Introduction

Arctic is a leading manufacturer of PC coolers and components. The company has a 20-year history of pushing the envelope on what consumers can expect regarding quiet PC cooling components. Be it air coolers, liquid coolers, fans, or thermal paste, Arctic has a legacy of releasing exceptionally received products. From the Freezer 7 Pro during the Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad days to the more recent Liquid Freezer II lineup on top of their success with thermal pastes ranging from the Ceramique, Silver, and MX series, suffice it to say that Arctic is well known in the enthusiast DIY PC market, and considering their track record, the recognition is well deserved.

The Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280 A-RGB is an eye-catching all-in-one liquid CPU cooler you will either love or hate in regards to the pump design. At first glance, it is, in my opinion, ugly, but part of that is due to an included fan in the pump housing for cooling the motherboard’s VRM. So while the feature is gimmicky, it may prove useful on budget motherboards. Regardless, this feature is the main reason for the chunky pump/block design and thus its lack of visual appeal. Still, with growing support showing just how good these coolers perform for some, the trade-off of looks vs. performance is an easy one to make. That said, it’s also time to take a closer look!