Mastering Tech Essentials at Tom's Haven for Hardware Enthusiasts
Mastering Tech Essentials at Tom’s Haven for Hardware Enthusiasts
The AIO liquid cooler market has become much more competitive in the past year or so, resulting in stronger products available for lower prices than ever. Over the past year, top-performing AIOs have been available for as low as $120 USD. Today we’ll be covering ID-Cooling’s latest 360mm AIO, the FX360 Pro, which is available for only $60 – a price lower than many high-end air coolers.
With such a budget price tag, I have to wonder if it’s actually strong enough to tame a hot CPU like Intel’s i7-13700K. Does the FX 360 Pro have what it takes to earn a spot on ourbest AIO coolers list? We’ll have to put it through testing to find out. But first, here are the specifications from ID-Cooling.
Cooler specifications
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Cooler | ID-Cooling FX 360 Pro |
---|---|
MSRP | $59.99 USD |
Heatsink Material | Aluminum |
Rated Lifespan | Unlisted |
Socket Compatibility | Intel Socket LGA 1851/1700/1200/115x/20xx AMD AM5 / AM4 |
Base | Copper |
Max TDP (Our Testing) | ~250W with Intel’s i7-13700K |
Installed Size (with fans) | 397mm (L) x 52 mm (W) x 120mm (D) |
Warranty | 3 years |
Today’s best ID-Cooling FX360 Pro 360mm AIO deals
Id-Cooling Fx360 Pro Liquid… ](https://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?tsid=45723&GR%5FURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FID-COOLING-FX360-PRO-Cooler-360mm%2Fdp%2FB0CZMPHCPG%3Ftag%3Dhawk-future-20%26ascsubtag%3Dtomshardware-us-1029417709475731331-20 )
Amazon ](https://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?tsid=45723&GR%5FURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FID-COOLING-FX360-PRO-Cooler-360mm%2Fdp%2FB0CZMPHCPG%3Ftag%3Dhawk-future-20%26ascsubtag%3Dtomshardware-us-1029417709475731331-20 )
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Packing and included contents
The packaging of the AIO incorporates molded foam, plastic coverings, and cardboard to protect the contents.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Included in the box are the following:
LATEST VIDEOS FROM tomshardware Tom’s Hardware
- 360mm radiator and CPU block
- Three 120mm fans
- Mounting for modern AMD and Intel Platforms
- Frost X45 Thermal Paste
- Cable management clips
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Features of ID-Cooling’s FX 360 Pro
▶ Budget $60 USD MSRP
The most impressive feature of this cooler is the price – at only $59.99 in the US, it’s cheaper than many high-end air coolers and less than half the price of most competing liquid coolers.
▶Fully rotatable, braided tubing and full RAM compatibility
As an AIO does not interfere or overhang DIMM slots in any manner, all sizes of RAM, no matter how tall, are compatible with ID-Cooling’s FX360 Pro. The tubes of the of the AIO are braided and are fully rotatable for ease of installation and setup.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
▶27mm thick radiator
The radiator included with the liquid cooler is 27mm, typical of most units currently on the market.
▶Three Year Warranty
Despite its budget price of only $60 USD, the FX 360 Pro is backed against failures with a three year warranty.
▶Large copper CPU base
The base of the unit is large and comprised of copper to facilitate thermal transfer.
Parental Control Software
![ID-Cooling FX360 Pro](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/naEQWSeiQfwBHtpuifUMtZ-320-80.jpg)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The top of the CPU black features a reflective black etched metal design.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
▶ Frost X45 Thermal Paste
Included with the AIO is a tube of ID-Cooling’s new premium thermal paste, Frost X45. The thermal conductivity of this paste is advertised at 15.2W/M-K. We’ll be taking a look at this paste in more detail in our upcoming refreshedthermal paste tests.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
I say this on almost every cooler review, but there’s more to a cooler than just the heatsink or radiator. The bundled fans have a significant impact on cooling and noise levels, as well as how the cooler looks in your case.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Model | TF-12025-PRO |
---|---|
Dimensions | 120 x 120 x 25mm |
Fan Speed | 500-1800 RPM ± 10% |
Air Flow | Up to 82.5 CFM |
Air Pressure | Up to 2.55 mmH2O |
Bearing Type | Hydraulic Bearing |
Lighting | None |
MFFT | Unlisted |
▶ Cable Management Clips
Included are three plastic cable management clips to keep the AIO’s tubing tidy.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
LGA1700 Socket Bending
There are many factors other than the CPU cooler that can influence your cooling performance, including the case you use and the fans installed in it. A system’s motherboard can also influence this, especially if itsuffers from bending , which results in poor cooler contact with the CPU.
In order to prevent bending from impacting our cooling results, we’ve installed Thermalright’sLGA 1700 contact frame into our testing rig. If your motherboard is affected by bending, your thermal results will be worse than those shown below. Not all motherboards are affected equally by this issue. I tested Raptor Lake CPUs in two motherboards. And while one of them showed significant thermal improvements after installing Thermalright’s LGA1700 contact frame, the other motherboard showed no difference in temperatures whatsoever! Check outour review of the contact frame for more information.
Testing Methodology, and how my testing differs vs the competition
My previous review ofArctic’s Liquid Freezer III AIOs was quite controversial, and it made me realize that I need to better explain my testing methodology.
My cooler testing is specifically designed to emulate the conditions a user would actually experience when using a computer. Some reviewers test coolers using an open bench. I do not like this method, it reduces cooling difficulty. When you use a case, the internal temperature of that case will become higher than that of the room’s ambient temperature, increasing the saturation of the cooler and overall cooling difficulty. Testing outside of a case will give an advantage to weaker coolers, especially those with fans that aren’t very strong.
Others test using a thermal heatplate. This method suffers from all the drawbacks of an open bench, but also doesn’t accurately represent cooling a CPU. A thermal plate evenly distributes a thermal load across the copper heat conduction square. The problem with this type of testing is that modern AMD Ryzen and Intel Core CPUs have most of their heat concentrated in a few hotspots – and cooling a concentrated source of heat is more difficult than cooling a source that’s spread evenly.
In discussions with industry representatives, one manufacturer (who wishes to remain anonymous) mentioned that in the past they once used heat plates in a thermal chamber during their design process, until they realized that method of testing was “giving us nice TDP numbers to print on the box, but is not reflective of the user experience at all.” They mentioned that switching to tests using real CPUs increased their testing time, but also provided valuable data to help improve their products. An example they provided is that this testing allowed them to properly observe “differences between AMD and Intel systems, which we can then address.”
The last thing I do differently from some cooler testers is that I insist on using relatively new CPUs for cooler testing, because people building new PCs should be using recent CPUs. Also, thermal density is just different with newer CPUs. Products like Ryzen 3000 “Zen 2” and older 14nm Intel CPUs have lower heat density compared to modern counterparts, due to a combination of using older manufacturing processes and running at lower clock speeds. Using a weaker cooler with an older CPU can make the cooler look better performing than it actually is with current-gen silicon.
Today’s highest-end CPUs, whether Intel or AMD, are difficult to cool in intensive workloads. In the past. reaching 95 degrees Celsius or more on a desktop CPU might have been a cause for concern. But with today’s top-end CPUs, this is considered normal operation. Similar behavior has been present in laptops for years due to cooling limitations in tight spaces.
All testing is performed with a 23C ambient room temperature. Multiple thermal tests are run on each CPU to test the cooler in a variety of conditions, and acoustic measurements are taken with each result. These tests include:
1. Noise-normalized testing at low noise levels
2. “Out-of-the-box”/default configuration thermal & acoustics testing
a. No power limits enforced
b. Because CPUs hit TJMax in this scenario, the best way to compare cooling strength is by recording the total CPU package power consumption.
3. Thermal & acoustic testing in power-limited scenarios
a. Power limited to 175W to emulate a medium-intensity workload
b. Power limited to 125W to emulate a low-intensity workload
The thermal results included are for 10-minute testing runs. To be sure that was sufficiently long to tax the cooler, we tested both Thermalright’s Assassin X 120 R SE and DeepCool’s LT720 with a 30-minute Cinebench test with Intel’s i9-13900K for both 10 minutes and 30 minutes. The results didn’t change much at all with the longer test: The average clock speeds maintained dropped by 29 MHz on DeepCool’s LT720 and 31 MHz on Thermalright’s Assassin X 120 R SE. That’s a very small 0.6% difference in clock speeds maintained, a margin of error difference that tells us that the 10-minute tests are indeed long enough to properly test the coolers.
Testing configuration – Intel LGA1700 platform
Swipe to scroll horizontally
CPU | Intel Core i7-13700K |
---|---|
Motherboard | MSI Z690 A Pro DDR4 |
Case | Be Quiet! Silent Base 802, system fans set to speed 1 setting. |
Monitor | LG 45GR95QE |
PSU | Cooler Master XG Plus 850 Platinum PSU |
ID-Cooling FX360 Pro 360mm AIO: Price Comparison
Id-Cooling Fx360 Pro Liquid… ](https://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?tsid=45723&GR%5FURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FID-COOLING-FX360-PRO-Cooler-360mm%2Fdp%2FB0CZMPHCPG%3Ftag%3Dhawk-future-20%26ascsubtag%3Dtomshardware-us-1029417709475731331-20 )
Amazon ](https://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?tsid=45723&GR%5FURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FID-COOLING-FX360-PRO-Cooler-360mm%2Fdp%2FB0CZMPHCPG%3Ftag%3Dhawk-future-20%26ascsubtag%3Dtomshardware-us-1029417709475731331-20 )
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
powered by
Also read:
- [New] Comprehensively Reviewing the Ricoh Theta S System
- [New] Economical Enhancement Tweets to Animated GIFs Guide
- [New] Perfecting Your Project's Proportions with Aspect Ratio
- [New] Reversing the Clock A Complete Guide for Instagram Users for 2024
- [Updated] 2024 Approved Crafting Excellence in Instagram Grids with These Elite Tools
- [Updated] 2024 Approved Strategies for Discerning Professional Film Making Talents
- [Updated] Boosting Efficiency Creating Speed-Driven Google Collages
- [Updated] In 2024, Elevate Your Edits The Beginner's Insider Look at Editing Techniques
- [Updated] In 2024, Task Mastery Top Picks for Efficient Calendar Management in FB
- 2024 Approved A Guide to Identifying the Right Discord Servers
- 2024 Approved From Social Media Sound to Personal Melody - An In-Depth Guide
- A Splash of Color: Creality Unveils New 3D Printer on Their 10Th Milestone Year
- Advanced Tech Insights with Tom's Hardware - The Ultimate Review Hub
- All Must-Knows to Use Fake GPS GO Location Spoofer On Google Pixel Fold | Dr.fone
- Animated Text Generator Is Easy to Make Text Animation. Do You Know What Is the 10 Best Animated Text Generator? Check This Article
- Best News Curators: The Ultimate List
- Discover Advanced Tech Insights at Tom's Hardware: Expert Reviews and Comparisons!
- Discover Cutting-Edge Technology with Tom's Expert Guidance on Computer Hardware
- Discover Top-Rated PC Parts From Tom’s Gear Analysis
- DIY Techniques to Unclog and Refresh Your Home 3D Printer Nozzle
- Don't Miss Out: A Closer Look at the Remarkable Features of OnePlus Nord N10 5G
- Elite Selection of Advanced Integrated Cooling Solutions for PCs
- Experience Unmatched Cooling Efficiency with the Newly Launched Noctua NH-D15 G2 - The Pinnacle of Next-Gen CPU Cooler Technology at a Budget Price
- Expert Analysis of the Creality Ender 3 V3 Pro: High-Speed Printing at an Unbeatable Price
- Expertly Tested and Reviewed: Leading Gaming Laptops for the Upcoming Year 2024
- Explore the Best Raspberry Pi Expansion Boards : Enhance Your Projects with Our Curated HAT List
- Exploring Cutting-Edge Hardware at Tom'curosity
- Exploring Innovations: A Guide by Tom's Digital Chronicles
- Find Your Perfect Tech Solution at Tom's Hardware Hub
- Get Back to VR Gaming: Swift Solutions for SteamVR Malfunctions
- Hard Reset Itel A70 in 3 Efficient Ways | Dr.fone
- In 2024, Easy Guide How To Bypass Nubia FRP Android 10/11/12/13
- In 2024, How To Remove Phone Number From Your Apple ID on Your Apple iPhone 14 Pro?
- In 2024, The Cutting Edge in Photo Framing Techniques, 2023 Software Guide
- In-Depth Analysis of Original Prusa XL with Large Build Plate and Multi-Headed Printing Capabilities
- In-Depth Testing: Top 120MM AIO CPU Coolers From Be Quiet, Corsair, Cooler Master, and Enermax Compared
- Innovative Approaches for Mosaic Photography
- Instantaneous Installation Laugh with iFunny Memes Easily
- Introducing X-Apply Stencils: Making 'Idiot-Proof' Temperature Improvement Easier than Ever - Coming Soon!
- Leading Mini-ITX Cases Reviewed for Optimal Compact PC Assembly
- Master Your PC: Top Picks and Analysis by Tom's Tech Gurus
- Mastering Screen Record on Windows 10 Devices for 2024
- MIT's Latest Advancement in Rapid Prototyping Utilizes Scrap Material and Glass Bead Grids for Speedier Results
- Poco C50 Screen Unresponsive? Heres How to Fix It | Dr.fone
- Proven Ways to Fix There Was A Problem Parsing the Package on Tecno Spark 20 | Dr.fone
- Range of FB Video Width-Height Ratios for 2024
- Revolutionize Bulk Printing and Cut Expenses: Snag Huge Savings with the Elegoo Neptune 3+ - Enjoy $80 Off Now!
- The Pulse of Technology: Inside Tom's Hardware Rundown
- The Truth About Arctic Liquid Freezer III AIO - An Unsatisfactory Performance Review
- The Ultimate Guide to Cutting-Edge Devices on Tom's Hardware
- The Ultimate Guide to Electronics by Tom's Gear Diagnostics
- Tom's Tech Advice: Premium Guide on Computer Components
- Top Picks for Ultimate Wi-Fi Speeds : Affordable Routers Supporting Wi-Fi 6/6E & 7
- Transform Your Gaming Rig: Experience Superior Cooling and Aesthetics with DeepCool’s Latest Tech and Chic Pixel Silicone Upgrades
- Undelete lost call logs from Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2023)
- Unleash Creativity Design Your Own Logos Using Template Assets (Free) for 2024
- Title: Mastering Tech Essentials at Tom's Haven for Hardware Enthusiasts
- Author: George
- Created at : 2024-08-19 03:05:17
- Updated at : 2024-08-20 03:05:17
- Link: https://hardware-tips.techidaily.com/1723175695796-mastering-tech-essentials-at-toms-haven-for-hardware-enthusiasts/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.