooled.

Many modern air-cooled facilities also use economizers or free cooling systems to reduce energy consumption. These systems leverage cool outdoor air or low ambient temperatures to assist with, or even replace, CRAC or CRAH cooling. In regions with mild climates, this can significantly cut electricity use by minimizing compressor operation.

Although air cooling remains a standard data center cooling technology, it becomes less effective for high-density server racks with power draws of 20 kW – 30 kW, as it cannot efficiently remove enough heat. As a result, data centers are increasingly adopting liquid- or hybrid-cooling systems.

Hybrid and liquid cooling

Hybrid and liquid cooling systems in data centers are designed to handle the higher heat loads of AI and HPC servers, each of which can easily consume several kilowatts of power. Instead of relying solely on chilled air, these systems use liquid coolant (typically water or a dielectric fluid) to directly absorb and remove heat from components or, in rare cases, from localized air zones.

In a hybrid cooling setup, both air and liquid are used together. Cold air still circulates through the room to maintain ambient conditions, but liquid loops handle the hottest components, such as CPUs and GPUs (and maybe even SSDs in the not-so-distant future). In this case, the heat is captured by a circulating coolant that carries it to a cooling distribution unit (CDU). From there, the thermal energy is either transferred to facility water loops and cooling towers or partially released via evaporative cooling before being vented to the outside.

Depending on the exact setup, CRAC or CRAH can account for 15%-20% of the cooling capacity, while the majority of the thermal load is handled by the liquid-cooling system. In many cases, hybrid cooling can be implemented in existing premises without requiring a complete facility redesign.

Companies like AMD and Nvidia recommend using direct-to-chip (D2C) liquid cooling for their current AI accelerators, which dissipate hundreds of watts per square centimeter. AI processors will continue to scale their power to 4.4kW with Nvidia's Feynman GPUs in 2028. Such a gargantuan thermal energy draw puts very strict requirements both on the whole cooling system and each of its components. One of the most demanding components in this case will be the D2C coldplate, which must absorb and remove kilowatts of heat from the AI accelerators.

Today, Nvidia's Blackwell Ultra — containing two compute chiplets (each at a near-reticle-limit die size, or up to 858 mm^2) and eight HBM3E memory stacks (each at 121 mm^2) — dissipates up to 1,400W of power. If the total silicon area of Blackwell Ultra is around 2,850 mm^2, then its heat dissipation is approximately 49.1W/cm^2. Such power density can be met with existing single-phase liquid-cooling solutions at a heat flux of 100W/cm^2; however, performance may degrade under high loads, as GPU hot spots can have much higher thermal density than the rest of the chip, necessitating throttling.

As the power draw of next-generation GPUs rises to 4.4kW and above, their power density will increase, necessitating more advanced coldplates and cooling systems. For example, CoolIT this year demonstrated a single-phase Split-Flow D2C coldplate with a heat flux shy of 200W/cm^2, which could cool up to 4000W. Accelsius says that for even more power-hungry GPUs, it can enable a heat flux of 300W/cm^2 using two-phase D2C cooling.

For those unfamiliar, a two-phase direct-to-chip cooling system uses a low-boiling-point dielectric fluid that flows through sealed cold plates attached directly to CPUs or GPUs. The fluid boils on contact with the heat source, absorbing energy, then condenses back into liquid in a nearby heat exchanger. This phase change between liquid and vapor transfers far more heat than a single-phase liquid system, enabling it to handle very high power densities (up to ~1,000 W/cm^2). The process is typically passive, requiring little pumping power, and the recovered heat can be rejected through the cooling capabilities of the facility.

Frore says its LiquidJet coldplate — which is said to be Feynman-ready — can sustain a hotspot density of 600 W/cm^2 at 40°C inlet temperature, though the company hasn't disclosed whether it used a single-phase or dual-phase D2C cooling system for testing.

Hybrid and liquid cooling with D2C coldplate cooling technologies are increasingly used in AI and hyperscale data centers, as they reduce energy use (compared to air cooling) and enable higher rack densities. As compute power continues to rise, these cooling methods are becoming vital, with 2P D2C cold plates undoubtedly becoming a crucial part of it all in the coming years. However, for some systems, these cooling methods may not be sufficient in the future, prompting the industry to look to even more complex cooling methods.

Immersion cooling

One such method is immersion cooling, where entire servers or boards are submerged in a dielectric fluid that does not conduct electricity, but which can remove more heat and at a faster pace than contemporary coldplates. Since we recently published a rather in-depth story on immersion cooling, we will not dive into the technology here.

Immersion cooling — especially two-phase immersion systems that use oils with a low boiling point that boil into vapor and condense back to liquid at the top of the tank — can handle extremely high heat fluxes. Typical sustained heat flux in a single-phase immersion cooling system is in the range of 250W/cm^2 at the chip surface, but with optimized coldplates or enhanced surfaces, some studies report up to 300 W/cm^2.

Meanwhile, with two-phase immersion cooling, we are talking about ~1500W/cm^2 and potentially higher. While advanced immersion cooling has its own caveats, including costs and the need to build new facilities, the industry is developing embedded cooling solutions that cool chips from the inside.

Embedded cooling

The term 'embedded cooling' typically refers to a very broad set of cooling technologies that are integrated very close to a chip, or sometimes even a die itself. For example, it can mean microfluidic channels built into (or directly on) a chip substrate, which transfers heat away from hot spots on a chip or IC. The term encompasses a broad range of technologies, but we will focus on realistic approaches that have been described in academic publications or experimentally demonstrated (e.g., by Microsoft), even though there are more exotic methods for cooling chips using lasers.

Normally, with embedded cooling, we think of microchannels or pin-fin arrays built directly into the chip substrate or package so that coolant can flow very close to the transistors that generate heat. Such an approach greatly shortens the thermal path between the silicon and the coolant, as these microstructures remove heat far more efficiently than traditional cold plates because the liquid absorbs thermal energy directly at the hotspots. A bonus is that this approach is poised to achieve uniform temperatures across the die and prevent thermal throttling in dense 2D/3D SiPs.

In terms of performance, embedded features can handle heat fluxes approaching 1000 W/cm^2 in laboratory settings. While this may not sound impressive given the capabilities of today's immersion cooling in lab environments, it is a major achievement. What is more important is that such microchannels are meant to take away heat from hotspots — enabling more predictable performance from individual processors and from the whole data center — which external heat spreaders of cold plates cannot do.

Today, several companies are developing embedded cooling solutions, including Adeia, HP, Nvidia, Microsoft, and TSMC. In fact, some of their solutions are already commercially available.

Adeia

Adeia, a spin-off from Xperi, is not a chipmaker but a 'pure play R&D company' that owns numerous advanced chip packaging and hybrid bonding-related patents. Recently, the company announced its silicon-integrated liquid cooling system (ICS), which is essentially a silicon cold plate that bonds directly onto the processor, so the coolant runs inside silicon bonded to the chip rather than through an external copper cold plate. Tests at power densities of 1.5–2 W/mm^2 (150–200 W/cm^2) show up to 70% lower total thermal resistance and up to 80% better performance than standard metal cold plates.

The ICS design replaces a typical microchannel structure with silicon-based flow geometries, such as staggered or rectangular posts and triangular channels, improving both heat removal and fluid efficiency. Adeia reported that staggered posts cut peak temperatures by about 4°C, while rectangular posts reduced pressure loss by 4X. A full-length microchannel variant reached a ninefold pressure-drop improvement over post arrays, according to the company. While Adeia's ICS qualifies as a form of embedded cooling as it integrates the cooling layer directly into the silicon package stack, a secondary system, such as air or liquid cooling, is still necessary to remove the heat that the ICS transfers away from the chip itself.

HP and Nvidia

HP and Nvidia have also been working on a silicon-based microfluidic cooling system for next-generation high-performance GPUs since 2023. The goal is to create a compact, single-phase liquid cooler that attaches directly to the GPU surface and can later be embedded deeper into the package. The ongoing project has received $3.25 million in federal support from the ARPA-E Coolerchips initiative

The new Silicon Microchannel Cold Plate (SiCP) uses HP's fifth-gen MEMS microfluidic technology to manage coolant flow through fine silicon channels and through-silicon vias. SiCP targets a thermal resistance of about 0.01 K/W, a pressure drop below 60 kPa, and the ability to remove up to 2kW of heat at a flow rate of under 3 L/min, according to a presentation from the two companies. HP and Nvidia aim to bond an SiCP with a GPU using a very thin metallic bond with minimal thermal resistance. The technology aims to dissipate over 1kW of power and reject waste heat to 40°C ambient air, using only ~1.27% of server power for pumping.

HP and Nvidia acknowledge that their SiCP faces several technical challenges, including mechanical stress, thermal expansion mismatch, coolant compatibility, and channel clogging, that they must address. Meanwhile, reliability is the primary risk, as SiCP has never been used in cooling devices.

HP and Nvidia are designing their SiCP devices as drop-in upgrades for existing liquid-cooled servers slated for deployment in 2026–2028, though the companies have yet to demonstrate actual cooling solutions.

Microsoft

Microsoft collaborated with Swiss startup Corintis to build its microchannel design. Instead of straight grooves, the resulting layout follows organic patterns resembling leaf veins or butterfly wings to distribute coolant more efficiently. The channels must remain extremely fine to remove heat effectively, yet shallow enough to avoid weakening the silicon and causing structural damage. There is a challenge with the Microsoft-Corintis design, as these microchannels require extra processing steps to be etched, which increases costs.

To simplify production, Microsoft patented an approach that builds the microfluidic cooling plate separately, then attaches it to one or two chips, an approach that largely resembles that of Frore, albeit on a different scale. The company has already identified the best coolant, refined etching precision, and successfully integrated the process into its manufacturing flow. Hence, the technology is now ready for large-scale deployment and licensing, though Microsoft has not yet signed any contracts.

TSMC

Arguably, the most promising embedded cooling platform is TSMC's Direct-to-Silicon Liquid Cooling (also known as Si‑Integrated Micro‑Cooler, or IMC-Si), which is designed to embed microfluidic channels directly into the silicon structure. The technology is part of TSMC's 3DFabric advanced packaging platform, making it the closest to actual product implementation, as the company has already demonstrated.

TSMC has experimented with on-chip liquid cooling since around 2020 and has even demonstrated that it can cool a 2.6kW system-in-package using this technology several years ago. TSMC's Direct-to-Silicon Liquid Cooling system uses elliptical micropillars and a compartmentalized fluid layout, etched directly into the silicon using the company's SoIC wafer-to-wafer bonding technology. This structure routes coolant a few micrometers away from active transistors, thereby spreading heat from hot spots uniformly across the die with minimal pressure loss.

Tests conducted by TSMC with deionized water as coolant demonstrated that Direct-to-Silicon Liquid Cooling could cool a reticle-sized die dissipating 2kW of power (about 3.2 W/mm^2) using 40°C water with less than 10W of pump power. The technology can even maintain local hot spots of 14.6W/mm^2 (even above 20W/mm^2 under reduced total load) without exceeding thermal limits.

In data centers, it can reduce overall cooling infrastructure requirements by nearly half, according to TSMC. The technology is also compatible with immersion-style thermal management setups, which opens doors to next-generation AI and HPC processors that could consume as much as 15,360W of power, as envisioned by KAIST. Direct-to-Silicon Liquid cooling can also enable better cooling, higher efficiency, and expanded performance for rack applications.

When integrated into the CoWoS-R packaging platform, the system handled over 2.6kW continuous heat load and achieved roughly 15% lower thermal resistance than conventional liquid-cooled assemblies that rely on thermal paste, according to TSMC. Furthermore, the bonded structure endured 160µm – 190µm of warpage without leaks, TSMC claims. In fact, the experimental device has passed the NASA-STD-7012A helium-based reliability test with leakage rates below 115 cc/year, which is well within data-center standards. However, it is unclear whether an embedded cooling system can maintain its efficiency in the presence of leaks.

TSMC plans to deploy Direct-to-Silicon Liquid Cooling commercially around 2027 (potentially in time for Nvidia's Feynman architecture in 2028), when it will become part of multi-chiplet, multi-reticle-sized AI accelerators packaged using TSMC's CoWoS technology. However, it remains to be seen how the technology might evolve from there.

The state of play

Over the past decade, data center cooling has shifted from simple air-based systems toward liquid and hybrid cooling systems, primarily driven by soaring power consumption of AI servers and larger cloud infrastructure deployed by hyperscalers. Air cooling, once dominant, still serves legacy facilities, but as rack power rises beyond 40kW to 140kW and higher, liquid-based systems — which held 46% of the market in 2024 — are becoming the standard for new AI and some cloud builds.

But the shift towards hybrid cooling with direct-to-chip (D2C) cold plates is only the beginning of a larger shift to more advanced technologies, as companies are now considering immersion and embedded cooling methods.

Next-generation direct-to-chip cold plates from Accelsius and CoolIT are expected to deliver heat flux of up to 300 W/cm^2. In contrast, Frore is demonstrating that cold plates can sustain a hotspot density of 600 W/cm^2. Immersion systems reach ~1500 W/cm^2 in two-phase form. Meanwhile, embedded cooling addresses the hot-spot problem by bringing microchannels or pin-fin arrays directly into silicon to dissipate heat at the transistor level.

Multiple companies — from patent holder Adeia to HP, Nvidia, Microsoft, and TSMC — are developing various forms of embedded cooling technology. Yet TSMC's Direct-to-Silicon Liquid Cooling appears to be the closest and most suitable for commercialization, as the company currently produces the lion's share of AI accelerators.

Would you like to run 235B parameter LLMs at home, but your lowly $10,000 budget restricts you to “consumer GPUs that can barely handle 70B parameter models”? This was the situation developer David Noel Ng found himself in, until he stumbled across an “obviously fake” Nvidia Grace-Hopper platform being sold on Reddit, of all places. Ng took the gamble and, according to his blog post, it paid off royally. He’s managed, with a bit of tinkering and fixing up, to get an enterprise system that would usually cost ~ $80,000 for a tenth of that sum. The included 960GB of LPDDR5X memory, alone, is now worth more than he paid for the full system. Hilariously, he even lowballed the seller, noting the original listing on Reddit was for 10,000 EUR before offering just 7,000 EUR.

Why Ng made the offer on an ‘obviously fake’ listing

As we mentioned in the intro, the deal Ng found seemed a little too good to be true. However, he researched the seller, who seemed to be a legitimate server equipment reseller within two hours' driving distance, so he quickly made an offer to get first in line.

There were some underlying, but not insurmountable, issues with the Grace Hopper system as sold, which meant it wouldn’t be widely popular on a consumer marketplace. Specifically, it was “a Frankensystem converted from liquid-cooled to air-cooled” operation. It also looked a bit of a mess, wasn’t rackable, and ran using a 48V power supply.

On the other hand, even if this were just a collection of components, the offer seemed irresistible. The specs of the system, as sold, were as follows:

• 2x Nvidia Grace-Hopper Superchip
• 2x 72-core Nvidia Grace CPU
• 2x Nvidia Hopper H100 Tensor Core GPU
• 2x 480GB of LPDDR5X memory with error-correction code (ECC)
• 2x 96GB of HBM3 memory
• 1,152GB of total fast-access memory
• NVLink-C2C: 900 GB/s of bandwidth
• Programmable from 1000W to 2000W TDP (CPU + GPU + memory)
• 1x High-efficiency 3000W PSU 230V to 48V
• 2x PCIe Gen4 M.2 22110/2280 slots on board
• 4x FHFL PCIe Gen5 x16

Naturally, the $80,000 value of the rig is probably a fairly modest estimate. Ng notes that the two H100 chips alone are "about 30-40,000 euro each."

Getting the Frankensystem working

A significant section of Ng’s blog post is devoted to receiving, cleaning, and building a new working cooling system for the Frankensystem. It makes for a fascinating read. Suffice to say, the Nvidia Hopper system, with its awesome potential, was acquired as a dusty, extremely noisy, very hot-running machine. And it was demonstrated as such before Ng took it home.

With care and patience, five liters of Isopropyl alcohol, four repurposed but cheap Arctic AiO liquid coolers, a pair of custom CNC-milled copper parts, a kilo (~2 pounds) of 3D printed parts, microscope-assisted soldering, an LED lighting strip, and some know-how, Ng eventually triumphed. You can see the finished, reassembled Grace Hopper system, pictured at the top.

Memory gold mine

Ng seems extremely happy with the finished system and its AI performance. He says he can now “run 235B parameter models at home for less than the cost of a single H100.” The cherry on the cake, though, is that since buying the system, memory prices “have become insane,” meaning that the 960GB of DDR5X in this system would cost more than Ng paid for the whole caboodle.

We're back with another classic from TrashBench, the ingenious modder who has previously dunked GPUs into transmission fluid to cool them. Perhaps that's not very convenient, so why not try something far more feasible and, maybe even genuinely practical? Taking an air cooler, dismantling it, and turning it into a Frankenstein AIO that can tame GPUs like it's a walk in the park.

Our journey starts with a Thermalright Peerless Assassin, a competent cooler on its own, but clearly, there's room for improvement. One by one, the fins from its heatsink are removed until the heatpipes running through the finstack are exposed just enough. Then, a disc cutter is carefully run through the top to get access to the magic sauce.

For those unaware, the heatpipes inside an air cooler are hollow, with a small amount of liquid inside that evaporates and condenses during heat cycles, acting as a phase-change system. That's enough to cool a CPU when combined with fans on either side. So, when we cut the tops off the pipes, we see channels inside leading directly to the base plate, which enables this madness.

Thin water tubes are connected and secured to these pipes, and once initial leaks are fixed, a pump at the other end successfully injects green-colored water through them, bringing this custom apparatus to life. It's time for testing, and an MSI RTX 3070 is the first recipient of this honor.

After being stripped down to expose the die, the DIY cooler is retrofitted on top with surprising conviction, and the whole thing is put on a test bench. On the side is a portable ice chiller, on which a 12V diaphragm pump is mounted to power the entire setup. Once turned on, ice-cold water flows through the heat pipes, touching the 3070's GPU, which sits at a casual -14 degrees Celsius.

Owing to his name, TrashBench runs a bunch of games and benchmarks on this new below-zero RTX 3070, and compared to the stock results, we see an average 10% uplift across the board. The unlocked cooling headroom enables a +320 MHz overclock that delivers decent improvements, but it's not drastic.

This is where the GTX 960 comes in.

The same story follows: the graphics card is disassembled, and its stock cooler/shroud is replaced with our mighty water-injected cooler. But the results here are far more impressive; Cyberpunk 2077 shows a massive 21% increase in FPS, while COD: Black Ops 7 demonstrates a 220 MHz uplift in boost clocks. Overall, across all tests, the GTX 960 saw a ~17% performance bump.

TrashBench doesn't declare the experiment a success or a failure at the end. Still, we're pretty confident in singing its praises — this seems like a legit upgrade to an existing air cooler, turning it into a pseudo AIO that can help overclock GPUs without requiring a full-blown liquid nitrogen setup. It's wild but just accessible enough to be something truly special, adding the "fun" in functional.

There are plenty of all-in-one liquid coolers with built-in displays these days, where panels can be used to show system temperatures, animations, videos, or even act as tiny secondary monitors. However, Thermaltake’s new Minecube 360 Ultra ARGB Sync takes things a step further with its patented Quad-LCD Cube Display. After debuting the cooler at Computex 2025, the company has finally started selling it, and you can now pick one up from Newegg starting at $349.99 in black or white (Snow) color variants.

• Thermaltake's Minecube 360 Ultra ARGB Sync AIO liquid cooler at Newegg

Essentially, the CPU block has a removable top in the shape of a cube with four displays placed at the front, sides, and top, for a wraparound visual effect. Each square display measures 3.95 inches diagonally and uses a TFT LCD panel with a resolution of 720 x 720 pixels. With support for a wide range of formats, including JPG, GIF, MP4, and AVI, Thermaltake’s dedicated software lets you configure each panel individually to showcase various items all at once, or combine all LCDs together to create a dynamic block of digital art. The software additionally comes with some presets and the option to upload your own images or animations.

As for the cooling capabilities, it features a standard 360mm radiator with a thickness of 27mm and three 120mm Swafan EX ARGB Sync fans. Thermaltake says these fans can spin up to 2000 rpm and offer daisy-chain capability, which uses contact pads and magnets to reduce a chunk of cable clutter. They also feature a swappable fan blade design, allowing one to change the direction of airflow without having to unscrew and remove the entire fan. This also makes the fans easier to service as the blades can be rinsed with water and refreshed by applying the included bearing lubricant. The pump block has a copper-finish coldplate and a built-in 3500-rpm VRM fan that can potentially help in cooling various components on the motherboard, mostly around the CPU socket.

The quad-LCD setup does create a one-of-a-kind visual element for your PC, but the prominent bezels around each display mean it isn’t as seamless as it sounds. Then there’s the cost. At $350, the Minecube 360 is priced higher than most liquid coolers with a standard round or square LCD screen, and substantially higher if all you want is a reliable CPU cooler. Still, if you want your PC to stand out and don’t mind paying a premium, this cooler does make a statement.

If you're looking for stellar performance in a compact system, then look no further than Cooler Master's own MasterLiquid 240 Atmos, which is 34% off at Amazon UK. The cooler's design and superb aesthetics are just the cherry on top of what is one of the best 240mm AIOs that money can buy.

In our 4.5-star review, we noted that the cooler boasted strong performance, quiet noise levels, and excellent aesthetics. Given the discount on offer here, it's unlikely that you'll find a better 240mm AIO deal at this price point, so long as you're not bothered about having a configurable display.

• Grab the Cooler Master MasterLiquid Atmos 240 at Amazon UK

In the box, expect to find a pair of Cooler Master's Sickleflow Edge 120mm fans, alongside CryoFuze thermal paste and applicators, a PWM Splitter, ARGB hub and splitter, and support for all modern CPU sockets. This AIO is commonly used in small-form-factor builds for its size and performance, as the CPU block is relatively low-profile, which means you'll have no issue with clearance for any large RAM heat spreaders. Additionally, with a total radiator and fan thickness of just 52mm, it'll fit just about anywhere.

Boasting impressive results in our testing, considering its size class, the MasterLiquid Atmos 240 often performs on the same level as a 360mm AIO, without all of the bulk. Expect this cooler to be able to handle the most power-hungry chips out there. If you're using a less demanding chip, the Atmos 240 will be able to handle it with no sweat.

Cooler Master's AIO was observed as reaching 38.2 dBA when paired with a Core 17-13700K, which is plenty quiet using the default fan curves. Just note that things can be noisier when pushing the cooler to its limits. Given the performance on offer here, even if you have a larger chassis, this might still be an excellent purchase. But if you have a smaller case that can only support up to a 240mm AIO, then Cooler Master's MasterLiquid Atmos 240 becomes a no-brainer.

Given that the price has plummeted by 34% this Black Friday season, it's reasonable to assume that you'll likely not find a better cooler than this right now. Thanks to its low-profile design, it'll fit just about anywhere, and the CPU block looks great, without being outwardly garish, as many RGB-laden PC components lean toward.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best Black Friday PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, or CPU Deals pages.

The Panorama SE 360 ARGB is from cooling newcomer Tryx, which was only founded two years ago in 2023. In short, it’s a cheaper, more refined version of the previously reviewed Tryx Panorama 360 ARGB.

The new model lacks the VRM fan of the original version and incorporates a different pump: the codename “Adela” pump from Asetek. This pump seems to be exclusive to the Panorama SE – at least, I can’t find any other AIOs using this pump. More importantly, it has a saner price of $279.99 USD, and believe it or not, it’s actually cheaper than Thermalright’s competing $330 Wonder Vision UB 360, which we’ll be comparing it to in today’s review.

Will this new cooler make our list of best CPU coolers on the market? Let’s go through the features and benchmarks of the cooler, and you can decide for yourself if this curved-screen cooler is worth the investment.

Cooler specifications

Packing and included contents

The cooler arrives in a sleek black box, with a pretty fancy (for an AIO) design.

The inner contents are protected with molded foam and cardboard, as well as plastic coverings.

Included with the product are the following:

• 360 mm radiator with pre-installed fans
• CPU block with pre-applied thermal paste
• Extra tube of thermal paste
• 6.7-inch AMOLED screen
• Mounting for AMD and Intel platforms
• Installation manual

Features of Tryx Panorama SE 360 ARGB

▶️ 6.7-inch AMOLED Display

The most distinctive feature of Tryx Panorama SE 360 is its vibrant 6.7-inch AMOLED display, which has a 60 Hz refresh rate and a 2240 x 1080 resolution. To describe this display as merely “eye-catching” is a bit of an understatement. The default pre-loaded visual options cleverly utilize the “true black” panel and curvature of the display to create a striking anamorphic 3D effect.

You can get an idea of how this effect works by looking at the image above, but this is one of those things you have to see in real life to understand just how striking it is, as it doesn’t totally translate to 2D imagery.

I’ll primarily be comparing this AIO to Thermalright’s competitor, the Wonder Vision UB. I’ve included a photo of its similarly sized screen below, to give users an idea of how they are different. The biggest immediately noticeable difference is that Thermalright allocates a larger portion of the screen area to the front, and only a small portion to the side.

There are pros and cons to both Thermalright’s and Tryx’s approach to the screens. As the Panorama SE incorporates an AMOLED screen, it may be prone to burn-in with static images, but I suppose that’s one of the reasons all of the presets feature anamorphic animations with lots of movement! This display will look best when you’re looking at it from an angle.

Thermalright’s screen isn’t as bright as Tryx’s, but it has a slightly oversaturated look, which makes images feel a bit more vibrant. Thermalright’s screen will be better if viewed at a more direct angle, and will be better for users who prefer static media content instead of animations, as there will be less risk of screen burn-in.

One last thought on the Panorama SE’s screen: You could technically put this screen anywhere you want, inasmuch as the USB cable allows for. You could place it in another part of your PC case, or even place it outside of your case if you can route the cable properly.

▶️ Tryx Kanali software

To customize the display, you’ll need to download the company’s Kanali software suite. You can set the screen to display a variety of pre-loaded 3D animations, or use your own media.

Kanali is better-designed than what Thermalright offers with its TRCC software. While it has a lower number of presets available, those it has are of higher quality and offer vivid 3D animations. On the other hand, while Thermalright’s software features less sophisticated preset themes, it also has a much larger set of themes to choose from.

The Tryx display is supported in multiple orientations, and you can even activate a “split-screen” mode that displays a different image on each half of the screen.

One thing I’d like to see added to the Kanali software is the capability to load streaming media, like a YouTube video, as the source video.

▶️ Asetek Adela pump

The Tryx Panorama SE is the only AIO – to my knowledge – which incorporates the Asetek “Adela” pump. It appears to be a third revision of Asetek’s seventh-generation pumps.

▶️ Pre-applied and additional thermal paste

The base of the CPU plate is pure copper and includes pre-applied thermal paste.

In addition to the pre-applied material, Tryx also includes a 2g tube of its alpha-01 thermal paste.

▶️ Full RAM compatibility

As neither the CPU block nor the AMOLED screen interfere with or overhang the DIMM slots, all sizes of RAM, no matter how tall, are compatible with this cooler. This is true of most AIOs.

▶️ Pre-installed 120mm fans with quick-connect

The fans for the AIO arrive pre-installed and feature a quick-connect system that limits cable clutter.

AM5 installation

The installation of this cooler is slightly different than most others I’ve installed. These instructions will assume you’ve already mounted the radiator to the top of your case.

1. AMD users will remove the default mounting mechanism, but hold on to the screws!
2. Take the mounting brackets and place them on top and below the CPU, using the screws from the default mounting mechanism to secure them in place.

3. Place the heatsink on top of the CPU, and secure it with the included screws.

4. Connect the cables for the fans and pump to your motherboard.
5. Attach the included screen to the four holes on the CPU block, and then connect the USB cord to a motherboard header.

6. Power on your computer, and installation is complete!

Real-world testing configuration – AMD AM5 platform

My results may differ from others because I emphasize results that are comparable to real-world use.

This means that I test CPU coolers inside of a closed desktop case, which increases cooling difficulty compared to other testing methods - many will test CPU coolers outside of a case, on an open test bench. Open benches have lowered ambient temperatures, which in turn makes weak coolers appear stronger than they really are. Some publications have used generic thermal plates to test cooling solutions.

Today’s test bench has more limited results than normal, as our 9950X3D system has suffered an unfortunate death – as such, we’ve begun to test coolers on a system with AMD’s 9950X.

There are some differences in how these CPUs are impacted by thermal events – while the heat output of the CCDs of AMD’s 9950X3D is relatively balanced, the 9950X I’m using has one CCD which runs much hotter than the other,with a difference of over 10 degrees Celsius in some scenarios, as seen below.

Thermalright’s Wonder Vision UB is the chief competitor to our review unit. While Thermalright is traditionally known for their value offerings, the Wonder Vision UB isn't cheap, with a MSRP of $329.99 USD. I've seen people online comparing the Wonder Vision UB to Tryx more expensive $349 Panorama 360, which we previously reviewed. But SE version has a lower price than both models at $279.99 USD.

Thermalright regularly has “sales” of its products, with prices below the official MSRP. And as of this writing, I was able to find the Wonder Vision 360 UB for $205.90 USD. But even with discounted prices considered, I’m not sure I would recommend it over the Panorama SE because the Tryx model runs quieter (as we’re about to see) and doesn’t suffer from the same level of pump whine.

Maximum noise levels

In terms of maximum volume, Tryx Panorama SE has a moderate noise level, measuring at 44.2 dBA – but in comparison to most other AIOs on the market, it is a quieter model.

150W

For this first thermal test, we’ve set the power limit to 150W.

Here we’re seeing Thermalright’s Wonder Vision 360 UB take a small lead over the Panorama SE, but with temperatures of 59 and 60 C – the results are very close. More importantly, then, are the noise levels.

150W Noise measurements

The 150W thermal results demonstrated above are about typical to what users might encounter in gaming scenarios, so I’ve also measured how loud the coolers run here to see how loud they get in common situations.

Tryx's AIO ran exceptionally quiet here, at just 37.3 dBA. Thermalright’s Wonder Vision UB was technically only a little louder at 38.9 dBA, but that dBA doesn't account for the Thermalright cooler’s particularly annoying pump whine (unless pump speed is reduced, which will reduce performance).

100W thermal results

Our next test is the least-difficult benchmark featured in this review, with a workload consuming only 100W.

In this low-intensity workload, Tryx and Thermalright’s offerings were essentially tied with each other, and about 3 degrees C ahead of 240 mm AIOs.

200W – Stock AMD power limits

Before we get into our PBO and noise-normalized results, we’ll run one last test with the default power limits of AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X (200W).

The results here at stock power limits show the same story as our previous results, with the two AIOs performing relatively similarly in terms of thermal performance.

PBO Performance

Turning on PBO allows AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X to stretch its legs and guzzle power. In this scenario, the Tryx Panorama AIO cooled roughly 259W on average during the course of testing.

Noise-normalized testing

The above results are tests performed with the cooler tied to the default fan curve of my MSI X870E Carbon motherboard.

For this review, we have three sets of noise-normalized tests – and the Tryx Parnorama outperformed Thermalright’s Wonder Vision 360 UB in all of them. The first test was at the stock power limit, where the Panorama SE ran almost 5 C cooler than its Thermalright competition.

The second test is with PBO enabled to unleash maximum power consumption.

And finally, our last test is the same as above, but with the heat of a GPU added to increase the cooling difficulty. We’re using MSI’s Ventus 3X OC RTX 4070 Ti Super, which adds 295W to the workload.

In all of these tests where dBA levels are equalized, the Tryx Panorama performed well.

Conclusion

The Tryx Panorama SE ARGB is a high-end AIO with an impressive 6.7-inch AMOLED display that supports anamorphic 3D content, which appears to pop out of the screen. It performs well thermally, while also delivering low noise levels in common scenarios.

When you compare the Tryx Panorama SE to Thermalright’s Wonder Vision UB (which also has a curved screen, the Tryx model has a number of advantages. The Panorama SE has lower noise levels, a cheaper MSRP, and most importantly, it doesn’t suffer from pump whine.

Frore Systems has introduced LiquidJet, a coldplate that supports existing AI GPUs, such as Nvidia's Blackwell, with a 1,400W thermal design power. It can scale its performance for next-generation processors, such as Nvidia's Feynman, which will feature a total power of 4,400W. The new coldplates feature 3D short-loop jet-channel microstructures that increase hotspot power density of a whopping 600 W/cm^2 and reduce pressure loss by four times compared to conventional coldplates. In the end, Frore's LiquidJet is ready for multi-kilowatt AI GPUs set to arrive in the coming years.

Modern AI GPUs like Nvidia's Blackwell AI system-on-chips (SoCs) consume an extreme amount of power and therefore require liquid cooling. Modern copper coldplates feature relatively long 2D microchannels with small cross sections that are CNC-machined or skived from high-purity copper blocks. Because these microchannels are long, liquid must travel farther and rub against more surface area, which increases hydraulic resistance and reduces pressure, which affects performance. Frore says that its LiquidJet coldplates with 3D short-loop jet channel microstructures reduce hydraulic resistance and therefore maintain higher pressure inside to boost performance.

Frore says that it has adapted 'semiconductor manufacturing to metal wafers' (which probably includes metal wafer etching and bonding) and can fabricate 3D short-loop jet channel microstructures that are adjusted to hot spot maps of particular processors, greatly improving performance and efficiency, but at a higher cost compared to traditional production methods. Furthermore, since we are talking about semiconductor fab-style production, LiquidJet may have micron-sized features if needed by a particular application.

The results are pretty staggering, according to Frore. LiquidJet sustains a hotspot density of 600 W/cm^2 at 40°C inlet temperature, twice that of standard coldplates. LiquidJet's heat removal per flow rate rises by 50%, while pressure loss falls by four times, from roughly 0.94 psi to 0.24 psi. As a result, LiquidJet enables lower temperatures and more predictable performance of Nvidia's Blackwell Ultra processor under full load, according to Frore. The unit is drop-in compatible with existing designs.

Meanwhile, LiquidJet's design is scalable and adaptable for Nvidia's upcoming processors, such as Rubin (1,800 W), Rubin Ultra (3,600 W), and Feynman (4,400 W). It can also be adjusted for any other processor, as Frore's production method is particularly flexible in terms of adaptability to a particular hot spot map. In addition to cooling down hotter next-generation GPUs, Frore's LiquidJet will also enable other benefits. For example, better cooling enables steadier frequencies, which means more AI tokens per second at the same power budget. Also, lower pressure requirements reduce pump energy, improving power usage efficiency (PUE) and overall total cost of ownership (TCO).

"LiquidJet's unique 3D architecture, with customized short-loop jet channel microstructures, sets a new bar for coldplate thermal performance," said Seshu Madhavapeddy, CEO and Founder of Frore Systems. "Just as AirJet redefined active cooling for consumer and edge devices, LiquidJet transforms coldplates into a future-ready platform for the AI Factory."

As data center-grade processors are getting hotter, companies invent more and more creative ways to cool them down. Nvidia and its partners are reportedly experimenting with new cold plates and immersion cooling for next-generation AI GPUs — but Microsoft is proposing to etch microfluidic channels on the back of an actual chip to reduce its peak temperature by up to 65%, making it three times more efficient than cold plates.

Microsoft says it has developed a cooling system that routes fluid directly into microchannels etched on the back of the silicon die to guide the coolant to high-heat regions inside the chip. Flowing liquid inside the chip greatly reduces the efficiency of the whole setup, as liquid can almost 'touch' hot spots inside the processor, whereas in the case of more traditional liquid cooling or even immersion cooling, heat emerges several layers away from the coolant.

To optimize thermal routing, Microsoft worked with Swiss startup Corintis, which used artificial intelligence to refine channel geometry. Rather than simple straight lines, the final layout mimics patterns found in nature, such as leaf veins or butterfly wings, to guide fluid more efficiently. Also, microchannels must be small enough to function effectively but not so deep that they weaken the silicon, risking mechanical failure.

However, etching microfluid channels can only be done as a separate sequence during chip manufacturing, which means additional steps and costs. Alternatively, Microsoft proposes to produce a microfluidic heat transfer structure separately and cool down one or two chips using the structure, according to a patent. Such integration requires new packaging methods to prevent coolant leaks and maintain durability.

By now, Microsoft has discovered the right coolant fluid, developed precise etching techniques, and managed to integrate these into chip production. Therefore, Microsoft considers its technology ready for full-scale production within Microsoft's chip development pipeline. Third-party customers may license the technology from Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC.

"Microfluidics would allow for more power-dense designs that will enable more features that customers care about and give better performance in a smaller amount of space," said Judy Priest, corporate vice president and chief technical officer of Cloud Operations and Innovation at Microsoft. "But we needed to prove the technology and the design worked, and then the very next thing I wanted to do was test reliability."

Microsoft is testing the cooling solution on servers running simulated Teams workloads, where uneven heat loads across many services are handled more efficiently, enabling higher burst performance, which helps to reduce the number of servers that otherwise sit idle when not in use during peak loads that tend to happen on the hour or on the half-hour.

Solidigm has announced what it calls the industry's first liquid-cooled enterprise SSD, the D7-PS1010, in the blade-like E.1 form factor with a PCIe 5.0 interface. The SSD board is ensconced in a wraparound cold plate, with hose connectors at the ends, making for a hot-swappable design that directly cools the controller and NAND chips.

The company is pointing this SSD at AI servers with Direct-Attached Storage (DAS, as opposed to using a separate storage). To that effect, Solidigm talks up a partnership with Supermicro, which mentions the E.1S variant of these SSDs is a perfect fit for its Nvidia HGX B300-based servers. The hot-swap design in a compact form factor also helps with maintenance, as conventional liquid-cooled designs can be a bit fiddly whenever they need servicing.

The cooling apparatus of D7-PS1010 can cool both sides of the PCB at once and should make for much-improved thermal efficiency compared to traditional fan-based designs. Solidigm claims this design ought to let designers come up with server layouts that entirely eschew fans in their storage bays, potentially making the rack units smaller than ever.

A few months ago, Thermaltake took the covers off its MagFloe Ultra lineup of all-in-one (AIO) liquid coolers that have a pretty neat-looking display, along with flagship specs. These coolers are controlled by the TT RGB Plus software that has a bunch of built-in animations for the 3.4-inch LCD on the pump. It can not only display images and videos, but also overlays the weather, time, and CPU/GPU telemetry data on top. Unfortunately, these elements are bound by certainty and lack imagination — and Thermaltake is here to fix that with its new "AI Forge" feature.

Yes, your liquid cooler, whose sole job is to keep your CPU temperatures in check, now has AI. Inside the TT RGB Plus 3.0 app, there exists "a studio without walls" that will allow you to generate custom videos and images with your own prompts. The selling point here is that you don't need to fiddle with third-party services; new animations can be made and saved right inside Thermaltake's software, ready to be applied to your cooler's screen. These custom backgrounds can then be overlaid with the aforementioned time, weather, or hardware monitoring data.

At Computex earlier this year, Noctua showed off its first-ever AIO (all-in-one) liquid cooler intended for the mainstream market. Originally, the show floor specs stated the cooler would launch in the first quarter of 2026, but an updated roadmap on Noctua's website now tells us that release is planned for Q2 2026.

The yet-to-be-named liquid cooler from Noctua is based on Asetek's flagship G8 V2 pump instead of an in-house solution. In lieu of that, the company has decided to focus on maximizing the performance possible from Asetek's design by developing its own 3-layer sound dampening system. According to Noctua, there's a "tuned-mass damper effect" to keep the whole operation quiet.

Moreover, Noctua is using its SecuFirm+ mounting system for the cooler so it's compatible with exisitng brackets while promising future socket support. If you already own one of their air coolers, it will make the installation that much easier. The AIO will be offered in three sizes: 240 mm, 360 mm, and 420 mm, covering all bases and ensuring everyone can throw a bit of beige in their systems.

Speaking of which, to match the cooler will be NF-A14x25 G2 (140mm) or NF-A12x25 G2 (120mm) fans that offer class-leading performance while keeping the decibels low. There's also an option for an extra 80 mm auxilary fan that can cool surrounding components like motherboard VRMs, M.2 SSDs, and RAM sticks.

Sudokoo is a new cooling brand from Singapore that we first encountered at CES 2025, where it unveiled an initial lineup of AIOs, fans, and air coolers. We’re taking a look at one of those products today: the Proteus 360.

The Proteus 360 is an especially powerful AIO in our testing, as you’ll see in our benchmarks section – and it stands out from the crowd with a 3.4-inch display that can be customized to show a variety of performance metrics or a video of your choosing using the company’s MasterCraft software suite.

Will this new cooler make our list of best CPU coolers on the market? It carries a price tag of $269 USD, so the bar for what we expect from this cooler is set high. We’ll first go over the features of this cooler, then get to the benchmarks with AMD and Intel CPUs so that you can determine if this cooler is right for you.

Cooler specifications

Packing and included contents

The cooler arrives in a colorful package that shows off the design of the unit.

The contents are protected inside of the box with molded foam, more colorful cardboard, and plastic coverings. The package contains the following:

• 360mm radiator with pre-attached 120mm fans
• LCD Display
• Intel backplate
• Mounting for AMD and Intel platforms
• Cable management clips

Features of Sudokoo’s Proteus 360 AIO

▶️ 3.4-inch 480x480 LCD display

The biggest thing that stands out with the Proteus 360 AIO is the 3.4-inch LCD display, which can be customized with Sudokoo’s MasterCraft software suite. Higher-end AIOs have been shipping with screens for years now, but usually with smaller screens that are hard to see or read from inside the case. At 3.4 inches, the display here is bigger than most, but not all, of the competition.

▶️ MasterCraft software suite

To customize the Sudokoo AIO, you’ll need to download the MasterCraft software and open the “Devices” section. From there, you’ll have two options – one section for the Proteus linker allows you to control the fan and pump speeds, the other lets you customize the cooler’s LCD display.

The default configuration runs in “Office Mode,” which generally limits sound levels to less than 38.2 dBA. A “silent mode” is also available, where the fans rarely spin up. And of course, there’s a performance profile for those who want maximum cooling. Those who want full control over the fan or pump speeds can click the “Pro” button to enable detailed tuning.

The display of the AIO can show up to nine different metrics at one time. You can choose from GPU load, GPU frequency, GPU temp, CPU temp, CPU load, CPU frequency, network statistics, RAM usage, the current time, and the RPM levels of the pump or fans (shown below).

The size of each metric can also be changed. In the example above, the CPU load metric takes up four squares so that it is prominent on the display, whereas the other metrics are limited to a single square. Many of these metrics can also be displayed in graphs (shown below).

You can also upload animated images or movie files to be shown on the display, if that interests you.

▶️ Proteus Linker

Attached to the side of the AIO is Sudokoo’s Proteus Linker, a hub that controls the operation of the AIO. It also features two extra ports that can be used to control the PWM and ARGB settings of other fans not connected to the AIO.

▶️ High-quality Intel backplate

Many coolers include backplates barely strong enough to do the job, but not Sudokoo includes an overbuilt backplate that is solid and sturdy. This appears to be the same backplate used by DeepCool in its Assassin VC Elite – though with one difference: DeepCool’s implementation has a layer added to the top.

▶️ High-quality Intel backplate

Thermal paste is pre-installed on the Sudokoo AIO, saving users a few moments during the installation process.

▶️ 30mm thick fans with Zero-RPM mode

There are a few features worth mentioning about the fans included with the Proteus 360. Users who prefer silence will be happy to know these fans support zero-RPM operation – and while running the cooler in its silent mode, the fans will often remain turned off! The fans have nine blades and are thicker than normal – measuring 30mm instead of the typical 25mm. This usually means improved performance, but can also lead to compatibility issues in cramped cases. So make sure your case has room for thicker fans before buying this cooler.

Sudokoo ships the cooler with the fans pre-installed for convenience.

AM5 and 1851 installation

The installation of the cooler is fairly simple for AMD systems – but it’s somewhat of a pain on Intel systems because the backplate of the cooler must be held in place during the install process.

Before starting the install, I highly recommend connecting the cables of the Proteus Linker hub and securing the radiator to your computer to simplify things.

1. You’ll first need to apply the included backplate if you’re using an Intel CPU. AMD users, as usual, will have to remove the default mounting mechanism.

2. Next, you’ll need to install the standoffs. This is a simple task on AMD systems, but you’ll need to hold the backplate in place until the cooler is secured on Intel systems, unless you choose to add some double-sided tape to the inside of the backplate before installing.

3. Next, you’ll need to attach the appropriate mounting bars to the bottom of the CPU block.

4. Place the CPU block on top of the standoffs, and then secure it with the included screws.

5. Place the LCD display on top of the CPU block.

6. Finally, connect the PWM and USB cables to your motherboard.

Installation is now complete. Power on your computer and you’re good to go.

Real-world testing configuration on Intel LGA1700 and AMD AM5 platforms

My results may differ from other reviewers because I emphasize results that are comparable to real-world use. This means I test CPU coolers inside a closed desktop case, which increases cooling difficulty compared to other testing methods.

Many sites test CPU coolers outside of a case, on an open test bench. Open benches have lowered ambient temperatures, which in turn makes weak coolers appear stronger than they really are.

Some publications have used generic thermal plates to test cooling solutions. I reject both of these methods because they don’t accurately reflect the real-world conditions where a CPU cooler is used.

There are many factors other than the CPU cooler that can influence your cooling performance, including the case you use and the fans installed in it. A system's motherboard can also influence this, especially if it suffers from bending, which results in poor cooler contact with the CPU.

In order to prevent bending from impacting our cooling results, we’ve installed Thermalright’s LGA 1700 contact frame into our testing rig. If your motherboard is affected by bending, your thermal results will be worse than those shown below. Not all motherboards are affected equally by this issue. I tested Raptor Lake CPUs in two motherboards. And while one of them showed significant thermal improvements after installing Thermalright’s LGA1700 contact frame, the other motherboard showed no difference in temperatures whatsoever! Check out our review of the contact frame for more information.

We’ve recently added testing of AMD’s new flagship sixteen-core Ryzen 9 9950X3D. This impressive CPU provides the best gaming and multithreaded performance on the market, and it can prove quite challenging thermally, particularly when PBO is enabled for overclocking.

Maximum noise levels

This cooler can get quite loud if the pump and fans are allowed to run at their maximum speeds – reaching 50.4 dBA! Fortunately, noise levels remain under 38.2 dBA in the default configuration, which should satisfy most users who prefer low volume levels.

CPU-only thermal results with PBO enabled: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D

Without power limits enforced, the hottest CPUs on the market will hit their peak temperature (TJ Max) and thermally throttle with even the strongest of air coolers and even most liquid coolers on the market in intensive stress testing. For the best liquid coolers on the market, the results of this test will be shown using the CPU’s temperature. However, 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. It’s important to note that thermal performance can scale differently depending on the CPU that’s being used for testing.

We’ll start by looking at the performance of this cooler with AMD’s flagship Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU.

The strongest 360mm AIOs on the market can handle this workload without reaching the CPU’s peak temperature. With the disclaimer that we’ve only had a limited amount of time to test AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D with liquid coolers, only two AIOs have passed this test thus far: Arctic’s Liquid Freezer III Pro and NZXT’s Kraken Plus 360.

At least – only two AIOs had passed this test until today. Sudokoo’s Proteus performed especially well in this scenario, outperforming Arctic’s Liquid Freezer III Pro by 5C – taking the crown for the best result we’ve seen yet with this CPU.

CPU-only thermal results with power limits removed: Intel’s i7-14700K

Now let’s switch it up and take a look at how this cooler performs with Intel’s i7-14700K. Looking at the results here, we can see that some coolers seem to scale better with Intel Core CPUs than they do on AMD’s Ryzen lineup.

The performance of Sudokoo’s AIO wasn’t quite as earth-shattering as it was on an AMD system, but it still performed especially well, taking third place among coolers paired with Intel’s i7-14700K.

200W Power Limit – AMD Ryzen 9950X3D

My recent reviews have focused more on tests with both the CPU and GPU being stressed, but readers have indicated they would like to see more CPU-only tests. Listening to that feedback, I’ve tested thermal and noise performance for AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D at stock CPU settings, which limits power consumption to 200W.

In its default configuration, Sudokoo’s Proteus AIO performed very well at the stock power limits of AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D, averaging 73.9C! Even better is that the fans ran very quietly, less than the noise measurements below would indicate. This brings us to the first downside of Sudokoo’s cooler, though. In the default configuration, the pump’s activity emits a some coil whine, causing noise levels to read 38.2 dBA.

In terms of dBA measurements, this is still on the low end of things, but the pitch of the pump’s whine will likely annoy users who prefer quiet operation.

Noise Normalized CPU-only thermal results

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. Some consider these tests to be the most important of all, so let’s look at noise-normalized performance.

We’ll be discussing two different, distinct tests. We’ll first look at our traditional noise-equalized results with Intel’s i7-14700K, which places a full CPU-only workload with the cooler’s noise levels set to 38.9 dBA.

The noise-normalized performance of this cooler with Intel’s i7-14700K is superb, on par with the best results we’ve seen from any AIO on the market.

Now let’s take a look at our noise-equalized tests utilizing AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU. Two changes (in comparison to our first test) have been made to increase the difficulty of this challenge. The noise level of the CPU coolers has been reduced to 37.3 dBA, and I’ve also run a full load on MSI’s RTX 4070 Ti Super GPU at the same time to increase the difficulty of this benchmark. One other challenge presented in this test is that the system fans have been reduced to 25% PWM, to emulate a low airflow environment.

We’re seeing another near-chart-topping result with this test, with Sudokoo’s Proteus AIO having the second-best result we’ve seen yet.

150W CPU + 290W GPU results

Testing a CPU Cooler in isolation is great for synthetic benchmarks, but it doesn’t tell the whole story of how it will perform. If your GPU is running a full load, that heat doesn’t just disappear. It makes it harder for your CPU cooler to do its job because there’s extra heat to move out of the case.

A CPU power limit of 150W was chosen based on the worst CPU power consumption I’ve seen reported in gaming among various tech outlets covering AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D. My personal experience has shown that most games use much less power, but this might be biased by the games I play.

In its default configuration, running at a volume of no more than 38.2 dBA, Sudokoo’s Proteus delivers the second-best result again, outperformed by only Arctic’s Liquid Freezer III Pro (while running quieter than the competition from Arctic).

GPU temperatures during this test were the best recorded, but it bears noting that there isn’t a huge degree of variance here no matter what cooler you’re using on that front.

140W CPU results

The last round of test results we’ll look at is with a 140W power limit imposed. This level of power is dramatically easier to cool for most CPU coolers – and as a result, this is the easiest test we’ll run with AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU for most reviews.

The performance here was excellent, holding the cooler’s familiar second-place position. The more important factor in this test is the noise level of the cooler, which reaches only 38.2 dBA, inflated by pump whine. The fans themselves run at a much lower volume level.

Conclusion

There’s a lot to like about Sudokoo’s Proteus 360 AIO. It delivers chart-topping (or nearly chart-topping) performance, combined with low fan noise levels, and the included LCD display can be customized to show a variety of performance metrics or whatever animation or video you want.

However, the unit exhibits pump whine unless its speed is manually reduced, and many users will be turned off by the particularly high price of $270 USD. If this AIO had a slightly lower price tag, and the pump’s default speeds were lowered to avoid the pump whine, I would find it much easier to recommend.

Modern data centers (DCs) use a variety of cooling system types. Most DCs today still use air cooling as the baseline, with chilled air circulated through racks and hot air exhausted out, but this method struggles with modern high-power CPUs and GPUs. Starting with Nvidia's Hopper and expanding with Blackwell, operators are moving toward liquid cooling, specifically cold plate and direct-to-chip solutions, which can be integrated with existing air-cooling infrastructure.

However, while more advanced systems like immersion cooling exist, they see limited adoption despite claims of explosive benefits in performance density, overall cost, and efficiency. However, as next generations of AI accelerators are set to increase power consumption, immersion cooling may become inevitable three or four years down the road. But is the industry ready?

Data centers are getting hotter

AI data centers dissipate heat using a combination of airflow, liquid circulation, and heat exchange systems that move the thermal load outside the facility. The basic principle is to move heat away from hot chips (CPUs, GPUs, switches) into a medium — air, water, or a dielectric fluid (such as water glycol) — and then carry that heat to cooling towers, chillers, or evaporative units where it is released into the atmosphere.

In air-cooled DCs, servers push hot exhaust air into return plenums of HVACs, which is then cooled by chillers or evaporative cooling towers before being recirculated, which is cheap and easy to implement, but is insufficient for AI data centers that use power-hungry hardware such as Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs (which are some of the most power hungry processors in the industry).

In liquid-cooled systems, the heat is absorbed by circulating coolant, which flows to a heat exchanger, then the heat is either rejected into facility water loops and cooling towers or partially dissipated through evaporative cooling and then vented outside the premises. In this case, this allows liquid cooling to remove the bulk of the heat load (let's say, 80% - 85%), whereas residual heat is still handled by traditional air cooling.

For now, Nvidia recommends using direct-to-chip (D2C) cooling, wherein a cold plate with liquid running through it is mated with the processor, for Blackwell data center GPUs that can typically be deployed in combination with existing air cooling and liquid cooling infrastructure. Nvidia and its partners believe that D2C cold plates deliver sufficient cooling capacity for Blackwell GPU thermal design power that spans from 1.2 to 1.4 kW. Furthermore, cold plates can be engineered directly into SXM module reference designs and server chassis, which simplifies standardized deployment across OEM partners (Dell, HPE, Lenovo, Supermicro, etc.).

Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs consume up to 1.4 kW per unit, so a GB300 NVL72 rack consumes at least 120 kW, which is well beyond what traditional air-cooled and even liquid data centers were designed for. As a result, data center operators had to upgrade their power delivery infrastructure, which includes new busbars, power distribution units (PDUs), higher-capacity cabling, backup UPSes, and electrical rooms. In addition, they had to upgrade their cooling loops. However, the critical part is that they did not have to completely rebuild their data centers because of Blackwell's power consumption.

And will get even hotter

However, next-generation AI data centers — or as Nvidia calls them AI factories — will likely require more upgrades, or will have to be built from scratch as power consumption of future AI accelerators is expected to increase dramatically in the coming years.

Nvidia's next-generation Rubin and Rubin Ultra data center GPUs are expected (by KAIST and some industry sources) to increase power consumption to 1,800W to 3,600W, respectively, which will again increase the power draw of data center facilities. However, it is projected that Nvidia and its partners will continue to use direct liquid cooling with these processors, even with NVL576 systems (with 144 compute chiplets) based on the Kyber rack architecture. Meanwhile, exascalers planning to use Kyber racks will still have to upgrade their power delivery infrastructure and computer halls substantially to accommodate such systems.

Immersion cooling rises

However, starting with Feynman GPUs due in 2028 that are expected to consume 4,400W per package, KAIST and some sources familiar with Nvidia plans believe that the company is indeed looking towards immersion cooling systems. This requires placing the server boards and equipment directly in a vat of cooling liquid that isn't electrically conductive.

Immersion cooling is nothing particularly new. Placing electrical equipment — such as transformers — into dielectric fluids for cooling purposes was already practiced before 1887, according to Wikipedia. Cray and IBM experimented with immersion cooling in the 1960s and the 1980s, but no large-scale supercomputer with immersion cooling was built back then.

However, immersion cooling came back to the focal point in the mid-2010s when its total cost of ownership (TCO) benefits made it attractive for cryptominers, which pushed the technology towards maturization. In 2017, numerous start-ups built immersion cooling systems for crypto and growing data center cooling needs.

In 2018, the Open Compute Project added immersion under its Advanced Cooling Solutions track, followed in 2019 by the first industry standards unveiled at the OCP Summit in San Jose. Intel has worked with various companies on immersion cooling technologies and, in 2022 – 2023, even announced some practical results.

Immersion cooling offers superior efficiency and can manage extremely dense racks with heat dissipation of well over 100 kW, yet it requires specialized infrastructure and lacks vendor certification. To that end, Nvidia does not exactly endorse immersion cooling for Blackwell GPUs for many reasons:

• Firstly, the long-term reliability of components in dielectric fluids is uncertain, and without established data on component lifespan, the company can hardly provide any warranties.
• Secondly, modern compute halls are not ready for immersion coolers. Immersion requires purpose-built tanks, pumps, and fluid management systems that are (at least for now) not compatible with existing data center plumbing.
• Thirdly, while OCP seems to have standards for immersion cooling setups, the technology is still not completely standardized, which makes its implementation expensive for partners.

Also, not all immersion cooling systems work the same way.

Different types of immersion cooling

Immersion cooling systems typically used by cryptocurrency mining farms and demonstrated at tradeshows like Computex represent Single-Phase Immersion Cooling. Servers are submerged in a non-conductive dielectric oil (or a special engineered fluid) that absorbs heat directly from components. Pumps circulate the warmed liquid to a heat exchanger, where it releases the heat, gets cooler, and then gets recirculated. Such immersion cooling systems are relatively cheap (you can get a turn-key 12 kW-capable one with coolant for $2,108) and useful for cryptocurrency and small-scale HPC, but are hardly scalable to what Nvidia calls 'AI factories'.

In Two-Phase Immersion Cooling systems, servers are immersed in a dielectric fluid with a low boiling point. Heat from chips causes the fluid to boil into vapor, which rises, condenses on a cooled coil or plate at the top of the tank, and drips back down, thus creating a self-contained cooling cycle. This cycle removes heat more efficiently and can support extremely high rack densities, well exceeding 100 kW.

Furthermore, since two-phase immersion cooling systems do not have any pumps or other means of forced convection, this means one or two fewer potential points of failure. However, the systems themselves rely on specialized and expensive fluids like 3M Novec (which is no longer produced as they contained hazardous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which 3M committed to no longer produce), they must be hermetic to prevent evaporation, and they require carefully engineered infrastructure that will replace that of traditional data centers.

For now, a 40U rack equivalent tank costs $20,000, according to DataCenterDynamics. Specialized dielectric fluid with a low boiling point can cost another $15,000 - $20,000 (3M Novec replacements can cost $1,876 per pail). Also, since 3M ceased to produce dielectric fluids with a low boiling point in 2024, this greatly complicates the development and standardization of two-phase immersion cooling.

In fact, liquids are among the biggest concerns as they are not standardized and nobody knows how they can influence hardware over the long term, which may cause abnormal failure rates. In addition, vapor loss causes frequent fluid top-ups, which increases servicing costs. Meanwhile, servicing submerged hardware itself requires throttling or shutting down tanks to limit boiling, which potentially increases downtime.

Without set standards or even a clear path to the evolution of liquid immersion cooling, different companies try different approaches. For example, Vertiv proposes building hybrid systems that combine two-phase immersion cooling with other cooling strategies, including the use of water loops or rear-door heat exchangers to remove residual heat.

Few deployments so far

When it comes to big companies, none have deployed immersion cooling at scale. Neither AWS, Google, Meta, nor Oracle has confirmed deployments of immersion cooling at any scale.

Microsoft was the first major cloud provider to place two-phase immersion cooling into real production, using tanks filled with a low-boiling dielectric liquid to cool down CPUs and GPUs at its data center in Quincy, Washington, in 2021. The setup co-designed by Microsoft and Wywinn submerges 300W CPUs and 700W GPUs into 3M's engineered fluid, which boils at about 50°C.

Microsoft's tests showed that this method can cut energy use per server by 5% to 15% compared with conventional cooling, while also enabling overclocking to absorb workload spikes such as those seen during peak Teams meeting times. Beyond efficiency, immersion also allows denser server layouts, which push computing capacity higher without the limits of airflow.

Microsoft also mentions that immersion cooling may also lower hardware failure rates by reducing exposure to oxygen and humidity, similar to findings from Project Natick's underwater data center trial. If proven viable, immersion cooling could be used in environments where components are not immediately replaced when they fail. However, the company has not announced any updates to its immersion cooling project, so we do not know whether findings of the experiment can be used to cool down next-generation AI data centers several years from now.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

There might be light at the end of the tunnel. Intel and Shell introduced the first fully certified single-phase immersion cooling solution for data centers earlier this year. The collaboration also involved Supermicro and Submer, which provides it with some weight in the industry.

The solution relies on Shell's single-phase dielectric fluids developed from the company's gas-to-liquids (GTL) chemistry and ester formulations for maximum thermal performance. These fluids are electrically non-conductive, PFAS-free, and biodegradable to varying degrees, which makes them safer and more sustainable than 3M's discontinued fluorocarbon-based options.

Shell claims that using its fluids instead of air cooling, power consumption can be reduced by as much as 48%, capital and operating expenses can drop by up to 33%, and even computer hall floorspace can shrink. Intel hasn't disclosed the exact benefits for its CPUs, though it is obvious that it can get server temperatures significantly lower with single-phase immersion cooling systems.

The solution is validated to operate in ambient conditions at up to 45°C and is certified for usage with platforms running the 4^th and 5^th Gen Intel Xeon processors, with Intel providing an Immersion Warranty Rider to cover their use. On the one hand, this reaffirms that Intel can guarantee that immersion cooling provides durability equal to air-cooled systems. But on the other hand, the warranty is only valid for previous-generation Intel Xeon CPUs, which are not exactly used for the most powerful machines around.

But the key thing about the announcement is that three major high-tech companies —Intel, Shell, and Supermicro — joined by Submer are actively working on solutions for single-phase immersion cooling systems. We do not know whether this collaboration can be expanded to two-phase immersion cooling solutions, though.

Summary: Industry should act now

Traditional data centers rely mainly on air cooling, but this approach is increasingly insufficient for AI data centers that use high-power CPUs and GPUs like Nvidia's Blackwell-series GPUs. To cope with rising power densities, DC operators are adopting liquid cooling, which is expected to work for today's hardware as well as accelerators like next-generation Rubin and Rubin Ultra that are expected to reach 1.8 kW – 3.6 kW. However, industry sources and institutes like KAIST expect Nvidia and its partners to require immersion liquid cooling for codenamed Feynman GPUs that are projected to have a power consumption of around 4.4 kW.

But while immersion cooling is a likely necessity within the next few years, it is hardly ready for prime time. Single-phase immersion is relatively cheap but hard to scale for AI data centers that house thousands of GPUs; whereas two-phase systems, which use boiling dielectric fluids, are far more efficient but expensive and complex to build.

So far, none of the big cloud service providers (except Microsoft, but we do not know the scale of its experiment) have attempted to deploy immersion liquid cooling at any significant scale, despite the fact that OCP outlined specifications for immersion liquid cooling in 2019. To that end, it does not look like all large CSPs are interested in immersion cooling.

Momentum may build again as Intel, Shell, Supermicro, and Submer recently introduced the first fully certified single-phase immersion solution for Intel's Xeon processors that does not void warranty. The collaboration signals growing interest in standardized, certified immersion solutions; however, we are talking about only four companies, which is not enough to prep the immersion cooling ecosystem for launch in 2028 – 2029.

Zotac has launched two new RTX 50 series graphics cards, one geared towards high-end/hardcore gamers and enthusiasts, and the other aimed at SFF builds.

In a blog post, the GPU maker announced a new RTX 5090 flagship, boasting a triple-fan 360mm AIO liquid cooler, and a budget-friendly, low-profile RTX 5060 graphics card with three 40mm fans.

The new RTX 5090 Arcticstorm AIO is Zotac's new flagship for the RTX 50 series, and one of only a handful of 360mm AIO-cooled RTX 5090s on the market. Its main competitor is the 360mm liquid-cooled Asus ROG Astral LC RTX 5090.

Zotac's version features liquid cooling on all major components, including the GPU and GDDR7, as well as the power delivery system. Connecting these components to the graphics card's 360mm liquid cooler is a full-coverage copper coldplate. This setup differs from cards such as the aforementioned Astral, which favors a combination of air cooling and liquid cooling instead.

The graphics card itself boasts a glass appearance with an infinity mirror and RGB lighting on the side. All three 120mm radiator fans are also RGB illuminated, and all RGB lighting is controlled through Zotac's Spectra 2.0 ARGB software.

Other characteristics of the card include dual BIOS functionality, with one optimized for performance and the other for quiet operation. There’s also a dedicated backplate and "enhanced PCB-level measures to ensure the longevity of the graphics card," featuring reinforced solder joints, static-protected rear I/O, and over-current protection.

Zotac claims the RTX 5090 Arcticstorm AIO has up to 30% better cooling performance and up to 55% quieter operational performance than its outgoing triple-fan air-cooled RTX 5090 Solid.

Low Profile RTX 5060

First announced at Computex, Zotac is finally releasing its low-profile RTX 5060, known as the Zotac Gaming RTX 5060 Low Profile. Just like its Asus and Gigabyte competitors, the new card can work in a slim chassis that cannot fit full-height PCIe cards. However, it does come with a full-height bracket for systems that have full-height PCIe slots.

The card measures just 69mm in height and 182.5mm in length, and is cooled by three 40mm fans. The shroud is covered in matte black finish with Zotac-themed gold stickers covering the top of each fan hub. Compared to its competitors, the Zotac card matches its Gigabyte counterpart in height and width; however, Asus' version is 6.7mm shorter.

The RTX 5090 Arcticstorm AIO and RTX 5060 Low Profile are already available, but Zotac warns availability will be dependent on regional supply and delivery.

AMD’s incredibly powerful new Threadripper Pro 9995WX doesn’t come bundled with a cooler. However, Geekerwan might have the perfect answer for this processing Goliath that can casually consume over 1,000W. The Chinese TechTuber decided to remove the radiator and pump from his BMW M4 high-performance coupé, to see how it could tame the heat from Shimada Peak.

AMD’s $11,699 Threadripper Pro 9995WX is designed to deliver breakthroughs, as the “World’s Fastest Workstation Processor,” according to AMD. Checking through the full Threadripper 9000 specs table we published last week, the 9995WX is right at the top, as the newest flagship, featuring the Zen 5 architecture, a 384MB cache, and boasting 96 cores and 192 threads, running at up to 5.4GHz - given the opportunity (power and cooling) to do so.

While it has a quoted TDP of 350W, if you want to squeeze every ounce of performance out of the 9995WX, you will turn to PBO and overclocking techniques. With these performance-enhancing technologies turned up to 11, the king of the Shimada Peak processors can quickly demand 1,000W of power, or much more. That’s a lot of heat to dissipate.

BMW (and Toyota) to the rescue?

Geekerwan asserts that the BMW M4 has “the best cooling performance in the world” for a civilian vehicle (machine translated). Holding aloft the radiator, ripped from his precious M4, he highlights that the hefty rad in his hands is about 600 x 350mm, or about the size of five 360mm radiators stuck together.

Geekerwan’s BMW radiator shenanigans begin around 7 minutes. Closed captions translated to English are available.

Of course, a suitable pump is also required to make the most of the BMW radiator, and naturally, the M4’s pump was also commandeered for this Threadripper 9000 cooling task. The M4's automotive cooling pump can push 1,200 liters per hour (0.33 liters per second!).

There’s one more essential to building an automotive AIO for a CPU, and that is the fans. Geekerwan didn’t opt for the typical Arctic, Noctua, or Cooler Master spinners, though. Here’s where Toyota came in, with a Highlander 4x4’s fans borrowed for pushing air through the M4 radiator. Two of these 30cm fans were used and required 100W alone to do their duty.

Still can’t beat a flask of LN2

Prime Day is winding down, so your time to grab excellent deals is coming to an end. A perfect example is the Cooler Master MasterLiquid 360L Core 360mm AIO that's on a limited-time sale for just $85. The liquid cooler retails normally for $100, giving customers 15% off the high-performance liquid cooler.

• Save up to 35% on CPU watercoolers during Amazon Prime Day 2025 sale

The MasterLiquid 360L is a few years old and no longer one of the Best AIO Coolers. However, the cooler still provides good cooling performance for even the Best CPUs.

The 360L Core's hallmark feature is its "Gen S" dual-chamber liquid cooler, which features boosted water flow and improved liquid pressure levels over its predecessors. This update, along with the cooler's massive 360mm AIO and three 120mm fans, enables the cooler to cool CPUs running at up to 250W TDP with quiet operation, according to our in-depth review and benchmarks.

The CoolerMaster 360L Core was one of the best budget liquid coolers of its time, providing the best noise-normalized performance for the money. Nowadays, you'll find competitors from Thermalright and ID-Cooling provide similar performance at very competitive prices. Again, though, despite its age, the MasterLiquid cooler is still surprisingly one of the most popular AIOs on the market, making it a good choice for guaranteed fast shipping and very high availability.

We are working hard to find the best computer hardware deals for you this Amazon Prime Day. If you're looking for more savings, check out our Amazon Prime Day deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, or CPU Deals pages.

The ROG Ryuo IV SLC 360 ARGB is one of the more visually striking all-in-one liquid coolers on the market and is probably capable of competing with the best CPU coolers. Nevertheless, Asus has found that some units have experienced reduced thermal performance. Therefore, the company is providing free replacements for impacted customers.

Asus reports that the affected ROG RYUO IV SLC 360 ARGB liquid coolers experience decreased cooling efficiency when exposed to prolonged high temperatures. The manufacturer indicates that this issue arises only when temperatures exceed 90 degrees Celsius for approximately 72 hours or more. However, under typical conditions ranging from 40 to 45 degrees Celsius, the cooling performance of the ROG RYUO IV SLC 360 ARGB is not compromised.

As stated in the FAQ, Asus assesses each ROG RYUO IV SLC 360 ARGB liquid cooler according to industry standards, which include a 72-hour aging test at 70 degrees Celsius. Therefore, operating the liquid cooler at temperatures exceeding 90 degrees for extended periods, like 72 hours, clearly falls outside its specifications. This scenario does not reflect typical usage conditions. Nonetheless, enthusiasts and overclockers often push their processor overclocks to the limit during long testing sessions.

Asus has not disclosed the technical reasons for the issues with the ROG RYUO IV SLC 360 ARGB. At this point, we can only assume it may be a manufacturing defect. Fortunately, this issue does not pose a risk to the other components of your system since it is related solely to performance.

Sadly, the issue isn't limited to a small number of units. Asus asserts that the problem is global, impacting devices with serial numbers that begin with T4 and have digits in positions 9 to 12 that fall within the specified ranges:

• 1689 - 1932
• 2025 - 2888
• 2961 - 2998
• 3193 - 3242 

After showcasing its updated range of PC cases at this year’s Computex trade expo, Thermaltake has come up with a new AIO liquid cooler. The latest MagFlow Ultra ARGB Sync series will be available in 360 mm and 420 mm sizes, while highlight features include a three-sided borderless square display and ARGB fans that you can reverse by simply swapping.

The new AIO will come in Black and Snow (white) color options and includes a standard 27 mm thick radiator with a 20 mm copper chamber. It is also said to feature a new low-noise pump for quieter operations and compatibility with the latest Intel LGA 1851 and AMD AM5 sockets.

The LCD display sits on top of the pump block and measures 3.95 inches diagonally, offering a resolution of 480x480 pixels. Using Thermaltake’s TT RGB Plus software, the LCD can be used to showcase real-time system data (CPU or GPU usage, temperature, frequency), animated GIFs, and custom images or videos. While there’s nothing unique about that, Thermaltake has taken it further. Thanks to the companion TT PlayLink mobile app, one can use their smartphone to manage and upload content on the LCD.

The pre-installed Swafan EX ARGB Sync fans offer swappable fan blades (standard and reverse) that allow you to quickly change the airflow direction for intake or exhaust. This is quite useful as you don’t need to remove and mount the fans in reverse, which usually ends up sacrificing your aesthetics and lighting effects. Depending on the AIO size, these fans will be available in 120 mm (EX12) and 140 mm (EX14) form factors, which can reach fan speeds of up to 2,000 RPM.

Popular PC case and components manufacturer Lian Li has just announced a new 360mm AIO liquid cooler. The Hydroshift II LCD-C was showcased at Computex 2025 and is a follow-up to the company’s original Hydroshift LCD 360 series that we reviewed last year. Lian has redesigned the cooler to include a thinner radiator for a more compact look and improved compatibility with more compact cases. Just note that a slimmer radiator generally means less cooling performance.

The side-mounted tube design has also been updated with flexible server-grade corrugated tubing, which is designed for smooth bends around the radiator without reducing flow or internal diameter. There’s also a new sliding tube clamp for improved tube alignment directly over the CPU block.

The tubes can be secured using various mounting points on the side of the radiator, or using the screw mounting holes at the top, allowing it to be secured directly to 140mm fan brackets. The pump block itself is now cable-free (sort of), as all the connections have moved to the radiator. There’s also a new latch-in-place mounting mechanism that helps make installation a bit easier by holding the block securely while you're screwing it down. That certainly sounds like a welcome design feature.

The pump block also features a round, 2.1-inch IPS display (480x480 resolution, 60 Hz refresh, and up to 500 nits of brightness) with an outer RGB ring. The LCD can be controlled using three methods, including an offline mode that doesn’t require any additional USB or software. Turning the RGB pump cap lets you switch between thirteen preset screen designs. Turning it the other way to change the lighting effects.

Antec has previously announced its new Vortex View AIO cooler, which comes with three fans and a 360mm radiator. But what makes it bonkers is that it comes with a 5-inch display that rotates 360 degrees. The company said that it will display this innovative take on the AIO at Computex 2025, and the Tom’s Hardware team dropped by the booth to check it out.

At the booth, we saw how Antec mounted the IPS panel — attached to a short rod connected directly to the water block via a ball joint. This allows you to place the screen right-side-up, no matter how you mount it on your CPU and how you place it on your desk.

It even gives you the option to place it either horizontally or vertically, catering to every preference. The screen’s mounting method also gives you some limited swivel, meaning you can make the screen face towards you, even if you place your PC case to the side of your monitor, above your head, or even under your desk.

You can use the built-in 5-inch IPS panel to display your PC’s stats and performance metrics, but the demo in the Antec booth also shows it being used as a tiny monitor playing a YouTube video. The screen itself is powered via USB 3.0, with a power and data cable connected directly to the water block, so this will be an additional cable management challenge.

Nevertheless, the flexibility of this relatively massive screen will be more than worth the effort, especially as it’s about as large as some old smartphone screens. The IPS display also features LED lights at the back, lighting up the rest of your motherboard components.

If we ever had to name one thing that we got to see at every single Computex over the last 10 years or more, we would certainly mention immersion liquid-cooled PCs. While these systems were built by different companies and by different people, they all have one thing in common: they have never made it to the market. In fact, they were never meant to. However, it looks like Thermaltake and Enermax are serious about changing that.

Thermaltake is developing its off-the-shelf IX700 solution that comprises a tank and a massive heat exchanger (CDU, cooling distribution unit). The company originally demonstrated a prototype of its IX700 at CES earlier this year, and since then, the unit has evolved greatly, as we observed at Computex 2025. Not only has the tank gotten a display showing CPU and GPU temperatures as well as their load, but the whole device now looks more like a real product rather than a prototype, which highlights the company’s serious intention to bring it to the market. 

The CDU, which looks really massive, supports four 420-mm intake radiators and 12 140-mm exhaust fans. This gives us a basic idea about the capabilities of the device. A typical all-in-one cooler with a 420-mm radiator and three fans is typically rated for a 350W–420W thermal energy dissipation under sustained load at full fan and pump speed. In optimal conditions (low ambient temp, high airflow), peak dissipation might approach 450W, though this probably means a lot of noise unless we have very good fans. Since the heat exchanger essentially packs four of such cooling systems, we can expect it to be able to dissipate 1,400W – 1,800W, which is probably enough for a high-end workstation or an enthusiast-grade desktop. Keep in mind that this is a pre-production device, and its performance may be optimized going forward.

Perhaps the key thing about Thermaltake’s IX700 is that it is meant to be sold as a regular case, so enthusiasts will be able to build their own setups and perhaps experiment with different liquids. For now, the IX700 is not close to mass production, so it is hard to say when Thermaltake will start shipments of the system.  As for pricing, the company’s representatives at the booth said that the company was looking at a $2,000 price tag for the whole setup, though something tells us that the retail price will be higher.

Enermax, which is known for its high-end PC components like power supplies, cooling solutions, and PC cases, just showed off an immersion-cooling system at Computex 2025, designed to handle up to 3,300 watts of power. The Cirrus Mk1 uses two-phase liquid immersion cooling to effectively cool components.

The thermally conductive dielectric liquid used for the system has a low evaporation point, allowing it to effectively transfer heat away from the CPU and GPU. A condenser inside the tank then transfers that heat away and pushes it out to a heat exchanger located away from the system.

This means that the Cirrus Mk1 uses two independent thermal loops, ensuring better efficiency and thermal management. This also ensures that the refrigerant is isolated from the rest of the environment, especially as it uses short-chain PFAS. This specific coolant has zero ozone depletion potential and ultra-low global warming potential, but it’s still likely expensive, so you don’t want to accidentally spill it.

The system displayed on the showroom floor features an AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7960X paired to four Nvidia RTX 5090 GPUs and a Gigabyte TRX50 AI-TOP motherboard. Overall, the system is quite hefty, measuring 700 mm tall and 500 mm in diameter and weighing 70 kg. It also has a heat exchanger and a control pump, so this device will take up a lot of space on your desk.

Power is delivered through two Enermax Platimax II 2400 watts, putting out a total of 4800 watts for both the cooling and computer systems. This is more than what the average outlet can handle, so you definitely need a custom-made electric circuit if you plan to deploy this system.