Phanteks’ Glacier One 360D30 CPU Liquid Cooler Review

Is this the best looking AIO that we have ever seen?

Even looking at the box, it is clear that Phanteks’ new Glacier One 360D30 is an AIO thar prioritised aesthetics. Just look at it. There are no visible fan screws, the tubing is held parallel with clips, and otherwise minimalistic box art. 

Inside the box we see everything that users of this AIO will need. Every part is protected within a plastic bag, or a cardboard box, or both in the case of this AIO’s radiator. The packaging is simple, but effective. You don’t need anything more than this. If your AIO has fancier packaging, know that you are paying a premium price for that unboxing experience.  

The critical feature of Phanteks’ newest AIOs is their addition of D30 series fans. This heatsink model, the 360mm mode, ships with three D30-120mm fans, which can be daisy-chained to minimise cable clutter within your PC. Just remember to hook everything up correctly.

Using fan bridge clips, users of Phanteks’ D30 fans can connect multiple fans together to deliver a clean aesthetic and minimise cable clutter. 

Below you can see one of Phanteks’ fan bridge clips, which feature clips that can move RGB signals and power from one fan to the next.

Note below that the white fans and white radiator are not an exact colour match. This is the only negative thing we can say about the Glacier One 36D30’s aesthetics, and even then it is only a minor negative point. Since the radiator will often be sitting in the shade of your PC case, you will likely never notice this shift in hue inside a PC.

Like all radiator fans, Phanteks’ D30 fans connect to liquid cooling radiators using bolts, but with Phanteks’ D30 fans, these screws can be covered using custom plates to give these fans a cleaner overall aesthetic. 

With Phanteks’ D30 fan covers, PC builders can create an exceptionally clean looking system with minimal cables and hidden fasteners.

With the Phanteks Glacier One, we can see that this cooler’s pump block is larger than many competing AIO designs, which makes sense given this cooler’s ability to support larger CPUs from AMD’s Threadripper and Threadripper PRO product lines. This support for larger socket CPUs makes this heatsink more versatile than most AIO CPU liquid coolers, though it is safe to assume that users of this heatsink will be using more mainstream processors. 

Lighting-wise, the pump top has four RGB illuminated lines in its center and RGB illuminated lines that surround the top and bottom of the block. This is less flashy than some other AIO designs, but it is in keeping with this cooler’s otherwise minimalistic design aesthetic.
  

The Glacier One’s D30 series fans feature a multitude of RGB elements, with an RGB ring illuminated each fan’s blades, two strings of LEDs at the sides of each fan, and four accent lights that surround the blades of each fan. This design creates pleasing lighting effects, and can be controlled using any RGB compatible motherboard. 
  

Cooling Performance & Testing – Does Phanteks’ latest AIO have what it takes to beat the best?