Be Quiet Silent Loop 3 420mmm CPU Liquid Cooler Review
Conclusion
Conclusion – High-end cooling at a reasonable price
A lot of liquid coolers today place style far above substance. Yes, having RGB lighting and LCD screens can add a lot of fun-factor and style points to a system, but they are useless if combined with a sub-par liquid cooling solution. The be quiet Silent Loop series takes cooling seriously, and it is built for serious PC builds. Yes, it has some RGB on its pump housing, but at its core, it is a custom-designed pump block and fan setup that promises strong performance.
The be quiet Silent Loop 3 is a CPU cooler that’s intended to be put under heavy strain. That’s why this cooler’s 360mm and 420mm variants are designed with AMD’s huge Threadriper CPUs, not just AMD and Intel’s mainstream desktop CPUs. On their own, this liquid cooler’s fans can cost £20-25 each. These are serious fans, and the performance of this AIO speaks for itself. In all of our tests, the Silent Loop 3 420mm is a top performer. On our performance charts, there are more expensive and equivalently sized liquid coolers that perform much worse. Simply put, this liquid cooler is a solid option for heavy users.
One annoyance we have is the placement of this AIO’s refill port, which we feel should have been placed on the other side of this AIO’s radiator. With its current configuration, we would need to remove this AIO from our system to refill it. While this is not a huge deal, it is an annoyance. Regardless, it is good that we have a refill option at all. Clearly, be quiet wants its AIOs to be long-term cooling solutions.
The be quiet Silent Loop 3 delivers excellent value for money
While €174.90 may be a lot of money, you get what you pay for with the be quiet Silent Loop 3 420mm. The unit itself is robust, its fans are excellent, and we heard no pump noise during our testing. Performance-wise, the Silent Loop 3 stands amongst some of the best liquid coolers that we have tested. We’ve even grown to love this cooler’s ARGB lighting effects.
The Silent Loop 3 420mm is a big AIO that can handle BIG processors. It has enough size to fill up the largest of cases, and it is priced well given its size and performance. This is a premium product, and I’m not saying that in the “it has an LCD display” sense. This is a well-made liquid cooler that delivers solid performance levels at a reasonable price. You can’t ask for much more than that. For that reason, we’re giving this cooler an OC3D Value for Money Award.
Be quiet has told us that this liquid cooler will be available at retailers starting February 25th.
You can join the discussion on be quiet’s Silent Loop 3 420mm liquid cooler on the OC3D Forums.
