Arctic Liquid Freezer III PRO ARGB CPU Liquid Cooler Review
Conclusion
The Arctic Liquid Freezer III PRO ARGB is a great cooler, but it has its caveats
This review isn’t an easy one. If we tested it as-is and didn’t look deeper, we wouldn’t have been impressed with this cooler. By looking a little deeper, we uncovered something that completely changed the way we look at this cooler and our thoughts on CPU coolers with so-called “offset” mounts in general.
Our test bed uses an Intel i5-14600K CPU on an LGA1700 motherboard. While the Arctic Liquid Freezer III PRO supports this CPU socket, this cooler’s provided CPU mounting plate/ CPU contact frame is optimised for Intel’s newer LGA1851 socket. As such, this cooler is optimised for Intel’s Core Ultra 200 series (Arrow Lake) CPUs. Its AM5 mounting kit is also optimised for AMD’s chiplet-based AM5 CPUs with its own “offset” mounts.
Simply put, this cooler’s LGA1851 offset mounts are not optimal for LGA1700 CPUs. Without an extra “no offset” mount, this cooler cannot achieve its best possible performance with Intel Alder/Raptor Lake CPUs. Thankfully, we had an alternative Arctic CPU mounting kit on hand to address this problem. That “no-offset” mount dropped CPU thermals by 3.5-5.5 degrees.
Arctic needs to make “stock” cooler mounts available for Liquid Freezer III PRO users
As it stands, we don’t recommend Arctic’s Freezer III PRO coolers if you plan on pairing them with Intel’s LGA 1700 Alder Lake or Raptor Lake CPUs. This CPU’s stock/only mounting place features an “offset” that optimises this cooler for Intel’s newer Core Ultra 200 series CPUs. However, if Arctic makes standard, non-offset mounts available to users, this cooler quickly becomes one of the best budget-oriented CPU coolers on the market for LGA1700.
Overall, the Liquid Freezer III PRO is a mixed bag. Had this cooler shipped with both standard and offset CPU mounting plates, this would be a great value product that leaves us nothing to complain about. Sadly, its lack of standard/non-offset mounting plates presents issues.
If you are planning to pair this CPU with an Intel Core Ultra 200 (Arrow Lake CPU) or chiplet-based AMD Ryzen CPU, then this cooler will be an excellent option. If not, it won’t deliver optimal results. Is your system an optimal use case? If so, this cooler excels! For £90 or less, this cooler is a bargain when paired with the right hardware.
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