ID-COOLING FX360 INF AIO CPU Cooler Review

1. ID-COOLING FX 360 INF2. Test Results3. Closing Thoughts4. View All Pages

Cheap AIO closed-loop liquid coolers are everywhere these days, you can pick up a good quality 360mm AIO for under £100 and there's loads to choose from at retailers like Amazon. This ID-COOLING FX360 fits into the budget AIO sector with a price of just £79.99. It comes with 2 ARGB lighting zones, PWM fans, a rotatable infinity mirror pump top and a three-year warranty. But what kind of performance should you expect from a budget AIO like this? Let’s find out.

Timestamps:

00:00 Start
00:58 Pricing and overview
01:51 Compatibility / Radiator / Tubing
03:22 CPU Block / Connectors
05:08 Thermal Compound?
05:50 Cold Plate
06:33 Fans
07:55 Installing the cooler
10:47 Thermal Performance / Noise
13:07 Closing Thoughts

Features:

• The ID-COOLING FX360 INF features an infinity mirror display that projects 6 ARGB light loops with a manually rotatable pump head to support installation in any orientation.
• According to ID-Cooling, the specially designed generation 7 pump runs at up to 2900 rpm for efficient and quiet operation, keeping temperatures low even at peak CPU performance.
• The aluminium radiator is equipped with 12 waterways, a high-density fin stack and a standard 27mm thick core for optimal heat dissipation.
• While the included AS-120 Fans have a PWM speed up to 2000 rpm, hydraulic bearing, and anti-vibration rubber mounts to keep noise output low.

Specifications:

• CPU Socket Compatibility:  Intel LGA1851/1700/1200/115X, AMD AM5/AM4
• Radiator Material: Aluminium
• Radiator Dimensions:  396×120×27mm
• Radiator Tube Length: 465mm
• CPU Block/Pump Dimensions: 72x72x60mm
• Pump Speed: 2900RPM±10%
• Cold Plate Material: Micro-Skived Copper
• Pump Connector: 3-pin
• Pump LED: 3-pin 5v ARGB
• VRM Fan: N/A
• Fan Dimensions: 120×120×25mm
• Fan LED: 3-pin 5v ARGB
• Fan Speed (PWM): 300～2000±10%RPM
• Fan Max Airflow: 58CFM
• Fan Max Air Pressure: 1.94mmH2O
• Noise (dBA): 1.94mmH2O
• Fan Bearing: Hydraulic Bearing
• Fan Connector: 4-pin PWM
• LCD Screen: N/A
• Warranty: 3 Years

Test System Specifications:

• CPU – AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
• Motherboard – ASRock Phantom Gaming X870E Nova WiFi
• Memory: 32GB (2 x 16GB Modules) Kingston Fury DDR5-6000
• Graphics card: MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X
• Storage: 1TB Corsair MP600 Elite PCIe Gen4x4 NVME M.2 SSD
• Power Supply: Seasonic Prime TX-1000
• Chassis: Open Test Bench
• Thermal Compound: Arctic MX-6
• O/S: Windows 11 Version 24H2

Testing Methodology:

We are primarily focussing on the performance of each cooler at 100% fan speed and also when locked to 40dBA noise output. We will focus on cooling performance using a manual overclock with all-core frequency and VCORE locked to 5.2GHz/1.3v (AMD) and 5.5GHz/1.3v (Intel) and Precision Boost Overdrive performance.

• The test data is logged using HWINFO and the final 10 minutes of the data is calculated to find the average CPU temperature and CPU clock multiplier (AMD PBO Test) and then plotted in the charts.
• For testing, we use a 30-minute looped run of Cinebench R23 and record the steady-state CPU temperature at the end of the test. This ensures that the CPU has had ample time to warm up and reach a steady state under all of the coolers.
• The ambient is maintained at 19-21 degrees Celsius. Where there is variation beyond this temperature range, we add extra repeated tests to ensure consistency. However, this is well controlled now with A/C.
• We also test each cooler with at least two fresh installs (typically three) to mitigate the likelihood of poor mounting spoiling results.
• Ambient temperature and humidity are controlled via a mini split air conditioning system inside the test room. Ambient temperature is maintained between 19-20C, Temperature delta figures are shown in the charts (ambient temperature is deducted from the measured component temperature).

Test Results:

Acoustics

We’ll start by looking at noise output as this will give us a good indication of performance based on noise.

At maximum fan speed the ID-Cooling FX360 INF is one of the quietest coolers we have tested so far on the 9950X system, equalling the Arctic Liquid Freezer 3 360 at 43 decibels. But fan speed is relatively low at just over 1800rpm so let's see how this translates to thermal performance.

Thermal Performance: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

In our first manual OC test, the coolers are running with fans and pump speed maxed out. The ID-Cooling FX360 INF manages OK CPU temperature at this point, there's no sign of overheating but it's quite low in the chart with an average load temperature of 64°C.

The focus on low noise and relatively low fan speed could be a contributing factor here, but it performs on par with the Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360, which has similar low noise. Let’s see how it performs in the noise-normalised test.

In the noise normalised test, all cooler fan speeds are reduced to hit a maximum noise output of 40dBA. To reach the 40dBA limit, the FX360 INF fan speed only has to be lowered by 200 rpm, so the performance isn’t affected massively.

But compared to some of the best coolers, it’s not producing great thermals with an average load temperature of 66°C over ambient but again its equal with the Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 and there's no sign of overheating.

In the PBO test, the important metric is clock multiplier as the CPU automatically adjusts clock speed based on a target temperature, so the difference in CPU temperature between coolers is close.

The best coolers in this test will hit a clock multiplier of around 52.6x, but the ID-Cooling FX360 INF only manages an average clock multiplier of 52.1, which means the CPU is running approximately 50MHz slower with this cooler compared to the best we have tested. It's not a huge performance loss, but it is one of the lowest scores we have had on this test system so far, so it’s a little disappointing.

Currently, the AIO market is saturated with budget 360mm coolers, so the competition here is fierce. We don’t expect the absolute top thermal performance from these budget coolers but some surprise us. However, that’s not the case with the ID-COOLING FX360 INF. Thermal performance is a fair bit below some other budget 360mm AIOs and it's priced a few quid higher. That means the ‘bang for buck' performance ratio isn’t the best but the performance is solid enough to keep the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X from overheating, so on a lower power CPU it will be fine.

That said the build quality seems ok, the installation process is quick and simple and the RGB lighting effects look bright and strong. There is very little light bleed coming from the individual LEDs on the fans and the semi-opaque fan blades do a solid job of diffusing the light. The black coating on the radiator is smooth and even, it looks like a quality finish and the braided sleeving on the tubing finishes it off nicely too. So even though it’s a budget cooler, it has a good quality feel.

ID-COOLING bundles two types of AMD mounts with the cooler so you can install it either with tubing facing to the side or top/bottom of the CPU, it comes with a healthy tube of thermal compound so if you need to remove and reinstall the cooler for any reason there should be thermal compound spare to do this. Even at max fan speed the FX360 INF runs very quietly, maximum noise output is one of the lowest we have tested with the 9950X test system so far.

I would have liked ID-COOLING to have pre-applied some thermal compound to the cold plate to make the installation process even easier for novice users, it just removes any installation anxiety. There is also a little confusion in the official specs as ID-COOLING lists the pump as being PWM but it's actually only voltage control.

Performance that lags a little behind similarly priced alternatives but it's not all bad as the low noise output, RGB effects and good build quality will be attractive to some users. However you can tune the fan speed on louder coolers to the same level as the FX360 INF and get better thermal performance, so keep that in mind when looking for your next cooler.

We found it listed on Amazon HERE.

Pros:

• Quick and simple installation/setup.
• Quiet operation even at max fan speed.
• Decent ARGB lighting effect with very little LED light bleed.

Cons:

• Performance lags behind some competitors.
• No pre-applied thermal compound.
• The pump is only 3-pin voltage control despite the specs saying PWM.

KitGuru says: The ID-COOLING FX360 INF is pretty affordable at around £80, but there are cheaper and better-performing coolers out there. So if you are on a very tight budget, it's worth checking what's available first before splashing the cash on this.

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