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- Feb 19, 2007
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- Yankee lost in the Mountains of East TN
Processor | 5800x(2)/5700g/5600x/5600g/2700x/1700x/1700 |
---|---|
Motherboard | MSI B550 Carbon (2)/ MSI z490 Unify/Asus Strix B550-F/MSI B450 Tomahawk (3) |
Cooling | EK AIO 360 (2)/EK AIO 240, Arctic Cooling Freezer II 280/EVGA CLC 280/Noctua D15/Cryorig M9(2) |
Memory | 32 GB Ballistix Elite/32 GB TridentZ/16GB Mushkin Redline Black/16 GB Dominator |
Video Card(s) | Asus Strix RTX3060/EVGA 970(2)/Asus 750 ti/Old Quadros |
Storage | Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe 500GB/WD Black M.2 NVMe 500GB/Adata 500gb NVMe |
Display(s) | Acer 1080p 22"/ (3) Samsung 22" 1080p |
Case | (2) Lian Li Lancool II Mesh/Corsair 4000D /Phanteks Eclipse 500a/Be Quiet Pure Base 500/Bones of HAF |
Power Supply | EVGA Supernova 850G(2)/EVGA Supernova GT 650w/Phantek Amps 750w/Seasonic Focus 750w |
Mouse | Generic Black wireless (5) |
Keyboard | Generic Black wireless (5) |
Software | Win 10/Ubuntu |
So, originally I was going to do an in depth review on the AIO's that by most reports are considered two of the best on the market right now, the EK Basic 360 and the Arctic Cooling Freezer II 280. I quickly realized that I no longer enjoy the technical jargon the same way that I did in my younger days. So, I shit canned that idea. However, I did think it was my duty to give my thoughts on these 2 coolers along with the EK 240 and Alphacool Eisbaer 360. All of which I have running in rigs right now. The EK and Arctic Cooling AIO's are both cooling 5950x's with Noctua NT-H2 TIM and are in Lian Li Lancool II Mesh cases sitting right next to each other in the same room at an ambient temp of 72f. Please note that none of these AIO's are designed by Asetek.
I just picked up the Arctic Cooling Freezer II 280 about a week ago. First impression. Shitty packaging. Super thin cardboard. I was surprised there wasn't some molded cardboard around the radiator. It was just in a plastic bag. Luckily everything inside appeared to be in good condition but I thought it should be packaged better. The block looked good and the radiator is exceptional. Installation. I'm not saying in any way that this installation was hard. It wasn't. The block mounting was just cumbersome compared to the EK AIO and took twice as long to install start to finish. Oh, and what's all this damn play in the backplate? I know that it does eventually lock down, but this was not confidence inspiring at all. I think they should put a little tube of MX-4 with at least 2 applications instead of that tiny pouch which will do 1 application at best. The cooling is quite good while running WCG on standard settings with the 5950x in 95w eco mode. Usually in 60-64c range. I'm happy with the performance. I'm guessing the 360 version may get the 5950 another 2-3c cooler.
The EK AIO 360 is currently installed on one of my 5950x's and one of my 10850k's. Packaging is stellar. Box is solid like a good PSU box, with molded cardboard around all components. All screws are labeled for each platform. The mounting hardware is by far the best I've seen on an AIO for both AMD and Intel. The install is a breeze. Very simple, fast and secure. The EK blocks are fantastic and the radiator is really good, but the radiator is the one component where I think Arctic has the very slight edge on quality. EK includes a small tube of their own TIM, which is enough for 3-4 applications. The TIM is "fine", but I do notice a 2-3c drop when I elect to use NT-H2 instead. I keep it around for when I do builds for other people. The cooling of this AIO is excellent while running WCG on standard settings with the 5950x in 95w eco mode. Usually 54-56c.
The Alphacool Eisbaer 360 is a curious beast. The packaging was fantastic. The overall quality of the block and radiator is in the same range as the EK and Arctic. The block is nicer than the Arctic, but not as nice as the EK and the radiator is similar to the EK radiator. However, the installation hardware is a big fail due to an awful, ridiculous excuse for a backplate. It's this thin sort of flexible piece of plastic that makes it damn near impossible to install the block without another set of hands. Luckily, I noticed the the EK backplate would likely work with the Eisbaer top mounting screws. Once I swapped out the crappy backplate for the EK backplate, the install went much better. The included full tube of XPX-1 thermal paste was a nice touch. I like this paste. It's within a couple of degrees of NT-H2 and really easy to apply. Temps are within 2-3c of the the EK AIO when mounted to the 5950x under the same conditions.
Not a ton to say on the EK AIO 240 other than to say it's just a mini version of the 360. I won't use it to cool a beast like a 5950x or overclocked 10850k, but I'd say it's the best option of all of the 240's for chips like a 5600x or a 10700k. It did a fantastic job on both of those chips, and once again, the quality of packaging and components is awesome and the mounting is about the best you will ever see in an AIO.
So there you go. Nothing technical. Just my recent experience with the best AIO's out there and some other pretty good options, with some Caveats.
I'll most likely revise this later this afternoon with additional details on fans etc.
I just picked up the Arctic Cooling Freezer II 280 about a week ago. First impression. Shitty packaging. Super thin cardboard. I was surprised there wasn't some molded cardboard around the radiator. It was just in a plastic bag. Luckily everything inside appeared to be in good condition but I thought it should be packaged better. The block looked good and the radiator is exceptional. Installation. I'm not saying in any way that this installation was hard. It wasn't. The block mounting was just cumbersome compared to the EK AIO and took twice as long to install start to finish. Oh, and what's all this damn play in the backplate? I know that it does eventually lock down, but this was not confidence inspiring at all. I think they should put a little tube of MX-4 with at least 2 applications instead of that tiny pouch which will do 1 application at best. The cooling is quite good while running WCG on standard settings with the 5950x in 95w eco mode. Usually in 60-64c range. I'm happy with the performance. I'm guessing the 360 version may get the 5950 another 2-3c cooler.
The EK AIO 360 is currently installed on one of my 5950x's and one of my 10850k's. Packaging is stellar. Box is solid like a good PSU box, with molded cardboard around all components. All screws are labeled for each platform. The mounting hardware is by far the best I've seen on an AIO for both AMD and Intel. The install is a breeze. Very simple, fast and secure. The EK blocks are fantastic and the radiator is really good, but the radiator is the one component where I think Arctic has the very slight edge on quality. EK includes a small tube of their own TIM, which is enough for 3-4 applications. The TIM is "fine", but I do notice a 2-3c drop when I elect to use NT-H2 instead. I keep it around for when I do builds for other people. The cooling of this AIO is excellent while running WCG on standard settings with the 5950x in 95w eco mode. Usually 54-56c.
The Alphacool Eisbaer 360 is a curious beast. The packaging was fantastic. The overall quality of the block and radiator is in the same range as the EK and Arctic. The block is nicer than the Arctic, but not as nice as the EK and the radiator is similar to the EK radiator. However, the installation hardware is a big fail due to an awful, ridiculous excuse for a backplate. It's this thin sort of flexible piece of plastic that makes it damn near impossible to install the block without another set of hands. Luckily, I noticed the the EK backplate would likely work with the Eisbaer top mounting screws. Once I swapped out the crappy backplate for the EK backplate, the install went much better. The included full tube of XPX-1 thermal paste was a nice touch. I like this paste. It's within a couple of degrees of NT-H2 and really easy to apply. Temps are within 2-3c of the the EK AIO when mounted to the 5950x under the same conditions.
Not a ton to say on the EK AIO 240 other than to say it's just a mini version of the 360. I won't use it to cool a beast like a 5950x or overclocked 10850k, but I'd say it's the best option of all of the 240's for chips like a 5600x or a 10700k. It did a fantastic job on both of those chips, and once again, the quality of packaging and components is awesome and the mounting is about the best you will ever see in an AIO.
So there you go. Nothing technical. Just my recent experience with the best AIO's out there and some other pretty good options, with some Caveats.
I'll most likely revise this later this afternoon with additional details on fans etc.
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