Introduction

ASUS is a company just about every PC enthusiast knows or has owned a product of—the company is an industry juggernaut, to say the least. Producing not only laptops, desktops, motherboards, graphics cards, and displays, the company has in recent years also expanded into the liquid-cooling market with all-in-one liquid coolers. The first product in that series to gain acclaim was the original ROG Ryujin series of liquid coolers, which featured an OLED display and typical ASUS ROG styling. Since then, the company has expanded its AIO offerings, not only offering extreme solutions, but more typical mainstream units as well.


The ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360 is an eye-catching all-in-one liquid CPU cooler based on an Asetek design that borders on insanity, starting with a 3.5" full-color display that works with AIDA64 Extreme for the immediate display of temperatures, clock speeds, and more. The company also claims it comes with a one-year subscription of AIDA64 Extreme for that purpose. Beyond that, using the Armoury Crate APP, users can also display the time, CPU temperature, or custom graphics and logos to customize their cooler fully. Taking things a step further, the company opted to include top-quality fans from the Noctua IndustrialPPC series, which are known to be stalwart performers. Suffice it to say, even if it's another Asetek-based AIO, there is a great deal to like if you want a truly over-the-top cooler. The only question remaining is just how well it performs, so let's find out!

Packaging

As with any review, let's start with the box. The top has the ASUS ROG logo in full view and proudly announcing the use of Noctua's fans. The cooler's six-year warranty is also prominently displayed and gives ASUS one of if not the longest warranty period of an AIO cooler. Moving to the left side, it is just the ROG branding and product and company names with little else. However, that all changes once you flip to the back. You will find the technical specifications covered on the previous page and the ROG Ryujin II 360's numerous features listed, like the Asetek 7th Gen pump, ARGB fan hub, etc.


The right side has a condensed feature list in multiple languages, but not much else. Meanwhile, the longer sides just have the ASUS ROG logo on one and "For Those That Dare" on the other. Regardless, not much to see here, either.

Contents

While the packaging is stylish and bold, it lacks substance. Suffice it to say, I would have liked to have seen better protection for the cooling unit. While foam is used to protect some parts of the cooler, the radiator is left rather defenseless; I was as such expecting bent fins, and sure enough, once I pulled it from the box, there were many. While the bent fins were not beyond a quick repair considering the price tag of the cooler, better protection for the radiator is a must. After all, when you buy a premium product, you expect a blemish-free unit even if it likely will not hinder performance in any measurable way.


The cooler supports the sockets you would expect, including AMD's and Intel's mainstream and HEDT systems. Overall, everything you need is included, and rather than leaving the ARGB/fan hub as a separate accessory, ASUS includes it, which is a nice bonus considering the cooler doesn't use ARGB fans. That said, the hub is used to power the pump and fans and communicates information back to the motherboard via the pump's USB header.

Common parts supplied for mounting include:

• 24x Washers
• 24x Radiator screws
• 12x Fan screws
• 4x Intel 115x standoffs
• 4x Intel LGA20XX standoffs
• 4x Thumbscrew caps
• 4x AMD standoffs
• 4x Strips 3M mounting tape
• 3x 120 mm Noctua fans
• 1x AMD mounting bracket
• 1x Intel mounting brackets
• 1x Intel backplate
• 1x ROG sticker
• 1x ARGB input cable
• 1x ASUS ROG fan controller
• 1x 3-way PWM splitter cable