Is the ThermalRight Frozen Prism 360 AIO good?

[freeagent]

Yep, checking Amazon every so often with no luck. I'm really glad I grabbed 2 a couple years ago while they could be found.

This is the one that's ace: https://www.thermalright.com/product/true-universal-btk/ 775 / 1366 compatibility was crucial for me

I have that one on my Z77 system holding a True Spirit 140 Power on my 3770K. If I had a spare I would hook you up lickety split, I dont think I paid much more than 10 bucks for it

 

[MachineLearning]

I have that one on my Z77 system holding a True Spirit 140 Power on my 3770K. If I had a spare I would hook you up lickety split, I dont think I paid much more than 10 bucks for it

I still appreciate the thought. Frankly I don't need another, it's more of a vain "want". lol

 

[TPCEA]

The stiffer teflon-coated tubing usually has least permeation. Marketing may tell you if it has this or not.

Though frankly, any refillable AiO will do fine (LFII comes to mind).

What would last the longest, is a custom loop with hard tubing and a high-quality pump.

As for rad mounting: it boils down to this. Air in pump is always bad. Whatever you do, that keeps air out of the pump, is good. Therefore, top mount rad is probably better than front mount, since the highest point (where air will be) is in the actual radiator. Front mount tubes down is the second best choice.
Just my $0.02

That's the first time I've heard of teflon-coated tubes. Thanks!

Yeah, hard-tube CL is definitely the best for that. It's also the worst when you have a rotted o-ring or gasket to replace. :O And, if you don't design it right, emptying and filling is a pain.

I agree that putting the rad on top is the best way to deal with air. However, front with tubes down should be able to trap all the air in the rad assuming the pump is powerful enough. I don't know whether 3,300 RPM is enough, but I'd bet that 5,300 RPM is. Additionally, at least according to the info from MSI, front-down gets temperatures several degrees lower than top-mount. Plenty of people contest these findings, so I want to find out for myself.

PA120 is better suited to the smaller 6 and 8 core CPU's imo

I agree. I think it'll hit its thermal dissipation limit on really hot CPUs too soon. That's why you and I recommend FC140 and PS120. Which other ones rate that highly?

 

[freeagent]

Which other ones rate that highly?

I am not sure, I only know the coolers that I have.

6x6mm piipes can only move so much, The 7x6mm coolers, and the 5x8mm coolers are pretty good. If I lapped my TS140P it would probably do OK too with its 6x 8mm pipes. Le Grand Macho RT with its 7x6mm pips can for sure do 90w passive, rated for 320 with a fan.. but that is old school watts, not this new stuff. The only CPU that I have had that got TS140P and LGMRT warm was my x5690, at about 300w lol..

Outside of that, I know nothing

 

[TPCEA]

What about this 6-fan AIO:

EK 360mm AIO Elite, D-RGB All-in-One Liquid CPU Cooler with EK-Vardar High-Performance PMW Fans $100​

 

[freeagent]

I could put 6 fans on mine too.. but I only have 5 due to case/GPU restrictions..

 

[TPCEA]

Enermax AQUAFUSION ADV 360 ARGB AIO $120 - $30 discount - $10 rebate = $80​

EK 280mm AIO D-RGB AIO $75​

There are some others that have black friday prices on NE.

 

[kapone32]

Enermax AQUAFUSION ADV 360 ARGB AIO $120 - $30 discount - $10 rebate = $80​

EK 280mm AIO D-RGB AIO $75​

There are some others that have black friday prices on NE.

Both of those Companies AIOs have had failure issues.

 

[TPCEA]

AZZA CUBE 360 All-in-One $80​

Both of those Companies AIOs have had failure issues.

Are there companies that haven't? Lian Li and Arctic have had failures, too.

 

[kapone32]

AZZA CUBE 360 All-in-One $80​

Are there companies that haven't? Lian Li and Arctic have had failures, too.

My Cooler Master Nepton 280 still works just fine and is compatible with AM5. Alphacool are also very reliable as well. The difference I think is what they use. Not all companies have learned the secret of how to mix copper and aluminum in an AIO.

 

[Assimilator]

Every AIO is based on one of two designs, either from ASETEK or Cool-IT, so there is very little difference between them.

 

[TPCEA]

My Cooler Master Nepton 280 still works just fine and is compatible with AM5. Alphacool are also very reliable as well. The difference I think is what they use. Not all companies have learned the secret of how to mix copper and aluminum in an AIO.

Bro, you were talking about companies. Anecdotes aren't relevant.

So I've decided to compare TR Frozen Notte with the other brands I listed, although I suspect Endorfy's tubes are too short - I'm hoping for a response from anyone on their length. The photos of the TR AIOs demonstrate that the tubes are pretty long. I think the Azza tubes are probably too short, also, but the Enermax and EK should be long enough.

If anyone has any input on those 5, I'd like to know.

Every AIO is based on one of two designs, either from ASETEK or Cool-IT, so there is very little difference between them.

I was under the impression from the GN article that about the OEMs that there are several other companies. Did they stop being OEMs? Was Steve wrong?

I also found the

Raidmax Infinita LS360 AIO $80​

This review convinced me it's not worth it. And the Enermax is really noisy.​

 

[kapone32]

Bro, you were talking about companies. Anecdotes aren't relevant.

So I've decided to compare TR Frozen Notte with the other brands I listed, although I suspect Endorfy's tubes are too short - I'm hoping for a response from anyone on their length. The photos of the TR AIOs demonstrate that the tubes are pretty long. I think the Azza tubes are probably too short, also, but the Enermax and EK should be long enough.

If anyone has any input on those 5, I'd like to know.

I was under the impression from the GN article that about the OEMs that there are several other companies. Did they stop being OEMs? Was Steve wrong?

I also found the

Raidmax Infinita LS360 AIO $80​

This review convinced me it's not worth it. And the Enermax is really noisy.​

I used Cooler Master because I have not heard much about them in terms of failures. I always try to buy non Asetek AIOs and that was one of the reasons I got the Nepton and currently have the Inwin SR36 and have used Alphacool. Some companies were not part of that stupid rule that made Asetek Billions. I only really trust copper and aluminum rads to Cooler Master.

 

[MachineLearning]

I was under the impression from the GN article that about the OEMs that there are several other companies. Did they stop being OEMs? Was Steve wrong?

I also found the

Raidmax Infinita LS360 AIO $80​

This review convinced me it's not worth it. And the Enermax is really noisy.​

No, the person you're replying to doesn't know what they're talking about. Apaltek and Cooler Master immediately come to mind. There are probably dozens more in mainland China alone that we don't hear about.

Enermax historically has had clogging problems due to cheaping out on OEM (or forcing OEM to cheap out) so I would avoid.

 

[TPCEA]

I used Cooler Master because I have not heard much about them in terms of failures. I always try to buy non Asetek AIOs and that was one of the reasons I got the Nepton and currently have the Inwin SR36 and have used Alphacool. Some companies were not part of that stupid rule that made Asetek Billions. I only really trust copper and aluminum rads to Cooler Master.

Nepton was one of the ones that CMI was forced to stop selling in the USA. Congratulations, your unit probably has some extra value because of that!

I don't know the details of the case but it does make me curious if the ruling was valid or not.

Is a copper rad much better than aluminum? I think only the Enermax is copper.

 

[kapone32]

Nepton was one of the ones that CMI was forced to stop selling in the USA. Congratulations, your unit probably has some extra value because of that!

I don't know the details of the case but it does make me curious if the ruling was valid or not.

Is a copper rad much better than aluminum? I think only the Enermax is copper.

It was a salty move and it curtailed innovation in the AIO space. As soon as it expired we started seeing Excellent performing coolers like Arctic and Inwin. Now Thermalright is in there and showing that they know what they are doing.

The only Rads I usually use are Copper on the block and rad. Copper is about 3-5 degrees cooler if all variables are the same (fan, pump, radius of hose). That is why I got turned onto Alphacool AIOs as they use all copper. They are basically watercooling parts so the Rad from my first Eisbaer 420 is now the rad on my 7900XT. Just about every GPU block is Copper and you will love it when you discover Quick connect that removes the need to drain your loop to change anything.

 

[TPCEA]

It was a salty move and it curtailed innovation in the AIO space. As soon as it expired we started seeing Excellent performing coolers like Arctic and Inwin. Now Thermalright is in there and showing that they know what they are doing.

The only Rads I usually use are Copper on the block and rad. Copper is about 3-5 degrees cooler if all variables are the same (fan, pump, radius of hose). That is why I got turned onto Alphacool AIOs as they use all copper. They are basically watercooling parts so the Rad from my first Eisbaer 420 is now the rad on my 7900XT. Just about every GPU block is Copper and you will love it when you discover Quick connect that removes the need to drain your loop to change anything.

I know about quick connect - I'm just surprised it took so long to be used since that tech is pretty old in the world of plumbing, aquatic pets, etc.

Thanks for the info. It's helpful. It's sad that Asetek has smothered innovation in the water-cooling industry.

Very frustrating to try to find the specs for EK and especially Endorfy, even on their websites. Honestly, though, none of these brands provide enough info, although Enermax and TR probably did the best.

I couldn't find AF and SP for Endorfy pump and fans, and their fans have the lowest RPM. I couldn't even get dBA. Their fans have MTTF of 100,000 hrs. The pump is probably the slowest, although Azza didn't list the pump RPM (but was the only one to list L/H and mmH2O) so aside from the KGT review, I can't say much.
I got the AF and SP for EK's fans, but not the pump. They have the highest max RPM

Only Enermax (probably) has a copper rad, and also a copper plate. All the others, except Azza, have copper plates and aluminum rads. Azza uses aluminum for both.

The Enermax has the best fans, followed by the TR. Sadly, the Azza and EK fans are pretty similar, with the EK having better CFM and marginally better mmAq - no wonder they put 6 fans on the rad! However, the TR fans are the quietest.

Frankly, it's hard to know which has the best pump because there's less data except for the Azza. However, the Notte has 5300 RPM, which is far stronger than the EK and Endorfy.

So, to me, it seems like the $100 discounted price on the EK is warranted, and the Endorfy should be around the same price. I suspect the Azza is not that great but at least the pump goes up to 3,300 RPM. It seems, then, that the Enermax and the TR are the best options. Since the TR is an unknown at this time, I'm going to go with that unless someone can share some compelling reasons against it and for one of the others.

Well, I put in the order for the Frozen Notte. I'm looking forward to experimenting.

 

[TPCEA]

I just received the Frozen Notte and took a look. The ARGB LEDs are subdued. The brightness is not intense, there are only lights in the hubs of each fan, and there's an infinity mirror in the block. Since I don't care about lights, I'm not sad that it's not all tricked out.

I tested the PWM fans and they are pretty powerful, which is what I expected from the specs.

The coldplate is copper held in place with 8 screws (bolts?).

The pump is mounted on the tubes instead of being in the block or rad. It is very quiet.

All connectors are standard PWM and ARGB, except the pump, which is 2-pin DC.

The accessories kit includes a 3-way splitter for PWM, a converter from 2-pin to Molex D, TF7 TiM, and AMD & LGA1700 mounting kits.

The packaging was simple, mostly black with touches of color, the unit was fully assembled, and the rad and block were covered with separate plastic bags and held in a simple, formed, brown, shaped piece that appears to have been made using a mold. It serves the purpose well without having any foam in it.

I plan to start my testing this Friday, first to ascertain what mounting position is best in my case based on thermals (which will be compared with my U12A), and then produce a review for my channel. I'm kind of excited as this is my first AIO!

 

[freeagent]

I got 170w PPT from my 5600X yesterday while testing static clocks.. this cooler is pretty good. The pump in on the block with this one.. I am not using the stock fans, they are ok, but I need more

 

[TPCEA]

The tubes aren't long enough to side mount with tubes down - they're hitting my 6800 XT.

 

[freeagent]

Tubes down is stupid.

 

[Space Lynx]

Amazon.com

all thermalright AIO's are on good discount right now. prism 360mm AIO for 57 bucks

the all white AIO thermalright 360mm for 55 bucks. 240mm thermalright AIO for 40 bucks. hell I might get the 240mm just to have as backup, how in the hell do they make it this cheap? @freeagent I understand your dilemma in life so much better now haha

 

[TPCEA]

Amazon.com

all thermalright AIO's are on good discount right now. prism 360mm AIO for 57 bucks

the all white AIO thermalright 360mm for 55 bucks. 240mm thermalright AIO for 40 bucks. hell I might get the 240mm just to have as backup, how in the hell do they make it this cheap? @freeagent I understand your dilemma in life so much better now haha

They make them in China, which largely explains the price especially if they're hiring people from outer areas and/or manufacturing there. They're killing the competition. My Frozen Notte 360 is super quiet and with just one exhaust fan it's doing well.

 

[Space Lynx]

They make them in China, which largely explains the price especially if they're hiring people from outer areas and/or manufacturing there. They're killing the competition. My Frozen Notte 360 is super quiet and with just one exhaust fan it's doing well.

pretty sure even the expensive Corsair AIO's are made in China, so not sure what your point is

 

[TPCEA]

pretty sure even the expensive Corsair AIO's are made in China, so not sure what your point is

The vast majority of companies make their products in China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Taiwan. All of those countries have low cost of labor, yet prices are wildly different. Why? Because companies like Corsair, despite having inferior documentation and average customer service, plus lots of proprietary stuff now, decide they want to charge more. Simple.

pretty sure even the expensive Corsair AIO's are made in China, so not sure what your point is

ThermalRight has been in the game a long time and has lots of customers, so they afford to lowball stuff in order to increase their market share. SAMA, an unknown, tends to charge too much for their fans and stuff, but when you get their stuff on sale the prices are "more" reasonable. I got their CY360 for $58 on sale. Azza's another unknown and a bit worse. I just got the Azza Cube and the fan's got hydro bearings rated for 20,000 hrs MTTF, and 50,000 for the pump, yet their prices are higher than SAMA's. I feel lucky I got it on sale for $85. Then there's be quiet! selling the Pure Loop 360 for over $100 before Black Friday, yet they use their inferior Pure Wings 2 fans. I got it for $107. If I want to get the most out of those 3, I'll have to put stronger fans on them and hope the pumps last a long time without biofilm or crud building up in the blocks. Then there was the EK 360 Elite with 6 fans in push-pull config, yet the fans weren't strong enough and having the extra 3 barely helped - better off putting them on the case. That one was selling for over $200 before BF - I passed on the ~$100 sale price, then went back to get it and it was gone.