ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB Test

The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB, which we present in the following test, is the largest representative of ARCTIC’s third series of all-in-one CPU water coolers. Consisting of three 140mm A-RGB fans and a corresponding radiator, it enables high cooling performance with low noise levels. Future viability is guaranteed with compatibility with Intel’s new LGA1851 socket and AMD’s AM5 socket. Apart from these key points, the very good price-performance ratio has also been praised by independent reviewers.

ARCTIC released the Liquid Freezer III series back in February 2024, which has since been available in four sizes and three variants. We also tested the version with three 120mm fans, the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB, in April 2024. Just four months after its release, in June 2024, the series was voted CPU Water Cooler of the Year at the European Hardware Awards (EHA), beating ASUS, Cooler Master, DeepCool and Corsair. The predecessor series Liquid Freezer II also achieved this in 2020 and 2022.

ARCTIC has been operating as a company under this name at various locations around the world since 2001. For sales in Europe, the company also established a headquarters in Braunschweig in 2013. The cooling solutions and accessories for computer systems from ARCTIC’s product range, which are produced in Hong Kong, are sold in over 65 countries worldwide. Customer service and product longevity are very important to the company; for example, the warranty period was recently extended to 6 years.

Technical features

€ 82.36

Abhol-/Versandbereit in 1-3 Werktagen

€ 85.44

Lieferzeit 5-7 Werktage

€ 85.60

Onlineshop: lagernd, 24-h Service möglich, Lieferung 2-3 WerktageBerlin, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover/Laatzen, München, Stuttgart: lagernd (keine Online-Reservierung möglich)

Packaging & scope of delivery

• Unusual outer box saves space and packaging material
• Mounting kits for AMD AM4/AM5 and Intel 1851/1700 included as standard

The unusual packaging of the Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB stands out from the rectangular packaging of its smaller siblings with its almost triangular shape. What looks like a nightmare for stockists turns out to be a space- and resource-saving packaging design that also looks good on the shelf when unpacked.

All parts of the contents are again packed in plastic, the cooler and the VRM fan module are in a mold made of papier-mâché. Screw sets are packed individually, as are the mounting kits for AMD and Intel sockets. Both the copper plate of the cooler and its circuit board are covered with a protective film.

The scope of delivery at a glance:

• 1x Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB
• 1x A-RGB VRM fan module
• 1x MX-6 thermal compound (0.8g)
• 1x PWM cable (individual control)
• 1x PWM cable (All-in-One)
• 12x metal washers
• 12x screws
• 12x fan screws
• 1x Intel CPU contact frame
• 1x Intel T20 wrench
• 4x Intel shoulder screws
• 4x AMD screws
• 4x AMD spacers
• 1x AMD mounting module set

Design of the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB

• minimalist style with angular shapes meets curvy design
• Unobtrusive mix of matt black and white colors
• VRM fan module adheres magnetically to the cooler

The Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB consists of a closed, maintenance-free cooling water circuit that is constantly circulated by a pump. The cooling plate in the radiator, which is in contact with the CPU, transfers the heat generated there to the water. This is then cooled down by the fans attached to the radiator.

The style of the individual components is predominantly minimalist. It could also be described as industrial, simple and restrained. This best applies to the matt black radiator, on which three 140 mm fans are pre-installed. The matt black plastic frames of the fans stand out from the radiator with clear, geometric lines and gray rubber contact surfaces. In contrast, the fan blades are made of transparent white plastic and feature long, sweeping curves.

Two 45cm long water-bearing hoses run between the cooler and radiator of the Liquid Freezer III. They are covered with a glossy black plastic braid and are very flexible, allowing the radiator to be positioned in the case in a variety of ways. The fan cables are also invisibly integrated into the casing for better cable management.

With its visible control electronics, the cooler looks much more technical than the other components. It houses the cooling plate, hose connections, PWM socket and the contacts for the VRM fan module. The cooling plate on the underside of the cooler is made of copper and has been processed using the so-called Skived Fin process. In this process, cooling fins are “scraped” out of a metal block with high precision. This enables a high thermal cooling capacity thanks to narrow fin spacing.

The VRM fan module adheres magnetically to the radiator. It is supplied and controlled via superficial electrical contacts and is visually reminiscent of an aircraft engine. The “turbine” is made of matt white and the housing of matt black plastic, with a silver ARCTIC logo in the center.

Workmanship

• No drastic visual or technical defects found during the test
• ARCTIC has reacted responsibly to faulty products in the past
• Sheathing of the water hoses slightly curled after installation, A-RGB connectors came loose easily

There were no major visual defects in the individual components in this ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB test. At first glance, the materials used give no reason to assume that premature wear could occur. Only minor issues were noticed in the test. The plastic braiding that covers the water hoses looks slightly wavy when bent more strongly. This can possibly be corrected by hand afterwards or avoided in some other way. Under certain circumstances, however, it could have a negative impact on the overall appearance.

In addition, the A-RGB plugs and sockets of the fans were not particularly tight. Even with a slight tug, a plug easily came loose from a socket, which happened quickly due to the somewhat short cables. In the end, however, re-routing the fan cables, for example when switching from push to pull configuration, always worked.

If problems do occur that can lead to failures, ARCTIC deals with them very openly. In the past, for example, there have been problems with the seal of some models in the Liquid Freezer II series. ARCTIC then explained this in detail and withdrew the affected products. Users of products already purchased were able to carry out the repair themselves with a service kit or have it carried out by ARCTIC. Such a procedure can generally be regarded as exemplary in an industry in which customers tend to prefer new products to repairs.

Socket and mainboard compatibility

• in addition to native compatibility, mounting kits for LGA1200/115X are also available for an additional charge
• standard offset for AMD’s multi-die chiplet design processors
• Mounting frame for Intel sockets included to prevent deformation

The Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB is a multi-compatible all-in-one CPU water cooler. This means it is compatible with various CPU sockets from AMD and Intel. It can be used out of the box with the included mounting accessories for Intel sockets 1851 and 1700 and AMD sockets AM4 and AM5. Extended compatibility for Intel sockets LGA1200, LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA1151 and LGA1150 is available using the LGA1200/115X mounting kit, which can be ordered from ARCTIC for a small additional charge.

As far as AMD CPUs are concerned, the Liquid Freezer III uses a slight offset of 5mm for mounting as standard. This is intended to counteract the offset temperature hotspot of today’s Ryzen desktop processors with multi-die chiplet design and enable better heat dissipation.

For Intel’s LGA1700 and LGA1851 sockets, an alternative mounting frame (contact frame) is included in the scope of delivery. This is intended to replace Intel’s Independent Loading Mechanism (ILM) and thus avoid stresses and deformations that could otherwise put massive strain on the CPU. Intel itself tested the Liquid Freezer III on the i9-13900K/KF, i9-14900K/KF and i9-13900KS and confirmed the compatibility of both the cooler and the contact frame.

Some motherboards may be incompatible due to oversized SSD coolers in the M.2_1 slot. ARCTIC has published a list of affected mainboards. Affected customers will also receive an alternative M.2 cooler free of charge.

New contact frame with offset for LGA1851 available in Q1 2025

ARCTIC plans to release a new contact frame for its Liquid Freezer III series in the first quarter of 2025. Like the AMD mounting kits, it uses a slight offset, which is intended to achieve better cooling performance with the powerful processors of the LGA1851 series.

Assembly

• Liquid Freezer III 420 due to the depth of the radiator, the choice of housing is crucial
• interactive, animated online instructions completely replace paper instructions

For this ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB test, the compact CPU water cooling system was installed in the following system. It should be noted that the Liquid Freezer III 420 could not be fully installed in the test case due to the 38mm thick radiator. Nevertheless, the case was used for the test due to its good ventilation. The radiator was simply inserted loosely into the front of the case and not screwed in.

The test system:

An online user manual is part of ARCTIC’s philosophy. Instead of more paper, there is simply a QR code or URL on the packaging. These lead directly to the interactive support page for the product. Not only are you guided step by step through the installation process, some of the illustrations are also animated for better understanding.

Preparation

• you have the choice between a single or triple PWM connection cable
• Increased installation effort due to change of air flow direction

The choice of socket comes first, as it is decisive for the final assembly of the Liquid Freezer III 420. In my case, I choose AMD’s AM5 socket. This is followed by a few steps of preparation, the order of which is interchangeable. The choice of connection cable is also up to you. A cable with only one 4-pin PWM socket or a splitter cable with three sockets is available. This determines whether the pump, VRM and radiator fans can later be controlled together or separately. I opt for the all-in-one cable.

Illustrations and a general video from GamersNexus explain how you should not mount your water cooling system. Positioning the radiator at the bottom of the case is therefore completely inadvisable. In addition, third-party mounting kits and old heat-conducting pastes must be removed from the base before proceeding.

Another relevant preparation step is the choice of airflow direction. Depending on the position of the radiator in the housing and the desired airflow, the fans must be installed in a push or pull configuration. By default, the fans are pre-installed in the push configuration. This is suitable for positioning the radiator as an air outlet on the ceiling or rear wall of the housing. As the radiator for this ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB test is to be located at the front of the REV300, I change the fan configuration to “air inlet – pull”.

Installation of the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB

• After preparation, installation of the cooler is completed relatively quickly
• Only a Phillips screwdriver is required as a tool

After preparation, the installation of the Liquid Freezer III 420 begins with the installation of the mounting set for the AM5 socket. To do this, spacers are placed on the 4 screw holes. The two mounting modules marked L and R are then attached to the motherboard socket with 4 screws. The L bracket points towards the external connections. The supplied MX-6 thermal compound is then applied.

After removing the protective film from the cooling plate, the cooler is placed on the base and tightened with the two corresponding screws. The second protective film is also removed so that the VRM fan module can be placed magnetically on the cooler. If not already done, the radiator is positioned and screwed in place.

The last step is to connect the cables to the respective headers of the mainboard or other control hardware. In the case of the All-in-One PWM cable, only the CPU fan header of the mainboard would need to be used to connect the cooler. It may also be necessary to set the fan control in the BIOS to PWM instead of DC.

Overall, the installation in this Liquid Freezer III 420 review was manageable in terms of time. Previous knowledge is hardly required, the instructions clarify most ambiguities. A lot of screwing is required, especially when changing the fan configuration. In my case, the only tool required was a Phillips screwdriver.

Cooling performance & volume

• three 140mm fans from ARCTIC work with focused airflow and high static pressure
• Cooling surface of the aluminum radiator has been expanded by 23% compared to its predecessor
• 60mm VRM fan additionally cools the mainboard’s voltage converters

As with the Liquid Freezer II 420 A-RGB, the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB also uses 140mm ARCTIC P14 PWM PST fans with A-RGB. At 200 to 1900 revolutions per minute, they shovel 117 m³ of air per hour. A focused airflow and high static pressure should guarantee efficient cooling even with increased air resistance. All contact surfaces are rubberized, which, together with a newly developed motor, should result in very smooth running even at low speeds. PST stands for PWM Sharing Technology, i.e. the ability to control the speed of all fans synchronously. High-quality plain bearings should ensure less heat and bearing noise and increase life expectancy.

The thickness of the aluminum radiator remains the same as its predecessor at 38 millimeters, but the cooling surface has been increased by 23%. The result is improved heat dissipation and an increased amount of cooling liquid, which in turn enables effective cooling over a longer period of time.
Compared to its predecessor, the Liquid Freezer III pump operates at a maximum of 2800 instead of 2000 revolutions per minute.

In addition to the primary CPU cooling in the pump head, the Liquid Freezer III also has a revised VRM cooler (see pictures above). This 60mm fan is designed to cool the mainboard’s voltage converters at 400 to 2500 RPM. This should be particularly useful in cases with poor airflow or with overclocked components. The 40mm VRM cooler of the Liquid Freezer II still performed its work at 1000 to 3000 RPM.

ARCTIC itself links to the results of independent comparison tests of the YouTube channel STS on the subject of cooling performance on its product page.

Results of the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB test

• Multicore stability test in Cinebench reveals very good cooling performance at low noise levels
• maximum of approx. 73°C measured at reduced speed, approx. 70°C at maximum speed

As in many of our test articles, the temperatures in this Liquid Freezer III 420 review are not only given in degrees Celsius but also as a delta, i.e. as a difference to the room temperature (20 °C). I also measured once at full fan speed (100%) and once at 36 decibels (dB). I determined the sound pressure level using a smartphone app right next to the housing.

To determine the cooling performance, I first warmed up the system for 10 minutes using the Cinebench benchmark software (version 2024.1.0). Then the temperature was logged in HWiNFO 64 for another 10 minutes. At the end, I used the average temperature displayed in HWiNFO as the result. The case fans were fixed at 45% power during all test runs. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D used consumed around 145 watts at maximum load and around 45 watts in idle mode.

The temperature of the 7950X3D rose to a maximum of around 73°C at 20°C room temperature after 30 minutes of multicore load in Cinebench. The speed was reduced to such an extent that the noise level was only 36 dB. This was still 16°C below the thermal throttling limit of 89°C for this CPU. At full speed, the system achieved 2051 points in the 30-minute multicore test run in Cinebench.

In conclusion, the cooling performance in this ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB test proved to be very satisfactory, particularly with regard to quiet operation.

Lighting of the Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB

• 12 addressable LEDs per fan, 48 in total, can be individually controlled at any time
• Lighting successfully tested with MSI Mystic Light and Sharkoon case

Both the VRM cooler and the three radiator fans each have 12 addressable RGB LEDs in the fan hub. Thanks to the daisy chain function, each LED can display its own color at any time. ARCTIC uses the standardized 3-pin cable (5V-D-G) as the connection for reasons of compatibility with lighting systems of motherboards, cases, controllers and accessories. Compatible manufacturer systems that ARCTIC explicitly mentions are Aura Sync from ASUS, RGB Fusion 2.0 from Gigabyte, Polychrome Sync from ASRock and Mystic Light Sync from MSI. ARCTIC itself provides a software-based solution via its partner SignalRGB.

In the test, the A-RGB function of the Liquid Freezer III was connected to the lighting system of a mainboard and a case, both of which support A-RGB in the form of a 5V-D-G pin assignment.

The MSI MAG X670E TOMAHAWK WIFI of the test system has two JARGB_V2 connectors to which the A-RGB cable of the Liquid Freezer III could be connected directly. The RGB LEDs were then controlled via MSI’s own Mystic Light software, which is executed via the MSI Center.
The RGB control of the Sharkoon REV300 test case, which even offers a hub with 8 A-RGB connections, was also tested. This time, it was controlled manually via the 20 lighting modes of the case (see video).

All tested RGB control modes worked without any problems as far as the Liquid Freezer III was concerned. Its LEDs, although designed differently, also harmonized with those of the third-party hardware used. ARCTICS’ advertising promises were therefore completely fulfilled in this test.

Conclusion of the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB test

The multi-compatible all-in-one CPU water cooling system presented in this ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB test was able to fulfill all expectations. Mounting accessories for current and future AMD and Intel sockets are included, and extended compatibility is available for a small extra charge. I didn’t find any major manufacturing defects, and a 6-year warranty period also promises a sustainable purchase. The design is pleasantly minimalist with angular shapes paired with curves in matt black and white.

Due to the depth of the radiator including fan, it is important to ensure that the case is suitable for problem-free installation. Thanks to the interactive online instructions, installation was completed quickly with just a Phillips screwdriver after some preparation. However, changing the airflow direction beforehand increased the installation effort. The versatile A-RGB lighting worked perfectly with both MSI Mystic Light and a manual case controller.

The highest measured temperature in an AM5 system with Ryzen 9 7950X3D processor was approx. 73°C at reduced speed and 70°C at maximum speed. Under maximum load, this corresponds to a very good cooling performance at low noise levels and thus confirms the advertising claims made by ARCTIC.
Especially in view of the current price, the choice is made easy for the inclined buyer. Depending on the store, the Freezer III 420 A-RGB is already available for between around €86 and €95 at the time of testing (current price: € 93.90 *). The bottom line is that you get an excellent cooler for the hotheads among CPUs at a low price, provided you have the necessary space.

PRO

• Very good cooling performance at low volume
• Very good price-performance ratio
• 6-year warranty

CONTRA

• Increased space requirement

Design

Processing

Assembly

Performance

Price-performance ratio

96/100

With the Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB from ARCTIC, you get an excellent AiO water cooler for the biggest hotheads among desktop processors at a low price.

€ 82.36

Abhol-/Versandbereit in 1-3 Werktagen

€ 85.44

Lieferzeit 5-7 Werktage

€ 85.60

Onlineshop: lagernd, 24-h Service möglich, Lieferung 2-3 WerktageBerlin, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover/Laatzen, München, Stuttgart: lagernd (keine Online-Reservierung möglich)