EK-AIO 360 D-RGB All-in-One Watercooler

[crazyeyesreaper]

EK looks to pummel their competition in the liquid cooler market with the EK-AIO 360 D-RGB. It features a pump based on their SPC series, which means it isn't just another Asetek design, but genuinely new from the ground up. However, does new in this case truly mean better?

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[AnarchoPrimitiv]

I like the way it looks, but being only 1 or two degrees better than the Enermax Liqmax Iii ARGB, which I own and purchased off Amazon for $99, it's hard to warrant the extra $50, but I do like the way that block looks.

 

[Cranky5150]

I would trust the pump better on the EK unit vs. the Enermax. Just saying with all of the potential gunk build up i have seen in them.

 

[John Naylor]

Would love to see at least 1 practical temperature and noise test ... in other words temps and noise that we might actually experience mukltitasking with real world applications during the next 3-5 years. RoG Real Bench please ...

Just another cheap aluminum AIO with extreme speed fans, investing in RGB instead of sound levels and performance

The Scythe Fuma 2 at 1/3 the price ties it in cooling
It's 5C behind tha ELC Phoenix and2C behind the Swiftech all copper and expandable AIO

At 51 dbA, its 2.1 times as loud as the Fuma 2 and 1.4 times as loud as the Swiftech

I see no value here.

 

[Space Lynx]

Really hope you get to review the Arctic Freezer II 360 someday, GamersNexus says it beats everything he has ever tested. Really curious to see what TPU comes up on it, if it beats the Phoenix or not would be really interesting to see.

 

[dicktracy]

Would love to see at least 1 practical temperature and noise test ... in other words temps and noise that we might actually experience mukltitasking with real world applications during the next 3-5 years. RoG Real Bench please ...

Just another cheap aluminum AIO with extreme speed fans, investing in RGB instead of sound levels and performance

The Scythe Fuma 2 at 1/3 the price ties it in cooling
It's 5C behind tha ELC Phoenix and2C behind the Swiftech all copper and expandable AIO

At 51 dbA, its 2.1 times as loud as the Fuma 2 and 1.4 times as loud as the Swiftech

I see no value here.

Be Quiet uses copper rad and it doesn't outperform the aluminum ones. The bottleneck for AIO coolers look to be else where.

 

[Shinkiro]

Really hope you get to review the Arctic Freezer II 360 someday, GamersNexus says it beats everything he has ever tested.

Did he test the 360, or the 280? I've only seen the latter so far.

 

[kapone32]

How do these AIOs support 2066 but not TR4?

Be Quiet uses copper rad and it doesn't outperform the aluminum ones. The bottleneck for AIO coolers look to be else where.

The quality of the RAD also matters.

 

[QUANTUMPHYSICS]

I don't have glass sides on my tower. I can't see the AIO on my GPU or the one on my CPU.

But If I did have a glass side, and I wanted to buy a CPU AIO, I'd choose one with a temperature LCD on it.

ie: NZXT Kraken z73

Ultimately I just like the idea of the LCD thermometer.

 

[Ruru]

EK going for CLC is kinda weird, but at least they can improve their products pretty easily since they have pretty damn much experience about watercooling.

 

[Troubular]

Hi Guys,

Can we talk about how this 3x Fan AIO water cooler by EK is as good as the Noctua D15 air cooler which is also quieter at full loads ? I mean, seriously...

 

[Viilutaja]

I have Arctic Cooler Liquid II 360.
And i got it for 95 euros! It is so much quieter while being at the same cooling performance my previous EK custom loop was with 360 mm radiator. Please do the review of it and then there will not be any doubt that this current EK aio looks like dogs ass.

 

[Makaveli]

Performance is good on this unit but its loud.

I always compare these New AIO's to what i'm using which is the Corsair H150i Pro that is in the charts and the noise is always the difference performance is close enough.

 

[nguyen]

Can TPU test CPU coolers with noise normalized for example at 40dBa ? As GamersNexus point out anyone could slap a 3000rpm fan on a cheap tower cooler and it would beat any other cooler in term of temperature...

 

[Makaveli]

Can TPU test CPU coolers with noise normalized for example at 40dBa ? As GamersNexus point out anyone could slap a 3000rpm fan on a cheap tower cooler and it would beat any other cooler in term of temperature...

40 dba is very loud though and some of us don't want a monstrous very heavy cooler hanging off the socket to do it.

My case has a window and a big Air cooler would wreck the aesthetic of my clean build.

 

[Shinkiro]

GN does 36db, don't they? And that's generally because at a certain point, the difference between "almost full power" and "full power" is very small. Most coolers have a sweet spot around 60%, where performance and noise are at the best ratio, and after which we see diminishing returns. (That's also why push/pull is popular, it allows for better performance at a lower fan speed and lower noise level).

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Can TPU test CPU coolers with noise normalized for example at 40dBa ? As GamersNexus point out anyone could slap a 3000rpm fan on a cheap tower cooler and it would beat any other cooler in term of temperature...

That is a great idea but impossible to implement I have tested over 50 coolers i think I am at 58 currently and that would require retesting all those coolers to acquire that data. Suffice to say I have the largest subset of cooler results available on the net I think the only other site that comes close would be Tweaktown.

Noise normalized testing will happen at a later date (next platform swap) at which point I will also be changing out the tests and testing procedure while hopefully implementing 2x platforms (Intel and AMD)

40 dba is very loud though and some of us don't want a monstrous very heavy cooler hanging off the socket to do it.

My case has a window and a big Air cooler would wreck the aesthetic of my clean build.

40 dBA is nearly utterly silent in my tests, What few people keep in mind is distance from the system. Since I test on an open bench you can basically factor in a 2 dBA reduction in 90% of situations from my results, (tested it previously) I also test at 1ft away or roughly 30 cm via tape measure). Also not all SPL meters react the same example using a phone based SPL is typically much lower than the Pyle SPL meter I currently use.

Still anything in my tests that is around 45 dBA or lower is tolerable anything 42 dBA or lower will be barely audible the majority of the time and sub 40 is basically inaudible. Thus the Scythe Fuma 2 is pretty much silent for example you will never hear it over the PSU / HDDs / GPU etc.

 

[QUANTUMPHYSICS]

Hi Guys,

Can we talk about how this 3x Fan AIO water cooler by EK is as good as the Noctua D15 air cooler which is also quieter at full loads ? I mean, seriously...

I've been using a CPU AIO liquid cooler for the past 2 years. I will NEVER go back to fans.

 

[Shinkiro]

If you like that, you'll really like the Arctic Liquid Freezer ii. The 280 version outperforms the Noctua, and the 360 version outperforms the EK. You can add three fans for push/pull at even lower rpm/noise, and it's still cheaper than the EK. No RBG, but that's not a big deal.

And it's a good thing too, because the new i-9 is going to need a LOT of cooling...

 

[Makaveli]

If you like that, you'll really like the Arctic Liquid Freezer ii. The 280 version outperforms the Noctua, and the 360 version outperforms the EK. You can add three fans for push/pull at even lower rpm/noise, and it's still cheaper than the EK. No RBG, but that's not a big deal.

And it's a good thing too, because the new i-9 is going to need a LOT of cooling...

I believe the difference here with the Rest of the AIO is

38mm radiator vs 27 or 28mm.

Thicker Rad equals better performance.

 

[Shinkiro]

You're absolutely right. The Freezer has a thicker radiator than even the Eisbaer Extreme (35mm). That's why it benefits from push/pull, whereas most other AIOs don't (or at least, not as much).

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Let's not forget that 38mm rad + 25mm fan is fairly thick and can cause clearance issues in some chassis' now add another set of fans and your at 88 mm thick. With cases typically getting smaller or aios being mounted in the front with psu shrouds etc push pull is a bit more difficult to implement unless you go for larger full tower cases. Something many people forget to factor into the equation

 

[Makaveli]

Let's not forget that 38mm rad + 25mm fan is fairly thick and can cause clearance issues in some chassis' now add another set of fans and your at 88 mm thick.

Good point.

I would be able to front mount this in my case no issues and this case is great for watercooling.

But probably won't need to go push/pull.

 

[kapone32]

Good point.

I would be able to front mount this in my case no issues and this case is great for watercooling.

But probably won't need to go push/pull.

I have found that push pull reduces temps a maximum of 3 to 4 degrees but makes it absolutely a necessity, to clean your rad about every 3 to 5 months (depending on where you live).

 

[Makaveli]

I have found that push pull reduces temps a maximum of 3 to 4 degrees but makes it absolutely a necessity, to clean your rad about every 3 to 5 months (depending on where you live).

Good suggestion I will keep that in mind for june when i'm will be at the 6 month mark with my AIO.